Stupidity at its Highest Level - The Current State of British Politics
Calling Stockton a shithole when asked about child poverty, the Prime Minister being attacked by the former home Secretary (Suella Braverman), infighting within the Tories and Labour, Brexit, the SNP falling, Northern Ireland’s political stand-off, the economic situation encroaching on opportunity and more, so, so very much more. This raises the question of what the current state of British politics is and perhaps a comparison of the past.
Most recent would be the accusations pointing towards the Reform party’s way stating that they’ve tried to bribe a Tory MP, Lee Anderson, to defect to their party, a serious accusation to say the least. Mr Anderson has been reported as saying that he was “offered a lot of money” at the prospect of joining a “party which begins with an R.”
Furthermore, the home Secretary James Cleverly was heard saying that Stockton is a “shithole” when the MP from Stockton North was asking about child poverty in his constituency. Since then the home Secretary has denied that he intended to call Stockton such foul words, instead, he says his intent was to call the local MP shit.
Lord Cameron, the new (not so new) foreign Secretary’s appointment to the post was seen as a desperate move by the PM Rishi Sunak by political reporters. Introducing an old figure that will have to endure all the scrutiny of their past decisions, that don’t always pan out so well, is a dangerous move considering voters' resentment for those decisions and the connection to the person who made them.
Suella Braverman’s sacking as Home Secretary has also stured up controversy. Those on the right of the Conservative party spectrum have been angered, deepening the divide within the Tories and setting the stage for even more infighting.
The Labour Party has been divided amongst themselves due to disagreements over the Israel-Hamas conflict and the Labour party’s current stance against a ceasefire. High-profile politicians within the party have quit, including a frontbencher, over the current stance. 10 frontbenchers advocate for a ceasefire.
Brexit, though over in terms of official negotiations for leaving the European Union, is still an important topic. Most Brits now regret Great Britain's exit from the European Union and some even want to rejoin. Brexit lingers over the Tories and Foreign Secretary David Cameron’s direct involvement in the decision to hold the Brexit referendum will not soon be forgotten by the electorate. The fact that other parties don’t know how to handle the issue either makes the situation more tough. Labour practically has the same stance as the Tories, though more pro-EU. The Liberal Democrats want to rejoin in the future, however, currently don’t advocate for it in their party plan. The SNP solution is simple: leave the UK and join the EU.
Nicola Sturgeon’s resignation as first minister of Scotland set off a chain of events leading to the SNP, the party she once led, declining significantly in the polls. This shift was seen as a win for the Labour Party, however, now the Labour Party is seeing a great decline.
Northern Ireland still has no first minister as the DUP continue to block any sort of moving forward. This standstill has made progression in the region come to a halt and the general public is getting annoyed. This with the UK government's failed attempts to solve the situation has left many discontent with the current way of things. The DUP has sky-rocketed in the polls consolidating the unionist vote under one cause, they have no true reason to end the standstill unless it makes them look good and their competitors bad.
That’s it, the current state of British politics, is a mess. The Conservatives' rapid fall from grace, Labour's success in Scotland turned around, the SNP imploding and Northern Ireland stuck. A lot, however, how does it compare to the past? Just a decade ago David Cameron was Prime Minister, there had been no Scottish independence referendum, the United Kingdom was still a member of the European Union and the turmoil seen in today's government was not found. Of course, there must be some nostalgia, there always is, however, this time it seems reasonable to assume that the past might just have been a bit less chaotic than today's landscape.
