Civil Liberties have been hacked away by the current conservative government with hardly any protest. The home office has become Orwell’s Ministry of Truth and the allegedly independent Police Force is now firmly embedded as the Thought Police.
With the pre-emptive arrests of anti-monarchist protesters using the already established and recently produced repressive legislation, the United Kingdom has revived the ‘sus’ laws and all that has goes with them. It has produced a few headlines and some expression of outrage but nothing like the outcry it ought to have engendered. In particular the leader of the Labour Party, once a barrister attached to a set of chambers known for their support of human rights and civil liberties, has not come out full throttle denouncing the legislation and loudly proclaiming a labour government would repeal the whole of the current legislation of Suella Braverman and Priti Patel.
How these two harridans have manged to attain their power is unbelievable. They are obsessives who dream of deporting as many unfortunate refugees and foreign immigrants as possible. Their behaviour is equivalent to the worst kind of national front thug. They are undoubtedly racist and xenophobic, so how on earth these two first generation British women came to be such monstrous figures is a mystery. That they have any following at all is incredible and yet they do.
I would guess that they both had political ambitions and, being part of a minority ethic group, figured that the best way forward was to appeal to their white conservative constituents by demonstrating how much more nationalistic and bigoted they could be. By gaining the support of these constituents, they could demonstrate to other minority constituents that they could obtain power and influence on their behalf; except, it was not on behalf of their constituents, but on behalf of their own ambition. Both their constituencies (Fareham for Braverman and Witham for Patel) are over 94% white according to the Constituency data of the 2021 census.
Their immigrant families obtained a foothold in the United Kingdom and, in order to secure that position, they were not going to let anything intervene by preventing anyone else from gaining even a toehold. The result is a continuing far-right assault on the very constitution that allowed their families entry into the United Kingdom in the first place, and it follows that any attack on them or their character would be considered racist and, of course, misogynistic. In effect they are the perfect front for the national front.
That they hold the position of Home Secretary is down to Boris Johnson and Liz Truss, although it is fair to say that Teresa May first brought them into cabinet government. Rishi Sunak clearly can only deal with one of them at a time. Had he any gumption at all he would side-line them both.
Back to Keir Starmer. Why has he not emphatically denounced the current repressive and draconian legislation? Why have not all of the shadow cabinet not come out in force to denounce what is happening to human rights and civil liberties in the United Kingdom under this government? Why are they hesitating? The financial situation is such that it has created greater anxiety amongst the population and a worried population is more easily subjugated than a confident population. If people’s human rights and civil liberties are secure they can make their economic lives more secure. That is not what this repressive government wants. By keeping the general populace insecure it allows for their exploitation by the wealthy supporters of the current government. This is nothing new.
The rumblings however, of continuing industrial action by nurses, teachers and other members of the general population are the seeds of a growing confidence. They are itching to get rid of this conservative miasma which surrounds them, even although they may seem hesitant. It is up to Keir Starmer and the Labour Party to fully support the growing confidence. Speak up about what’s needed. Return to human values, rights and freedoms. Return to the structures and foundations so long fought for and if you build it they will come, and they will make it better.
None of this is new Mr Starmer. Get it together.
In addition to the assault on the right to protest, the illegal migration bill, currently before the House of Lords has attracted criticism from non-other than the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby:
This legislation is part and parcel of the Braverman/Patel agenda. It has no hope of stopping boats and might actually create higher revenues for the people traffickers. Harsh measures and harsher penalties have never been a deterrent for anything. If that were so there would be no bad behaviour of any kind. They keep claiming that they are acting in the interests of the British public and that they are doing what the British public want them to do. I do not believe that is the case. What I find difficult to understand is why the Labour Party is not more vocal in its objections to this assault on humanity and human rights in general.
The government keeps saying that no one is offering an alternative to their solution to the immigration problem, so they must be right in applying theirs. The difficulty is they do not listen to alternatives, do not accept them, and journalists allow them to get away with that claim. They have been told time and again to create more avenues for legal immigration, and better facilities through which to process applications. This would involve of course more trained personnel to deal with the volume. If you don’t want people to risk their lives on a boat, give than alternative access. It’s not good enough to say it’s coming down the line and that this outrageous bill is the answer, however temporary. When your own spiritual adviser gets involved in the politics, it's time to listen, not say he’s wrong. But then this government never listens. It has no shame and is utterly without any moral principles whatsoever. Its sole agenda is to remain in power.
They keep saying as much. Their
sole purpose in maintaining their current position is to somehow, over the next
18 months, create a situation which reverses the current polls in their favour.
That is the sum total of their position. When the polls turn their way,
they will call a general election and they will hang on until the bitter end.
In what way is that good government, hanging on to a poll percentage? Do they really think the people cannot see
how vacuous that is? Maybe they're right?
The Labour Party have got to get a grip. That the outcome of the next general election should still be thought of as in the balance is shocking. Are the expectations of the leader too high? Are the shadow cabinet members up to the tasks assigned? We need to hear more and more from the shadow government if it is going to take power. It has got to say and show what it can do. Put forward real and specific ideas and programs to put into practice the moment they take a seat in government. They need to do this now and they need to stand up for what is right. They cannot vacillate on oppressive legislation such as they are now. For god’s sake take the reins. You may never get another chance.
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