It may be a
strange thing to say, in my first piece of work for Great British Politics, but I think our (British) government is
stagnant, defunct even. By this I don’t mean the current government, or any
previous government, or a government of any particular political persuasion.
Rather, I believe the SYSTEM of government we find our nation run by is broken.
For the great majority of people government is irrelevant- they try to lead
their lives as best they can in spite
of the government’s efforts, not because
of them.
Let me first
make clear, I believe politics has never been more vibrant, reactive and important (as
hopefully evidenced by this very website), and democracy is the greatest
freedom a modern nation can enjoy. However, both politics and democracy are
being failed by our government. At its heart politics and democracy is the
freedom to choose- to choose who will lead you, based upon a trust to deliver
on promises made. What choice do we have? A race for the ‘middle-ground’ has
made all the major parties the same, with no distinguishing left from right.
And what trust? Pledges made in the hunt for power are soon abandoned, or
changed beyond all recognition, once power is achieved.
Politicians
get into government on the basis of what they intend to do with their power,
but the sole purpose of government now seems to be retaining power, not using
it. Lord Acton famously wrote “power tends to corrupt, and absolute power
corrupts absolutely”, but with regards to our government I would say power
cripples, immobilises.
2 issues are
critical here. Firstly, a government doesn’t want to do anything too radical,
or even not-so radical, that might alienate voters. A government seeks to
maintain the status quo, from the moment it is elected it thinks only of
re-election. And secondly, so many modern politicians are ‘professional’
politicians with little real-world experience or knowledge of the critical
areas they must direct- work, defence, the NHS, economics and so much more.
They look to experts and launch enquiries to appease the public, yet almost
inevitably fail to heed any resulting advice or direction at the risk of
committing ‘political suicide’.
But what
about taxes, and benefits, and public services, you might say. Governments like
to talk about these things, like to suggest ‘major’ changes, and end up doing
very little. They tinker around the edges, causing little impact but drawing
maximum attention. These things have been in place for many years, and
effectively run themselves. The government is the only public service that goes
on holiday en masse, and when it does the country gets along just fine. We
still pay our taxes, and resent it. We still receive our benefits, if never
enough. And we can still call 999. We just can’t get a politician.
Despite all
this I refuse to abandon politics, and pray for its redemption. Since turning
18 I have cherished my right to vote and exercised it on all occasions I can
recall. Have my votes been wasted? This is a clarion call to all- for
politicians to get their act together, for the rest of us to engage with
politics at every chance. Debate, march, protest and at the very least, VOTE.
And on reflection, this article is an explanation of why I write for Great British Politics, my own small way of engaging with politics.
