Proroguing Democracy

I debated about whether to abandon writing my blog for this week, or even for good; the news is just so discouraging, it feels as though I am screaming into a vacuum, and the net result of that is a metaphorical sore throat.

I am of course outraged that our unelected Prime Minister has chosen to bypass any kind of democratic discussion of his Brexit proposals, and then has the nerve to suggest that it has nothing to do with Brexit. His latest outburst (as of 6pm this evening) is to claim that all those trying to prevent the No-Deal Brexit are making it more likely as it gives the European negotiators hope that sense will prevail at the eleventh hour and BJ will cave which he won't. Okay, I've paraphrased the last bit, but that's the general gist.

And what can I do about it?

We've written (well, Rod has, cc'ed me) to our MP in the past, who has replied very politely but firmly stating it was the will of the people and all that, and of course she has concerns but she was sure that Mrs May would address them. That worked out well (not). But the exchange of emails suggests to me that any further contact would be pointless. Maybe I should do it anyway. Then at least the vacuum I'm metaphorically screaming into would have someone else in it.

I could resort to Twitter. Hugh Grant put it most eloquently in this tweet  (those who don't like sweary tweets should probably not follow the link) but has received some appalling comments in reply. Trolling is clearly a major opportunity for those who have excess vitriol. I personally couldn't deal with the kind of attacks that are meted out to Grant and his ilk (eg Philip Pullman) for daring to suggest that what has happened is undemocratic, unethical and, in some aspects, illegal. Fortunately very few people read this blog and most of those are from my own bubble, so I should be okay expressing such views here.

Join a demonstration? I gather there will be several around the country on Saturday, including Oxford (details of them here) but unfortunately I have a prior commitment, going to the graduation of my niece who has just completed her PGCE. I don't know how effective marches will be - the media plays up or down the numbers of demonstrations, depending on their agendas, and the relevant parties/cabals believe what they choose to believe irrespective of the facts.

Ultimately, I feel powerless. And the irony is that many people voted Leave in the referendum because they felt powerless. I can write about it here, I can use poetry as an outlet, but I don't have any real influence over what will happen. I voted in the referendum, and I voted in the general election, and none of it made any difference. It's no wonder that people stop bothering with the democratic process when clearly that's not where the power lies.

'In risu veritas'*

Mark Twain is quoted as saying, "Humor (sic) is the good-natured side of a truth." (I'm going with this quote on the subject, as Twain is American, rather than the possibly better-known 'many a true word is spoken in jest', that can be found in Chaucer and Shakespeare.)

While I hesitate to concede that Trump has a good-natured side, the idea that he can joke with Vladimir Putin about election meddling is a little worrying. The Democratic candidate debates have now started in the States, and Trump wants to have four more years - presumably he hasn't undermined the system quite to his personal satisfaction yet - so meddling from a country whose leader thinks that liberalism has had its day, that Trump is talented and that freedom needs to be limited to remain within the bounds of tradition, isn't something to joke about. We need progress from the kind of Stalinesque values Putin seems to hold so dear, not a regression back to them.

Meanwhile, on the same day, it is reported that Theresa May has told Putin there must be no further interference in the style of the Salisbury attack. Of course, Russia denies any involvement. One has to wonder if other interference - such as election [for which read 'referendum'] meddling would be acceptable. I haven't seen any report of Putin's view of Boris, though as someone who is perfectly happy with a personality cult and no problem with outright lying, he'd probably be happy if Boris won.

That's the Boris who says we're out of the EU on October 31st with or without a deal, and his cabinet will be made up of people who support a no-deal Brexit, an arrangement disliked by the banks and industry, quite apart from people who travel much. Though, let's face it, Jeremy isn't a whole lot better.

It's no wonder I'm grumpy and need to apologise unreservedly to anyone who had the misfortune to interact with me yesterday....


*Latin quote by James Joyce apparently, punning on 'in vino veritas'. A bit of bilingual knavery there!

Why I Find British Politics So Depressing

So today Theresa May finally sets aside the poison chalice that is the leadership of the Tory Party.

Except the really poisonous part, which she hangs on to until the leadership election is conducted and successfully concluded. Being Prime Minister, while we dither over the terms of Brexit.

I don't understand why anyone in their right mind would actively want to be Prime Minister at any time, let alone now when the country is so completely divided. You might have thought that the arrival of Donald Trump would at least unite the country in our loathing of him, but no, Nigel and Boris looked positively delighted to see him.

And the leadership contest continues to rival the Brexit Catastrophe for laughability as the number of candidates is far greater than the number of Tory MEPs. They've had to change the rules to stop it become a total cascade of candidates.

While Theresa May has been leader of the Tory Party, the nation has been dominated by Brexit. Our MPs have been distracted from local issues - such as the completely unnecessary Oxford-Cambridge Expressway - by something that should never have been placed in the hands of the uninformed electorate in the first place. There has been no leadership.

As for the next leader, Boris appears to be the front-runner, a man described by Donald Trump as a friend and a 'great man', although he doesn't seem to be quite so popular within the ranks of his former colleagues in parliament. He probably has his own private health care, so if he is chosen, Trump will doubtless raise the subject again of US interference in the NHS as an integral part of any trade deal.

Our inability to look beyond party politics and some individuals' desire for power is breaking the country. The people who will suffer are those who are powerless to purchase a way out.

Serving a higher cause

There was a slight hiccup in the posting of blog entries as I have been part of the production team behind BCOS' most recent show, Evita. It's kept me busy (and sane!) but in a good way. Even though last year's show, Chess, was a huge success critically and hardly made a loss so that we thought Evita couldn't rival it, it did.

Much of this is down to the people involved - cast, crew, Front of House supporters and others. Whether it was spending spare minutes on Saturday from work to purchase additional supplies for the Front of House, or learning both a chorus part and a principal role in case the leading lady was ill, there is such dedication to the show over and above personal wants, that between us, we pulled off an astonishing piece of theatre that played to virtually full houses of very happy, extremely complimentary people.

Putting something else first, above personal wants, is something that a number of politicians could try. There are too many jokes doing the rounds about the number of Tory party leadership candidates for it to be funny. If only some of those in parliament could try to put the needs of the country first, instead of their party or their own greed for power (naming no names, Mr Johnson), we wouldn't be in the mess we're currently in.

When the bookies' front runners are endorsed by Donald Trump, you know we're in trouble.