Kazuo Ishiguro - A View Of Officialdom - From His Novel THE REMAINS OF THE DAY

Lord Darlington gave another sigh. ‘We’re always the last, Stevens. Always the last to be clinging on to outmoded systems. But sooner or later, we’ll need to face up to the facts. Democracy is something for a bygone era. The world’s far too complicated a place now for universal suffrage and such like. For members of parliament debating things to a standstill. All fine a few years ago perhaps, but in today’s world? What was it Mr Spencer said last night? He put it rather well’

‘I believe, sir, he compared the present parliamentary system to a committee of the mothers’ union attempting to organize a war campaign.’

‘Exactly Stevens. We are quite frankly, behind the times in this country. And it’s imperative that all forward-looking people impress this pon Sir Leonard.’

‘Indeed sir.’

‘I ask you Stevens. Here we are in the midst of a continuing crisis. I’ve seen with my own eyes when I went north with Mr Whittaker. People are suffering. Ordinary, decent working people are suffering terribly. Germany and Italy have set their houses in order by acting. And so have the wretched Bolsheviks in their own way, one supposes. Even President Roosevelt, look at him, he’s not afraid to take a few bold steps on behalf of his people. But look at us here, Stevens. Year after year goes by, and nothing gets better. All we do is argue and debate and procrastinate. Any decent idea is amended to ineffectuality by the time it’s gone half-way through the various committees it’s obliged to go through. The few people qualified to know what’s what are talked to a standstill by ignorant people all around them. What do you make of it Stevens?’

‘The nation seems to be in a regrettable condition, sir.’

A reflection of days gone by or very close to what we see today? It seems to me that this is not far from the truth. For example, is government working under the current political environment? I don’t think so. Too many decisions are based on political interests; of winning public opinion, votes and power. The last election was a prime example when Johnson rid himself of his more independent-minded Conservative MPs and installed yes-men and yes-women in seats and ultimately in his government. Johnson led a political coup by so doing and promising voters the earth, including the fictional benefits of Brexit and the unexplained fantasy of ‘levelling up’. And voters believed him. Effectively, with a majority of 80 and a team of yes-people even legislation doubted by his own MPs gets through comfortably. Effectively, democracy is dead. Politics has failed. And Johnson reeks of self-preservation.

Surely it’s time to rethink. For example, the introduction of a more just election system where the number of votes cast for a particular party are more accurately reflected in parliament. And rather than vote on party lines, votes are based on what is right and what is wrong. Knowledge and conscience would become priorities, rather than left or right.

It is strange how fiction can become fact. We have all seen the dreadful consequences of procrastination in the level of Covid deaths and infections. See how long it took to lockdown and how long it’s taken to approve vaccinations for teenage children when other countries started months ago (and with far lower infection rates than the UK). Politics dictates that rather than mention the UK’s world-leading death rate (and current infection rate) and investigate it Tories only refer to the more positive vaccination rate. Johnson promises 20,000 more police without acknowledging that over the last ten years the same number of officers was lost due to cuts that also affected all public services, and critically the National Health Service.

The effects of Brexit are now becoming clear with EU trade diminishing at a harmful rate and the paucity of available overseas labour causing empty shelves, and critical labour shortages in the NHS and Social Care sectors. The hospitality industry is now on its knees while the construction sector will be the next victim of Brexit.

The UK has now entered the abyss. The young in particular are suffering badly and especially in the areas of housing, jobs and educational debt. Poverty is rising, inequality is rising, homelessness is rising, national and personal debt are rising, crime is rising, hospital and justice system waiting lists are rising - and all to record levels. In my long life I have never experienced such levels of governmental incompetence, dishonesty and autocracy. And while the situation worsens billions are committed to an unnecessary high speed railway and a nuclear arsenal that will never be used.

We now need to discriminate between truth and lies, and ask the question:

WHAT IS RIGHT? WHAT IS WRONG?