Decline and fall of a nation
People around the world usually associate the British with traits such as decency, common sense, levelheadedness, prudence and fair play. However, current British politics feels as if all these commendable characteristics have been thrown off the top of the Big Ben tower.
This is epitomized by years of instability that began in 2016 with the ill-conceived referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU, which since then has claimed the scalps of four Conservative prime ministers, leaving the country facing one of its worst social and economic crises, and in the process becoming the world’s laughing stock.
Much discussion has inevitably concentrated on the chaotic manner in which the country’s affairs are being conducted by Westminster and the resignation of two prime ministers in quick succession, but all this is a mere symptom of a country that has lost its sense of direction, and is struggling with the tensions between being a modern democratic liberal society, while still unable and unwilling to completely rid itself of an enduringly class-based social and economic structure and a nostalgia for what too many consider to be a glorious imperial past.
How on earth could the great people of the British Isles, who are supposed to believe in common sense, decency and fair play, elect a government of Robin Hoods in reverse, who in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis tried to cut taxes for the rich, who have too many xenophobic ministers claiming that immigrants and asylum-seekers are an existential threat to the character of the country, and who are harming the national interest by constantly picking quarrels with neighboring countries?
The enduring wish to preserve British uniqueness by differentiation and limited engagement with the “Continent” and the rest of the world, while still holding on to the past through being the driving force behind the Commonwealth, comprising former possessions of Britain’s empire, illustrates the UK’s inability to redefine its character and mission for the 21st century.
Its history and traditions have become a burden instead of an asset. Both Liz Truss and Boris Johnson, in their different ways, represented this confused and destructive approach which both creates social tensions at home, through clearly favoring the better off in society and perpetuating their status, and instigates tensions abroad as part of a nationalist-populist agenda.
However, should elections be held today, opinion polls suggest that the Conservatives would be destined for near-extinction. At this very low point in British history lies also a great opportunity for a new government and direction, which listens to the majority of the British people, and is not afraid to play a constructive role on the world stage. For this to happen, the next UK government must be chosen by all the British people, not just the members of the Conservative Party.