Blog 2023 Malcolm Blair-Robinson

Tea Party

It is very intersting that Tea Party candidates, endorsed by Sarah Palin, are gaining ground in Republican primaries.

From what I have heard and read of their opinions and approach, I am much reminded of the arguments of the secessionist politicians of the 1850’s. Slavery was then the talisman, as Healthcare is this time, but the argument is and was then really about Federal power and its authority over the individual States. This is much fired up by economic impacts; then the financial losses associated with abolition; now the taxation burden of Obama’s brand of what they see as Socialism.

In the end I suspect the majority of the country of the modern United States is no more inclined to go with this interpretation of the Constitution than it was in 1860. As a student of history I find it truly remarkable that the schism inherent in the ambiguities of the U.S Constitution, settled by a bloodbath of young men in the 1860-65, then and thereafter declared resolved, remains very much alive in the culture one hundred and forty- five years later. It is also interesting to see that the political parties have swapped sides. The rebel cause, its Tea Party brand harking right back to the earliest rebellion against colonial rule, now marches under the banner of the Republican party, founded to champion the power of the Union over its constituent parts.

I do not suppose Sarah Palin has given this much thought.

TUC and the Cuts

The TUC is mobilising the Unions against cuts which hit the disdvantaged. So long as the protest does not become a rash of wild and damaging political strikes which hurt the very people it seeks to champion, this is all part of life in a free society and it is good for a virile democracy. It may not in the short run be good either for the TUC or Labour.

For too long the U.K workforce has lacked a champion. New Labour walked away and the absense of any serious political or intelectual challenge from the Left has contributed towards the excesses of the financial bubble and the disintegration of society’s ability to nurture the universal community spirit, so important a theme of life in Britain in times past. 

This is now changing. Labour is moving left and if Ed Milliband wins, it will become both the conscience of the people, the champion of the workforce and the friend of the vulnerable in need. It will be focused and powerful, but it may not be electorally powerful enough.

Lined up opposite will be a revised from of Liberal Conservatism, last seen between 1931 and 1964. During that time the socially progressive Liberals, including Churchill, fell in with a much more liberal brand of  one nation Toryism. During that time the combination held power for 27 of the 33 years. When given a choice between a left drifting Labour and right drifting Tories, the voters first went marginally for Labour and then at full blast for the Tories of Thatcher and Tebbit. Until Labour moved to occupy the vacated centre ground, it got nowhere. But for the prize of power, it sold its soul. Now Labour has to purge itself and renew. It has a duty to do so.

The country needs to hear the argument. To win it could take, if history repeats itself, quite a time. If the country sees  winning back prosperity as a challenge like winning WWII, it will support the cuts and get on with the job. If it then sees the election year of 2015 in the same political terms as 1945,  a renewed Labour could be there with a chance. A very big chance. It needs to prepare and plan. It needs to live again.

The Pope’s Visit

It is right that the Pope should visit Britain. It is wrong that this should be a State Visit. The status of the Vatican owes more to Italian politics in the days of Mussolini than it does to the real world. Moreover there is no other faith which is also a State, therefore this courtesy conveys a message that the Pope is somehow above other religious leaders, which is the last message in today’s world that any coherent foreign policy should be trying to convey.

The last government got this wrong. The present government is saddled with it. In the end the British people will make the visit an outstanding success, because of their courtesy, some because of their faith and many because of their love of ceremony and spectacle.

Questions will hang in the air, vibrant with the mass devotions. What about the sex abuse? What about condoms in Africa? What about equality among sexes and among those with a different sexual orientation? At the end of the visit there will be a multitude uplifted by Pope Benedict’s blessings. He must in turn go home with a message that faith can remain true when it moves with the times.

Ed Milliband

I see one of the Sunday papers gives Ed a lead in the race for the leadership. This is good news for the Party. The days of New Labour are over. Whatever it may have achieved, it is remembered for the wars and the lies. It is remembered too for creating a quango State with a suffocating and often dysfunctional bureaucratic process and a spin machine which tried to lead the electors away from unwelcome truths. It is also remembered for widening the gap between rich and poor and for abandoning Labour’s traditional role as champion of the poor, the vulnerable and ordinary people who value who  they are more than what they own.

David does not see that. Ed does. That is why it will be a good thing if he wins. The left of centre needs leadership and a plan. He will provide both.

9/11 Anniversary

It is indeed unfortunate that this day of great emotional solemnity for so many, which should be a moment of coming together of humankind, is sullied by the preposterous proposals of a hitherto unheard of pastor of a church almost without followers. It does however tell us that literal and fundamentalist religion of any denomination or faith is a very far cry from a force for good when it advocates insults, hatred and abuse as the road to salvation.

Tony Blair

All the interviews and publicity surrounding his book, together with the extracts I have read, reveal a conflicting personality which is a far cry from the open, refreshing young man, so popular at the start of his premiership.

How can the man who brought peace to Northern Ireland and devolution to Wales and Scotland, be the one and the same to help unleash the crazy wars in Iraq and Afghanistan? How can a devout Roman Catholic convert square his conscience with the terrible suffering caused to innocent civilians, including so many women and children, in these war zones, as a consequence of what he did?  How can he seriously aid the negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, which is commendable, with advocating military force against Iran if it does not do as we want, which is unhinged?

In a hunderd years time historians will have a good deal to say about our Tony.

Hello Again!

At last I am back on line, after a customer experience with BT edging towards delirium for which there is no rational explanation other than a totally dysfunctional system or human incompetence to defy belief. Enough to say that a same day switchover took twenty one days to complete. Never as a monopoly or a nationalised industry did things get to such a pass.

Having got back on line I shall offer a few short posts while getting  into the rythm of regular comment. I have found more than 2700 of your comments awaiting approval. As always there are the relevant mixed with marketing spam, especially for pills. I cannot be as selective as I would like so if your comment goes missing, try again in a few days when I have cleared up.

Meanwhile thank you for your support and your patience.