Wednesday 18 January 2017
Tories in "La La Land."
I don't actually know much about La La Land but I do know a great deal about Gilbert and Sullivan operas. In The Mikado the Lord High Executioner, Koko,explains away the fact that he has not actually executed the tenor lead, Nanki-Poo, as follows:
It's like this:When Your Majesty says, 'Let a thing be done' it's as good as done - practically it is done - because Your Majesty's will is law. Your Majesty says, 'Kill a gentleman' and a gentleman is told off to be killed. Consequently the gentleman is as good as dead - practically he is dead - and if he is dead why not say so?
This style of reasoning seems to have afflicted our government: say something is so and it is so, however absurd and contrary to truth and experience.
In her Brexit speech Mrs May assures Europe and the world that: "Britain is an open and tolerant country." This coming from the woman who, as Home Secretary, organised a billboard campaign telling illegal immigrants to "Go home or face arrest;" whose government has accepted a derisory number of refugees; and has argued that refugees drowning in the Mediterranean should not be rescued as that might encourage others to try.
The Koko delusion is not confined to the Prime Minister. Our Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson tells us today that other countries are "queuing up" to sign trade deals with the UK once it leaves the EU, and the whole tone of the Brexit campaigners is that we probably can have our cake and eat it with the EU, and if we can't then there's a bigger and better cake outside.
After the rapid evaporation of the promises made in the referendum campaign itself we should learn to take these arrogant and unrealistic claims with a pinch of salt. Unfortunately most of our newspapers do not seem to have learned the lesson.
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Hypocracy suits the Tories. They will do u-turns over night if it suits them. Johnson, who are these countries? What sort of trade deals are they wanting?How long will they take to complete? no doubt other questions could arise for this suspect politician to answer. He must not be allowed to waffle.
ReplyDeleteDeliveroo is to produce 300 jobs. However there is a dispute over workers rights with them. Will workers rights be destroyed in these countries negotiations 'Strings attached' Do we really want the Singapore model? Lots of questions to ask people.
Thanks for your comment, Nigel Hunter. I read somewhere recently, I wish I could remember where, that the Right in general are far more prepared to campaign "dirty" than the Left, who are more likely to stick with consistent arguments. I think there is something in this. The absurd claims made by the Brexiteers, both in the referendum campaign and now, need to be subject to critical scrutiny. The problem is that their supportive press will tend to put a positive gloss on whatever is achieved, and more perceptive analysis will be dismissed as "sour grapes" from "experts" whom no one trusts any more. But we must keep trying
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