No. 71 - Boris in a Box – Will he Break the Law?
Dear James,
I went up to Parliament yesterday. Or rather, to Parliament Square. It was a bright, sunny autumn day with white cumulous clouds towering above the ‘Mother of Parliaments’. But this grand and proud old lady currently lies under tarpaulin and scaffolding as if parliament itself is under a deep anaesthetic prior to some life saving operation. It is a worrying metaphor for the times in which we live.
I am never comfortable at political rallies. I don’t like the reduction of thought to simple slogans – on either side. I am unhappy with the raised passions of orators and I hate the roar of football crowds. And neither do I like the growl of helicopters hovering in the sky like watchful raptors. It smacks of Northern Ireland thirty years ago or worse, Germany, much longer ago. But I was there to show silent support for the better side of the ‘British political personality.’ A small EU flag on my lapel was my only nod towards a symbolic identity.
The tourists were everywhere. A stiff breeze whipped through the streets and the trees were just beginning to turn. Everything seemed normal. Except that it wasn’t. In Whitehall there were long lines of police men and women in dark blue boiler suits and strange forage caps. Police buses were parked across the street blocking off Downing Street like wagons drawn up around some last cavalry stand in the American west. Between each vehicle there was a policeman to prevent individual ingress to the area. I hadn’t realized that we had so many policemen in London. What on earth was going on?
When I reached Parliament Green, I could see that Union Jacks and the flags of St. George were gathered in too close a proximity to the European Flags. A thin police line was all that separated the two but as I stood listening to the speakers, three men suddenly appeared next to me. They had very short haircuts revealing rolls of fat beneath the occipital lobe. They carried a large Union Jack over the words, ‘No Surrender’. Behind each man stood a police minder standing watchfully. This was the best of Britain I thought. Everyone should have the right to protest but there must be no intimidation, no violence. But suddenly the trio erupted into a fury of synchronized finger pointing with chants of ‘Brexit Now!’ or ‘Out, Out, Out!’. One of their flags inadvertently hit a lady to my right and she squealed and remonstrated with her annoyer. An altercation ensued which caused four female police officers to intervene. The chanters were skilful. In a cheeky sort of way they argued their innocence but eventually agreed to leave. Meanwhile others of their tribe had pushed to the front to carry on the same chants right under the speakers on the rostrum. The speakers did well to continue but the tensions were there and I thought of Syria, Northern Ireland, Hong Kong and Russia. On my way back to the station I encountered another line of policemen across the top of Whitehall. As I stood there a man in a black hood approached me, pointing to my small EU lapel flag. We entered into an apparently good humoured argument until I realised that he had been joined by two of his black clad colleagues. It was the same pattern. They go around in small groups of two or three. They are polite and cheerful but beneath this there is always the threat of violence. Later the Metropolitan Police said they had made 16 arrests including 13 for violent disorder, one for possession of an offensive weapon, one for affray and one for racially aggravated public order. I realised then that I had probably just had my first encounter with the The English Defence League. That’s quite scary.
James, a nation is only as strong as its institutions and any attack on these is dangerous. Today Boris is in a box of his own making and people are asking whether he will break the law. Insiders say he is going to take a ‘chainsaw’ to everything. That would be an outrage. The rule of law is a core principle of our society. It is the ultimate institution protecting our nation from becoming a Syria. Yesterday the British police were superb but how long can that last if the government of our nation is intent on breaking that very same law to create a People versus Parliament scenario whose impacts could be incalculable. Yesterday I glimpsed the abyss. It is still a long way off but it is there. Be afraid James. Very afraid.
I have a suggestion. Don’t take my word for it, so why don’t you too go down onto the street and smell the coffee for yourself? It might help you to understand that every word, every action taken inside your great institution has consequences far beyond parliament. Boris has surrendered control of himself and the government to Dominic Cummings and today I saw what might happen if you continue to support a government which is not only willing to expose us to no deal but may also be on the verge of breaking the very law that protects us all. Last night Amber Rudd made a massive personal decision. She has seen the obvious and has done the right thing. She has resigned the whip and left the Conservative Party.
Will you do the same?
Kind regards,
BH - Your Concerned Constituent