The debate about 'levelling up' prompts this 10-tweet summary of the Johnson Govt. 1/10
The Johnson Govt excels at 'sloganeering populism'. 'Get Brexit Done', 'Global Britain', 'Freedom Day'... and now 'Levelling up'.
The rhetoric projects energy and is meant to show a Govt devoted to 'the people's priorities'. 2/10
Behind the rhetoric, one might hope for some substance, and for at least the beginnings of a coherent policy agenda. And yet - be it the relationship with the EU or the wider world, COVID or tackling inequality - there is *nothing*. 3/10
On each of these issues, the Govt has shown itself to be unable to make choices. It seems paralysed. Whenever it moves in one direction, it backtracks.
The Tory Party (and in this it is not alone...) is internally divided and devoid of ideas. 4/10
This void is cast into ever sharper relief, when it is juxtaposed with the energy with which the Govt has pursued what has come to look like its central aim. 5/10
It's central aim is the pursuit of power. It seeks to 'take back control' not only from the EU, but also from Parliament, the civil service and the judiciary. 6/10 blogs.lse.ac.uk/brexit/2020/02…
It uses its patronage and power to dominate the media. Cronyism and corruption are rife (and in the COVID crisis, have cost many thousands of lives). 7/10
As sites of accountability disappear, the only constraint on its power is the popular vote.
The FPTP system is already in its favour. And, it is taking steps (eg on voter ID, the FTPA and constituency boundaries) to load it still further. 8/10
The 'sloganeering populism' is intended to do the rest. That is now coupled with a relentless culture war - a 'stoking of division'. This strategy works (in electoral terms) so long as the minority which supports the Govt is 'large enough'. 9/10
In short: They say that they are doing fine things 'for you'. But look at the evidence. They have done a lot more for themselves than they have done for anybody else. 10/10
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But first, two 'corrections'.
In the tweets on the attempts to shore up power, I omitted to refer to the 'anti-protest' law, described here by @IanDunt. It merits a place.
And there (obviously) shouldn't be an apostrophe in 'its' in tweet 6. 2/ politics.co.uk/comment/2021/0…
So... how should we respond? The first key thing is to accept the inevitability that many of us, who all see the Johnson govt as a danger, will disagree (perhaps profoundly) about the best way forward. The disagreements are here to stay. 3/
It strikes me that there has been a disjuncture - which has abruptly ended - between why people vote as they do; and the appeals which political parties make to people. 1/8
We know that most people vote on the basis that the promises of the party they vote for best match *their* interests and preferences. They vote, in other words, for their selfish interests. 2/
Of course, different people define their interests in different ways. They are also more or less rooted in their community, society etc.
The party which succeeds in best appealing to more people's interests tends to win elections. 3/
The more COVID hospitalisations there are, the less capacity the NHS has to deal with other conditions.
That's right, isn't it? 1/4
The more cases there are, the more hospitalisations there will be. Not at the rate of the second wave, but still.
And the more we lift restrictions, the more cases there will be. 2/4
So... why do SO MANY people argue that we need to lift restrictions now so as to enable the NHS to focus on the huge backlog in relation to other diseases? 3/4
In this thread I listed 5 major policy areas in which, win in Batley or Spen or not, @uklabour seems to be divided: Brexit, the economy, winning elections, COVID and the culture war. 1/5
It would be interesting to know what Labour supporters think about each of the issues (the divide is not a simple left/right or leave/remain divide), and what priority they would give to each of them (or any other pressing issue). 2/5
It would also be interesting to know more about how the Labour leadership is seeking to tackle them, and what (if any) steps they are taking to build support within the party for its (unavoidably contentious) policy positions. 3/5
In the aftermath of Labour's win in #BatleyAndSpen, and in particular the many comments thereon, a thread on the huge the challenges the party faces. 1/11
On all sides of the party there are many people who seek to offer prescriptions of what is needed to revive Labour's fortunes. Their views are strongly held. It seems impossible that evidence, of any kind, will shift them. 2/
The problem is that these strongly-held clear prescriptions, clash. Much of the comment fails to acknowledge that all the 'solutions' face loud, heart-felt opposition within the party. 3/