As the populist division of the Tory Party collapses, it should be time for the British public to reflect. People who say, “I don’t do politics”, need to look at themselves, be brave, and ask why they fall for politicians that offer simplistic red-meat solutions to complex questions.  

The Unraveling

That’s how we ended up with Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng. It all started unraveling when Cameron’s government was chased out of town by populist carpetbaggers shortly after Britain left the EU. Those who read and listened about political movements, knew it would end like this. Voters triggered by dog whistling about immigration and EU bureaucrats are wondering where the sunlit uplands are.

There is one fundamental flaw with right-wing populism. It has no substance. It exists purely to allow crooks to fund and dictate government policy, in particular, with regard to taxation, tax avoidance, and costly health & safety and environmental regulation. The dog whistling about boats in the channel and benefits cheats is just a cover to win votes and turn the masses on each other. It is a simplistic distraction tactic to encourage people to “look over there” while the public purse is emptied.  

Ignoring Independent Advice

It should never be forgotten what Truss and Kwarteng did in the lead-up to the mini-budget. They sacked Tom Scholar, the permanent secretary to the treasury, and then failed to submit their budget to the OBR (Office of Budget Responsibility). They didn’t want anyone questioning their folly that tanked the economy, leading to a Bank of England bail-out and Britain being dubbed a third-world country.

The British people need to learn from this. They need to understand that not caring about politics, then voting for someone who gets stuck on a trapeze in Union Jack pants and makes baseless populist promises, is not a good idea. It may result in them losing their house and that’s not funny. It’s self-defeating to be so ignorant about something that can cause so much damage.

Looking Back

If you want to take it right back, look to The Daily Telegraph. They, under the stewardship of their tax-avoiding owners, employed charismatic, choreographed buffoon, Boris Johnson, as their Eurosceptic columnist. Johnson had been sacked by The Times for inventing sources. The Telegraph didn’t care about that and ripped up the source’s rule book. The rule is that a journalist must provide their editor with proof that the source of information is genuine.

This moved the goalposts of journalism and allowed Johnson to write whatever bullshit he wanted, without retribution. Other right-wing papers owned by offshore tax avoiders, soon followed suit, and the dam of journalistic honesty was broken. Described by his former editor (Max Hastings) as a gold medal liar, Johnson couldn’t believe his luck. Johnson may claim to be the original Eurosceptic but it was the tax-avoiding owners of The Telegraph that enabled him. The lies he wrote, eventually led him to the power he craved via Brexit. Johnson didn’t care about the damage as he got to play at being Churchill whilst purging the Tory party of all its sensible heads that might keep him in check.

The Chaotic End

And here we are. In utter chaos, with the bar so low, that Jeremy Hunt has been given the chancellor’s job because he behaves like a grown-up. Who’d have thought that having grown-ups running the country might be a good idea?

As Liz Trussterfuck might say…

THAT. IS. A. DISGRACE!