Why We are So Badly Governed

We are badly governed. The rich get richer; the poor get poorer. The state preys on the unfortunate. Staggering amounts of money are wasted on failed projects. The government is doing its best to clamp down on peaceful protest.

If the two main parties hold to their current policies, we can expect us to remain on the brink of recession next year. But GDP is a very poor measure of how the vast majority of people are coping. A much better measure is how many people are in unrepayable debt. Although since the pandemic the number of new individual insolvencies has been falling, the trend has reversed. What is not being reported is the number of continuing IVAs. Debt charities are reporting a worsening situation. Campaigners have called for a legal duty of care for local authorities chasing debts. The trouble is that many local authorities are facing bankruptcy. Governments may think they can ‘keep the lid on’. I suggest they may fail to allow for the increasing numbers of young people without hope, without resources and with nothing to lose. These people will commit low level property crime, and muggings. Though the latter may not cause serious injury, the trauma and loss of earnings are a serious concern. The strain on the police and the justice system coping with this is enough without rhe draconian measures against peaceful protest. While we have the First Past the Post voting system, peaceful protest is the only effective means by which we can be heard. Due to delays in the courts system, things are getting to the point where people are punished without charge due to unreasonable bail conditions.

It is likely that the Tories will lose the election, but will Labour under Starmer do any better? He seems as intolerant of peaceful protest as the Tories. He has no qualification in Economics that I am aware of. He seems to rely on his shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves. Her paper in May 2023 on ‘A New Business Model for Britain’ whish was welcomed by some economists. This was spoilt however by her insistence on unnecessary tight fiscal rules, which among other things will delay climate action. She also fails to recognise the disastrous failure of the Bank of England’s policy on interest rates.

Effective leaders should listen to those with whom they disagree but respect. They need to understand why the other person disagrees. That way they learn.

The classic example of this is perhaps president Franklin D Roosevelt when faced with the great depression. He had to abandon his previous beliefs about economics and consult with many in his administration. Only then could he come up the New Deal. The current generation of Tory and Labour politicians seem incapable of behaving in this way. Why is this?

I think this is because our system of politics is all about power. These politicians are essentially competitive. They are less concerned with discovering what is the right thing to do, than with attempting to discredit the opposition. Above all they love power. This in itself is not a crime, but its consequences must be resisted.

Those who celebrate our uncodified constitution repeat the comfortable narrative of how over the centuries we have successfully resisted absolute power. However, since the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 was passed, most constitutional developments seem to have been attacks by government on democracy.

In September 2023 the Institute for Government and the Bennett Institute published a joint report on ‘Review of the UK Constitution’. There were some useful recommendations which as far as I know have been ignored by the government. I recommend everyone to read the summary at least at here However these recommendations would not in my view tame the power hungry ‘leaders’ we have. Accordingly I have made some suggestions for reform at here . At the heart of these are measures to end the culture of lying, misrepresentation, and secrecy.

If challenged our ‘leaders’ might be forced to admit that what they say or do is conditioned by what billionaire donors and media owners will allow.

If all parties in the House of Commons were to agree to emergency legislation to curb the influence of billionaires and trillionaires. It might to possible for Britain’s democracy to be rescued. Otherwise we will descend into a dictatorship of money, which will be worse than a military dictatorship.

I am not optimistic. At age 83 with a heart condition it will be my grandchildren who will suffer.

Please email me with any constructive comments on davidsmith658howard@gmail.com

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