You can’t ignore the class war mob, Dave
THERE’s something sulphurous i n the political air. Do you smell i t? Although the last century ended 15 years ago, a ‘ fin de siecle’ sense of decadence and rebellion is all-pervasive.
There’s an ever more complacent and cynical ruling class on the one hand, and on the other a rising tide of snarling protest among the supposedly disenfranchised and dispossessed.
Triumphal Tory MPs gathering in Manchester now envisage being in power for ten, or even 20 more years. They’re already plotting who’ll be Prime Minister when David Cameron retires in four years’ time.
Chancellor George Osborne is in pole position with the bookies. In London, they’ve selected as mayoral candidate another Old Etonian, multi-millionaire Zac Goldsmith. They hope he’ll replace their present OE, Boris Johnson.
The Right is exultant, the Left in angry despair. HM’s Opposition is in utter disarray. They can’t even agree among themselves whether they should defend us in the event of a nuclear attack.
Labour has elected its most unpopular leader ever, Jeremy Corbyn, who attracts a disastrous ‘minus eight’ approval rating in a new poll.
Union l eader Len McCluskey, appearing on breakfast TV yesterday, said it will be necessary for his members and their supporters to ignore the law if the Government does not amend its proposed trades union reforms. He sought to make anarchy sound cosily traditional.
Meanwhile, in Calais, more than 200 migrants, allegedly aided by British anarchists, stage a ‘violent and co- ordinated’ invasion of the Channel Tunnel. ‘We are proud to stand in solidarity with our friends without papers,’ say members of the No Borders anarchist group, which seeks to abolish nation states.
Only a week before, riot police battled against hundreds of ‘antigentrification’ protesters who’d attacked a fashionable ‘hipster’ cafe in shoreditch, East London.
Class War founder Ian Bone says their activities will soon spread beyond poor districts. ‘We will take our action into rich suburbs,’ he advises The sunday Times.
It’s not the poor who want to Bash The Rich, which, incidentally, was the title of Bone’s autobiography; it’s l argely middle- class, universityeducated under-achievers, resentful about those who are richer than themselves and authority in general.
Class hatred and protest gives meaning to their lives — a reason to get up in the morning.
MOsT of us think that protesting a bout inequality is a legitimate activity, but not when it spills over into anarchy. That never has a satisfactory outcome for anyone. The Government has two options, it seems. One is to do nothing and ignore street protests. They involve a tiny number of people, statistically meaningless. Cracking down on them would only encourage more protest.
Alternatively, ministers can take sensible steps to address genuine policy shortcomings which f uel protest. For example, if an ‘ open door’ i mmigration pol ic y is unsustainable because the Government could never collect enough money in tax to pay for it, they should explain that, unashamedly, giving facts and figures.
Of course, this won’t convince the No Borders anarchists, but they do not command much public support.
However, it might reassure millions who feel genuine concern about the migrants risking their lives to get here and guilt when they fail, or die in the attempt.
As for inequality, the Government can’t abolish class differences, or ensure that everyone will become rich. But it can act more forcefully against the corporations and banks which betray public trust, instead of appearing to be the fat cats’ confederate.
Levying fines of millions is not enough. The individuals responsible must be jailed. If journalists can be jailed for hacking phones, shouldn’t business crooks be caged for stealing from customers?
With an overall majority, the Tory Government could just carry on regardless, but they’d be wise not to do so. It’s necessary to demonstrate always that they govern on behalf of everyone — not just those who voted for them.
Only the most crass of Tory supporters want Cameron and Osborne to punish those who voted Labour by grinding the faces of their political rivals in the mud.
To paraphrase a biblical Proverb, a gentle response turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.