The awfulness of the new Cabinet is unprecedented in my lifetime. The embarrassment of viewing the moment in their first meeting when Johnson did his “call and reply” bit was beyond all reason. For those who may have missed it, the British Prime Minister asked a series of questions which elicited a series of answers, based upon the fictitious number of hospitals they will build, the number of new nurses, and so on. Every answer was a lie, based upon the Tory propaganda previously announced in recent weeks.
In my December 2019 post Dog Days there was a section titled Tories Old and New. Johnson sacked the more sensible members of his party before the election, or they chose not to stand again (or both). This meant the new batch of Tory MPs are either spineless, unprincipled yes-men and women or rabid “true believers” in the cause of far right English nationalism. A more succinct term for these – worthless or scarily evil – individuals would be Zeroes and Villains.
Zeroes
Most of the new Cabinet Ministers appear to have no discernible talents whatsoever. In a recent article for the Guardian, columnist Polly Toynbee called them “pipsqueaks and placemen, yes-women and yellow bellies”. She also says that this Cabinet is “the most under-brained, third-rate cabinet in living memory”, an analysis with which I concur strongly. The important, and disturbing, point here is that Johnson’s Rasputin, one D Cummings, will brook no dissent. The constructive dismissal of Sajid Javid as Chancellor amply illustrates this frightening truth. A clear inference from this is that Rishi Sunak is a Zero who will do Rasputin’s bidding.
Another Zero is the new Attorney General Suella Braverman, described as a “biddable mediocrity” in the latest Private Eye, who is “ready to say anything to get on”. Legal correspondent Owen Bowcott’s Guardian article explains why we should all be worried about Braverman’s views on wresting control from the judiciary.
An excellent article by Ian Dunt on the politics.co.uk website spells out why dissent in any decision-making body – in this case the UK Cabinet – is necessary to improve the quality of decision making. Johnson isn’t going to get this from his Zeroes. So this increases the risk – if indeed that were possible – of poor policy making. Watch out for the first cock-up before long. On the subject of Ian Dunt, here’s another excellent piece by him this week, explaining why ending free movement is such a bad idea: damaging both economically and socially.
Villains
I listed Gove, Rees-Mogg, Raab and Patel as the “swivel-eyed lunatics” in my December blog post. Call them “true believers” or Villains if you like. None of them can be expected to challenge Johnson’s (i.e. Cummings’) views on policy. There’s a touch of Zeroes about them too. For example, Patel has been quoted by one of her senior civil servants as having no interest in the rule of law. Surely this would, in normal times, disqualify her automatically from the post of Home Secretary.
There’s more than a touch of Zero about the Villains, too. For example, in an interview this week, Patel repeatedly used the phrase “counter-terrorism” when she meant “terrorism”. It makes you wonder if she really has any idea what she’s talking about. (See Michael “the Room Next Door” Spicer’s funny take on YouTube here.) But, deep inside this shell of total incompetence, there’s a heart of pure evil. Her comments about 8.5 million “economically inactive” Britons taking over the work of unskilled immigrants (to be barred from entering the country) is a case in point. Patel fails to comprehend that the overwhelming majority of these 8.5 million are students, retired, already carers or have long-term health conditions. Zero and Villain, all in one.
Invisible Men
So where is the country’s beloved leader in all this time of floods and major policy announcements? Hiding in a big house in Kent, apparently. From the evidence so far, this Government is setting out to be the least accountable, as well as the least competent and most cruel in my lifetime. Johnson is truly the Invisible Man.
But, sadly, so too is the current leader of the official Opposition. I said earlier that it was a mistake for Jeremy Corbyn to hang around after Labour’s massive election defeat. Either he’s in hiding too or the media are ignoring him on the grounds that his views don’t matter: he’s a lame duck. At least half the country is crying out for some forensic, incisive opposition. It seems an awful long time to the 4th April when Labour announce the winners of Leadership and Deputy Leadership elections.
With every day that passes, Johnson’s gang of Zeroes and Villains drag us further down towards authoritarianism and, dare I say it, fascism. Some real resistance to this slide cannot come soon enough for me.
