UK Democracy Threatened Johnson also failed to discipline ministers who breached ministerial rules while his senior advisor was allowed to breach pandemic regulations without sanction. He mislead the country in the progress made on climate change (as revealed by Channel 4 this week). He also failed to disclose the funding of his No. 10 residence decorations. The latest event is one of the most serious when he forced his MPs to vote for an amendment which delayed the suspension of one of his ‘nearest and dearest’ MPs while destroying the current standards oversight system and committee (with over 100 Tory MP abstentions who disagreed with Johnson, but not enough to negate the amendment). Johnson has also elevated the most extreme pro-Brexit individuals to ministerial roles and Lords membership - degrading the value of these important positions. His election promises have proved valueless. I could go on. Never before has our democracy, justice systems and parliamentary integrity been under greater threat. In effect we are seeing a Trumpian style rule by an incompetent, dishonest, and corrupt prime minister who demands loyalty of his MPs whether they agree with him or not. Ultimately he endangers so many of the values that have placed the UK in the forefront of free and democratic rule. Teflon doesn’t last forever and neither does the patience of the British people. When questioned in parliament by his opposite number I have yet to witness him providing a direct answer to a direct question. Rather, he blusters his way through to the cheers of his MPs with diversionary comments which are grossly misleading and serve only to hide the truth. With Johnson’s scant regard for the rule of law underpinning international agreements, he has damaged the UK’s reputation around the globe, and in desperation to agree international trade deals at any cost (following Brexit where the UK benefitted from EU negotiated trade deals with 70 external countries) will harm many UK businesses through cheap imports with little benefit from enhanced exports. At no point did Johnson’s government provide a detailed forecast of the EU departure implications to the economy, trade and public services. He claims economic growth of 4.7% is the best in the G7 but fails to add that the UK’s performance in the last year was the worst amongst the G7 - 4.7% of nothing is nothing. He also claims credit for the 1 million job vacancies attributed to this growth but fails to inform that by leaving the EU many workers in vital professions left the UK leaving many job vacancies especially in the building, hospitality and farm trades, and even more importantly in the National Health Service and Social Care sectors. Virtually every facet of UK life is in or near crisis point after 11 years of conservative rule. Following the cladding scandal, thousands of apartments which their owners struggled to buy are now worthless and unsaleable. At the same time the housing market - both to-buy and rental - is too expensive, especially for the younger generation (who are also suffering substantial long-term debt from student fees). Personal and national debt is at an all-time high and unsustainable. The policing and justice systems are crippled through under-investment. The health and social care systems are short of over 100,000 staff with hospital waiting lists at an all-time high and predicted to hit 13 million by the end of 2022. Poverty and food banks use are increasing while social inequality has never been more acute. The UK’s trade deficit is increasing at a worrying rate especially for the country’s exporters of farm products and fish due to Brexit. The country’s difficulties started before Covid although the government claims the virus is to blame. Johnson and Company’s mishandling of the the pandemic has cost in excess of 160,000 lives and misery for family and friends, with the inevitable review kicked into the long grass to 2022 in the hope that the next election will arrive before its conclusion. The country cannot afford another 3 years of Johnson who has driven politics and democracy into the gutter. He must go and go now. Ironically, only his own servile MPs can force the issue and my belief is that he has an extremely limited shelf life. Here’s hoping. |
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