Page 30 - TheWord#16

30 February 2017. POLITICS AND EVENTS www.thewordmedia.org.uk

By Cliff Jones

ur level of political litera-
cy is low. We are not citi-
The inclusive discussion of and FROTH
zens. We are subjects of
Othe Crown and Theresa
May likes the Royal Prerogative.

Lets re-examine our political
vocabulary.
store the meaning of politics as be- IS NOT
POLITICS

arrival at public values: a process
that must precede the construc-
tion of policy.

In 1962 Bernard Crick pub-
ple hoarding power, making policy BEER
lished In Defence of Politics to re-
ing about public values. Fifty years
later Michael Flinders published
Defending Politics with a similar in-
tention. Why do we have to be re-
minded that politics is an inclusive
public activity, not just a few peo-
and often cocking up bigly?

Look at The Blunders of our lished the supremacy of the elected peace treaty with an abstract noun? Shrugging our shoulders while most famous absolutist episode was
Governments (2013) by Anthony House of Commons over the hered- What has all this done for democracy? saying that there is no point in vot- the Poll Tax: for Blair Iraq. Thatcher’s
King and Ivor Crewe. How on earth itary House of Lords: democratic ing because “they are all the same” downfall followed quickly. Blair sur-
did the devisers of disastrous poli- progress. Three years later we had SHAMOCRACY will do nothing for us. vived. His personal hot air balloon
cies manage to a) escape the blame war: democracy suspended. The two The systemic partner of Ersatz has many holes but is kept aloft be-
and b) give all the difficult jobs to are incompatible. The consequences Politics. Israel has been called (by LEFT WING cause he blows hard into it.
others? Putting Michael Barber, of war make democracy uncertain, Israelis) an ethnocracy. Democracy The French Revolution gave us
Tony Blair’s Mr. Deliverology, in transitory and weak. In 1945 Britain in Israel is racially ring fenced. Pales- ‘Left’ and ‘Right’, derived from where It will get worse with Brexit. We
charge of implementing policy of- experienced a strong assertion of de- tinian schools (labelled ‘Arab’) have you sat in the Assembly. The further do not have enough civil servants
ten made things worse. mocracy. It lasted (the ‘post war con- less funding. Belong to the wrong left the more you believed that power and hire companies instead. The
sensus’) until Thatcher. But it took race and life is difficult. The benefits should lie with the citizenry and that House of Commons lacks the capac-
ERSATZ POLITICS a body blow in 1950 when the USA of citizenship are unequally distrib- the values of government should be ity to scrutinise legislation so the
‘Ersatz’ signifies an inferior imi- pressured Britain to join in the Ko- uted. Our politicians claim Israel is liberty, equality and fraternity. unelected House of Lords does it.
tation. The result of the referendum rean War. Military spending doubled The Only Democracy in the Middle
on membership of the EU did not and our fragile welfare state suffered. East. Just up the road Lebanon real- Some think ‘left’ means en- Theresa May likes the Royal Pre-
emerge from a political process. Lots ly does try to be democratic. forced change, albeit in the direction rogative. How many British voters
of expensive advertising and unverifi- In 1951 the Labour Party gained of equality. Enforcement is not, I are aware of its existence? The Royal
able claims countering other unverifi- the majority of votes in the gen- Our government talks a lot about suggest, a characteristic of the left. I Family is not the problem. The mo-
able claims may have looked like a po- eral election but lost power to the British Values. The values they pro- worked in a city run by Militant Ten- narchical power used by politicians is.
litical process but froth is not beer. Conservatives who obtained more mote widen the gap between rich dency. Discussion? Permitted dis-
seats. We also call that democracy. and poor, disparage the different sent? Friendly disagreement? Forget Conclusion
DEMOCRACY and commodify education. Our it! Suppression is not left wing. Brexit and Trump emerge
A disputable and variable Since 1945 the USA has been al- school history books told us that the from long-term social fracking. To-
concept. The message from John most continuously at war and now franchise widened. All we got was RIGHT WING day the shock they have given us
Keane’s The Life and Death of De- waves its sabre at Iran and China. It an occasional vote that came with In1789 if you sat on the far right threatens cohesion.
mocracy (2009) is that it is fragile. even declares war on abstract nouns. restricted participation. Restricted you preferred absolute government.
The 1911 Parliament Act estab- Today’s is terrorism. Can you sign a participation means shamocracy. Blair is an absolutist. Thatcher’s Do we want froth or beer?

Joint Trade Union Statement on Police Spies

Joint Union Statement: es, the Pitchford Inquiry has failed police, in order to prevent future
We the undersigned are out- to secure the documents that will destruction and avoid the entire
raged at the news that despite be central to the investigation. inquiry descending into a hugely
court orders to the contrary, the Trade union core participants are expensive cover-up on the part of
Metropolitan Police Service has de- beginning to question whether the Metropolitan Police.
stroyed evidence required for use the Inquiry team has the ability to SIGNED:
in the Undercover Policing Public stop the police from obstructing Len McCluskey (General Secretary)
Inquiry. State spying on trade un- the pursuit of justice. Lord Justice and Gail Cartmail (Acting General
ions and political campaigns is a Pitchford needs to act now to re- Secretary) UNITE the Union, incor-
human rights scandal that affects store our faith. porating UCATT
millions of British citizens. We are calling on Lord Justice Matt Wrack (General Secretary)
Despite continued reassuranc- Pitchford to announce an urgent Fire Brigades Union
Inquiry hearing to examine the Chris Kitchen (General Secretary)
destruction of evidence by the po- National Union of Mineworkers
lice. The Commissioner Bernard Tim Roache (General Secretary)
Hogan-Howe should be forced to GMB union
give evidence under oath to explain Mick Cash (General Secretary) Rail
why, how and under whose authori- Maritime and Transport union
ty documents have been destroyed. Michelle Stanistreet (General Secre-
Lord Justice Pitchford needs tary) National Union of Journalists
to take immediate measures to se- Dave Smith and Roy Bentham (joint
cure all documentation held by the secretaries) Blacklist Support Group