No.64 - A Long Shot!
Dear James,
Last week I, along with millions of others, paid the second part of my annual tax bill to HMRC. Until now I have never quibbled about how the government spends my hard earned cash because I have always accepted that a legitimate government can make legitimate decisions about the tax spend. Now I am livid. For the first time I feel resentment at the way our government intends to spend my taxes. Amounts, now estimated to be about £6bn, are being spent on things that countless reputable experts and the government itself have said will hugely damage our economy. This is an appalling waste of taxpayers’ money in addition to the estimated £500m per week that we have been losing since the referendum in terms of our lower growth rate, the collapse of our exchange rate and the slump in inward investment to the UK. And that was called “Project Fear’ by the Leavers. More like Project Foresee!
A new government has been imposed upon the British people. This is not a slight change in tone as in the Brown-Blair handover but a huge change of policy during a massive crisis in UK political history. A handful of 160,000 Tory voters have chosen for themselves, Boris the ‘great communicator’. What they did not foresee however, was the accompanying Boris sidekick. Mr Cummings, the man who once said that you must first break a system before you can build a new one, is now the brains that Boris so clearly lacks. Boris provides the attitude and Cummings provides the justification of the attitude. No longer red or blue, everything from now on will be black and white. Cummings has decided that Boris must go for broke. Boris must do ‘whatever is necessary’ to bring about Brexit by October 31st. This is why £6bn of taxpayers’ money is being spent on ports and customs officers. This is why Boris is considering proroguing parliament or ignoring any no confidence vote. This is why Boris is thinking of calling a ‘People vs Parliament’ election after the UK has left the EU. In other words, everything that this government is doing seems aimed at breaking the system. Black and white, of course, are in the eye of the beholder and from my eye Mr Cummings is black. Cummings won’t last but can do a lot of damage to our institutions and economy while in power. Are you really willing to be part of this colour revolution James?
Your party is now being lead by a government unelected by 99.75% of the population and being steered by a dome brained fanatic who was elected by absolutely no one. For any politician with an ounce of ethics or principle within them, this situation must at least be embarrassing. The 2017 election showed that the voters had already rowed back on the decision of the 2016 referendum. Since then the mood of the country has changed yet again. Without further reference to that mood, any further action by our government will be illegitimate.
The EU is now proceeding on the basis that No Deal has become the ‘central scenario’ when dealing with the UK. It is clear to them that the UK has no plan, no intention to negotiate and is willing to burn down both our houses should no deal go through. Mr Gove said recently that he was “deeply saddened that the EU now seem to be refusing to negotiate with UK”. For goodness sake, anyone can see through his craven transparency. We have reverted to the Boris of old - we are trying to leave and to have our cake and eat it. That is more than sad. It is tragic!
But rest assured, Mr Raab is in North America and Mr Trump is saying he can’t wait to sign an ‘ambitious’ deal with the UK. Yes, but ambitious for whom? Former US Treasury Secretary, Larry Summers said it all. "Britain has no leverage, Britain is desperate... it needs an agreement very soon. When you have a desperate partner, that's when you strike the hardest bargain."
So James, you are probably far away from all this at the moment sunning yourself on some far away beach. If in this idyllic location you could just find a few moments to let your party political mind relax just enough to allow some reality and humanity through, you may still have a chance of redeeming yourself.
It’s a long shot I know. But worth a try?
Kind regards,
BH - Your Concerned Constituent