All my (quite long) life, I have been a keen observer and sometimes participant in the political merry-go-round which is the politics of democracy. By its nature democracy is undisciplined and unpredictable, which is exactly what it needs to be, otherwise it could not and would not be free. But it has to be grown up. And it has to have at its apex, in our case the House of Commons, people who are principled and driven by the desire to make a difference through public service, so as to improve the lot of their constituents who put them there. They also have a responsibility, when in government, to the wider mass of voters who have given their party a majority to govern. They must be compassionate and fair and very conscious of the collective needs and priorities not only of their own party and voters, but of the whole population. What they must not be is journey men and women who view parliament as a stepping stone on their career path to fame and fortune. They cannot fool about forming and trashing one administration after another, clever but stupid, introverted, deaf to reason, blind to light and strangers to truth.
I do not have to list the sad roll call of current Tory MP’s who meet this humiliating specification, reducing our country to something of an international laughing stock, bringing glee to our rivals and enemies and despair to our friends. They are on the back benches, at all levels of government and in the cabinet. Not all of course. There are some honourable souls who lie sleepless at the shocking turn of events. New words are coined. Permacrisis is a good one. Funny even, were it not true.
Time is up. This has to stop.