Do they not realize what they are saying and doing? Do they not hear themselves or question what they do at all? The level of contradictory statements and actions of United Kingdom government ministers is staggering. The latest piece by Foreign Secretary James Cleverly in the Guardian is classic.
He speaks of “new powers’ not previously available pre Brexit. Just what prevented the United Kingdom Parliament from speaking out and taking action against activities by foreign, or domestic individuals, calculated to deprive citizens of human rights around the world, at any time in its history? What “new powers” has he discovered? Parliament has always had the power to sanction foreign dictators or expel undesirable aliens. Nothing has ever prevented that from happening.
To claim the high ground on supporting human rights through allegedly new post-Brexit powers, whilst at the same time supporting legislation to curtail the hard fought for human rights of taking industrial action, or protesting injustice, or stopping the disastrous effects of climate change, or simply being able to walk the streets without arbitrarily being stopped and searched, is taking hypocrisy to extremes. This is on top of supporting the inhuman and dangerous proposition of deporting immigrants to Rwanda.
That policy, which was supposed to strike fear in the hearts of refugees seeking security across the channel, and thus robbing the traffickers of their trade, has had little success. Freezing bank accounts of very rich people is hardly fear-striking activity. The monies will accrue interest and at some point will have to be unfrozen, making the rich even richer. But then, that is the main premise of this conservative government to begin with, to make the rich richer. Actually confiscating and appropriating the frozen funds for purposes of funding the NHS and other beneficial human activity for Citizens of United Kingdom would be more appropriate as a means of striking fear. That would be a truly great windfall tax. Selling off a yacht (£460 million for Abramovich’s yacht) could easily provide a decent salary for a few nurses. That could provide a £50,000 annual salary for 184 nurses, each, for 50 years.
So do not speak so proudly of freezing an oligarch’s bank account whilst freezing the pay of nurses to below inflation levels. I ask again, do they not realize what they are saying and doing?
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