Clark – I note that you comment in a lot of areas and undoubtedly share Craig’s and indeed my own passion for fighting injustice and dealing equitably with the serious issues that our people and our planet face. This can easily lead to becoming overwhelmed by all the really awful things that tend to dominate our news cycle to the point where one feels helpless and depressed. Beware, the onslaught on our mental health is just as dangerous as the risk to our physical wellbeing. I thought we had reached a turning point in December and things were about to change for the better under a progressive Government. The sickening result of the Covert 2019 Rigged Election plunged me into severe depression; it was such a massive shock because it made no sense after Boris Johnson’s truly disastrous election campaign. I am trying to dig myself out of that dark place in the only way I know how; my writing and my protest over the injustice of the Stolen Election in the hope that we can reverse the damage.
It could all have been so very different under a decent Government ditching all the toxic anti-immigrant rhetoric and getting Brexit reconsidered in a way that would be acceptable to everyone without punishing the most impoverished regions of this country. The long-suffering working poor would have got a pay rise and public sector workers including our NHS staff would have felt genuinely valued for their contribution to society. Struggling social programs and public services would have seen real investment instead of shallow, soon to be broken, promises and we would have started into a major shift towards a green economy. But that dream was shattered by Johnson’s triumphant crowing about his “landslide victory” and we now face another decade or more of deprivation.
Having lived all over the world, and travelled a lot when I was younger, I am just as passionate about UK foreign policy; ending the arms sales and support for oppressive despots slaughtering civilians in Yemen, Gaza and elsewhere. This hateful strategy would have ended with a man of peace taking office; our unnecessary military interventions and coercive regime change through harsh sanctions would have ended with an abrupt shift away from jingoistic sabre rattling and British exceptionalism to restoring peaceful global diplomacy. I imagined Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe coming home for Christmas and supportive moves towards Venezuela, Cuba and the Palestinians as we broke rank with Trump and adopted a tougher stance towards Israeli atrocities.
Some issues that Corbyn discreetly avoids talking about would start to emerge after he came into office, like ditching Trident as well as Craig’s crusade for the release and fair treatment of Julian Assange. I have no doubt that the Covid 19 Pandemic would have been handled differently, because Corbyn would have prioritized the most vulnerable in our population first; the Care Homes would not have been abandoned. “Herd Immunity” would not have been harnessed like the Nantucket Sleigh Ride to savagely cull large numbers of “economically inactive” pensioners. If we had taken defensive measures early on to stop the virus entering the UK we would not be in the mess we are in now as we could have kept pace with testing, tracking and tracing while building stockpiles of PPE early. Instead of being the horror story of Europe we could be emerging into the summer sun like New Zealand.
But I am sure you know all this, so why am I bringing it up? Because, without removing this Government, the most we can do now is after-the-fact damage control while the Tory wrecking ball is still swinging towards us at full force. The stealth version of Herd Immunity will continue to be relentlessly perused until the “Holocaust of Care” has fully achieved the Tory “Final Solution” for Social Care. Any required spending will be channelled towards Tory donors as they maximize profiteering from the crisis before dumping the working poor with the bill exacted in more austerity, swinging cuts, benefit and wage freezes. Just when we all think the misery cannot possibly get any worse we will be dragged out of the EU without a deal to suffer another huge hit targeting the poor.
All of the issues that normal compassionate people like Craig, you and I care about will continue to be impacted by the most hard Right wing Tory Government of the past century and no amount of public protest will stop them. The reason I will not allow myself to get distracted by the Covid 19 crisis or deviate from a laser like focus on correcting the injustice of the Covert 2019 Rigged Election is that the only way to reverse all of the catastrophic damage wrought by a decade of Tory misery is by removing Boris Johnson and his wretched Government from office. We simply cannot afford to just back down or stop banging on about this incredibly important issue because Boris Johnson is an aggressive cancer that must be completely excised from the body politic or his repugnant team and their rabid policies will metastasize to destroy every last precious aspect of our once free society.
Yes, I agree that at some point we will need a full legal team to go after Johnson and the leading people in his regime, but first we must gather evidence and, since we cannot rely on the police to go after such politically powerful offenders, this will require really dedicated professional investigative journalists. What has been uncovered and documented so far, here and elsewhere, amounts to a few promising leads, but the details need to be fleshed out before we will be able to present a legal team with a strong case for prosecution. Right now Johnson can still hide behind the “unprecedented crisis” excuse; mistakes made… no clear cut culpability defence. I’m certain that his Election fraud would be easier to unpick, there is no crisis defence to justify what occurred. The Tories are relying on the fact that they have removed all power from the Electoral Commission and the police don’t have specific grounds to charge them with. But, a professional Investigative Journalist could dig up enough evidence for us to consider bringing a case.
In the next few weeks it will become obvious to the EU that the reckless decision making that is costing so many lives in the UK is part of a concerted agenda of deliberate genocide directed towards the elderly, the disabled and the poor; more on this to follow soon. The Tories have ignored the WHO recommendations to the detriment of the population as a whole and they have already been heavily criticized for violating the human rights of our disabled population. There are ways in which the EU can put pressure on member states who dismantle the freedoms and protections of the democracy on which the EU was founded. Britain would represent a far too powerful domino to fall under the boot of authoritarian dictatorship; the EU have already been too complacent about serious violations in Hungary and Poland that curtail the power of the Judiciary and the freedom of the press. If the Tories are able to follow through with their manifesto agenda the UK will represent the most egregious attack on democracy in the history of the EU.
Added to this injustice will be the horror of the massive death toll exacted on the UK population through a deliberately engineered dangerous policy that was bound to cost lives; I don’t think the EU can just ignore such a profound genocidal governance crisis. It is important to note that the Tories are eradicating their most reliable voting demographic with their “Holocaust of Care.” In future the Electoral System will be securely controlled to deliver a fake Tory victory, without the help of pensioners. The Tories don’t need to throw a bone to the working poor by delivering on their false promises of “levelling up” before they “allow” another sham Election in five or ten years time. Another crippling pay freeze is on the way that is the Tory plan to repay NHS staff who risked their lives caring for the sick. Already more NHS and Care staff have “died in action” than British troupes killed in the Iraq war! Doctors and Nurses did not sign up for dangerous combat; fake adulation with community clapping will not hide the betrayal of more pay cuts.
As the deadline for requesting an extension to the Brexit transition period draws near it will soon dawn on the EU negotiators that the UK never had any intention of agreeing a Brexit deal to minimize the harm to both UK and EU citizens, but their opportunity to intervene is urgently needed. I believe that if we can prepare a strong legal case before the fateful crash-out date, the EU Court would be very receptive to our plight. The alternative risks having a former trading partner turn into a rapacious tax haven whose starving populous could become a wave of refugees desperate to escape their hollowed out failing authoritarian state. The Petition launched isn’t accruing many signatures, but with the right Social Media attention it could take off again at some point; it contains the right focus demanding a full investigation that would expose, identify and demand correction of our Electoral System.
My writing is cathartic, but it also has a distinct purpose. I feel a dire need to keep this frail and flimsy protest banner frantically waving, despite the political storm raging around us threatening to tear our pathetic emblem of fading democracy to shreds. You really can actively champion and practically support more than a dozen progressive causes just by fighting to remove this toxic Tory Government from power. While other causes are eminently worthy they represent an increasingly impossible challenge while we still remain under toxic authoritarian rule. If we can seriously delegitimize the validity of that fraudulently usurped governance, we can work towards their removal. While I respect your views and your input there is so much more you might consider doing. If you have contacts, post on Social Media, get in touch, and enlist their help; can you locate a professional investigative journalist? Email a journalist or call a friend; making a difference is part of the healing process we all crave: you too can be a part of it.