Britain, its economy, its politics, its administration, its policing and justice system and how our society is run is in a state of deep and worrying malaise. It should not be like that and I don’t want it to be like this, but it is that way.
Dan Salt of the ****Politically Homeless**** blog has made a magisterial but sad comment on the X platform on the state of things in the United Kingdom at the moment. I find myself in agreement with nearly all of his assessment on how bad things are, why we are here and like him find myself exasperated by the cowardice and cynicism of our political and media classes.
Mr Salt made the following comment on the X platform in response to a comment by the actor turned political commentator Lawrence Fox who also expressed disgust at how Britain is run.
Mr Salt said:
Once upon a time I largely trusted the state and our institutions I simply don't anymore.
They appear to be stuffed full of lying, self serving and pretty corrupt individuals who put their careers before the country and its people.
That's very sad as there are many hard working, caring and honest people in there but they just don't appear to be able to guide the system now.
We are tumbling crisis after crisis towards a major systemic one and the clever people in charge still think it's all a game
This is all made worse by a media which has incinerated its reputation over the last 10 years - so much of it has gone full CNN and doesn't even look embarrassed - no wonder the public has turned off.
Cynicism doesn't come close to how I feel and that makes me so very very sad - for I am believer in democracy and I love my country but I question both now - how can one not after hearing ever more about the rape gangs - but worse than that even now the sheer cynicism of the political class.
From the desperate deflecting over the race / culture of the monsters who did it through to starting the Southport trial on the day of the Trump inauguration in a desperate effort to bury it.
We aren't led by good or moral people - we are led by cowards who even now treat us like children because they are terrified what we will do if we find out what they have visited directly and indirectly on the country for decades.
Their go to response even now to hide - to use the power of the state up censor - to silence people via the judicial system and finally by labelling us all far right - cynicism and anger are the only two emotions which make sense.
I don't think it will hold - but I'm worried about what happens next - humans took up politics to facilitate peaceful decision making - but what happens when trust is gone and no one believes that the people in charge care - because that's where we are now.
There is so much rage in the country and it's getting worse - the system is failing in everyway and yet the political class make out like one quick heave will fix it - it won't now because trust is gone and people just don't believe it.
I hope someone decides to speak up but I doubt it - certainly Starmer won't - he's emotional dead and unable to emote because he can't accept that he, his worldview and his entire class are why we are here.
I'm very very sad for my country and people. *
Mr Salt is correct. Whilst there are decent, caring, patriotic and intelligent people involved in British politics, such people are not the ones calling the shots. The indecent, the uncaring, the ones who hate Britain and the thick but ambitious politicians are the ones in control and don’t we know it.
As someone who has observed politics in Britain for decades I can accept that there are some situations where accepting realpolitik and being a little cynical is necessary. But the problem is that all we have from our politicians is cynicism and self interest. Too many of our political class put their own careers or their own party tribe above everyone else and they say damn the consequences while they are doing so.
Mr Salt is also right about the decline of the media in the UK. I’m old enough to remember when a person could consider themselves well informed because they consumed some of the best that once great organisations like the BBC could give them. Now I find that when I talk to people who get the majority of their news from the BBC I find myself being astonished about how ill informed about matters these people are.
Change does need to come to Britain, proper change not just the empty buzzwords used by politicians, but change that puts right the errors of the past and the problems that the political classes have created for us. I want to see this change affected by way of the ballot box but how can this happen when so many Britons have lost all faith in anyone involved in British politics at any level? We the British people deserve better than we are getting but how on earth do we get the better nation that we all deserve?