you mean we're not there yet?
the Tories, Labour, and exhaustion
We were out on our Eastport walkabout this morning when Britain’s election came up. We are neither specialists on the United Kingdom, though I have had the privilege of either living for a year or visiting frequently over the forty-five years. My husband fell head over heels for it when he first got there in 2004 as he found it fascinating how beautiful it was to train through the countryside. We make a point of savouring each and every opportunity to get there, if possible.
We are both dumbfounded by the election process slowly making its way through its cycle. To read the news (which we both do daily, along with listening to the BBC America news most evenings), the Tories are unquestionably dreading the general election which must occur by the end of January 2025 if I understand the unwritten rules (Mercifully we have friends who live there who subscribe to this so I know they can correct what I get wrong).
Labour had another strong showing, defined as thrashing the Conservatives, this past week in what I think are bi-elections with the leader Keir Starmer smiling broadly on a couple of newspaper pages in this country. The Conservatives have held the leadership since a power-sharing arrangement with the Lib Dems between 2010 and 2015. That coalition gave way to David Cameron—excuse me—Sir David Cameron, knighted despite making the most disastrous British choice of the twenty-first century when he called for—then proceeded to lose—a popular referendum on Brexit in 2016. Cameron disappeared (until he came back as Foreign Minister last year which is an amazing statement in and of itself, isn’t it?) with successors Teresa May, BoJo (the Trumpian Boris Johnson straight out of central casting), and Liz ‘I can rule and ruin in 44 days’ Truss in Number 10 before Rishi Sunak became Prime Minister soon after Queen Elizabeth’s passing in the autumn of 2022.
That Sunak has run Britain for nearly two years strikes me not as indicative of his strength but of the exhaustion of the Tory party. It is hard to imagine, even having watched the back and forth on sending immigrants to Rwanda, the withdrawal pains from Europe, the ecstasy of the AUKUS membership along with whispered questions about how to pay for it along with everything else, and seemingly interminable industrial actions for the whole of his tenure so far, that he still serves in that position. It’s hard to imagine anyone still serving in that position, especially in the Party that’s held power singularly or jointly for a full generation now. But he does it with a painful smile.
Please, please do not get me wrong: running any country in the 2020s is an impossible feat. It’s no wonder as many governments are authoritarian around the globe as there are as citizens demand results but don’t do provide of the citizenry engagement that would help with those results. I am a lover of democracy, as messy as it may be with our own embarrassing trials and tribulations at the top of the list. I honestly cannot fathom why anyone is interested in the task. But we must persist.
It’s not just the scrutiny of everything from whether you wear briefs or boxers (for those too young to recall, Bill Clinton was indeed asked that question on MTV or such in 1992) but it’s also what schools your hairdresser’s kids attend, what type of beer you drink (sweet stout, thank you), and a myriad of other utterly irrelevant stuff to fill the endless stream of online tele and radio shows as well as the proliferation of ‘news’ outlets. Best I can tell, Britain retains a somewhat stronger link between using the term ‘news’ and some facsimile of the event having occurred (unlike this country where fabrication seems relatively common, if not preferred, on some outlets) but that doesn’t mean that some of the issues reaching the top of the national debate are really relevant to anything except hyperactivity for the sake of selling papers or tele licenses.
But, the tribulations hide an ever more discouraging modern governing prospect: buyers’ remorse that drives support down down down into the ring of fire. Regardless who wins the next election, the politicians’ inability to match expectations with performance is the norm rather than exceptional. I can’t think of a western democracy where enthusiasm describes any of the political landscape these days. Whether it’s the painful, prolonged Biden versus Trump rematch or Sunak and Starmer or Netanyahu and the world, expectations are low because we the publics vote against what we don’t like which means it’s hard to feel good after the voting ends.
If Biden wins, the instantaneous effect will be to refocus everything to 2028 since Biden surely would not run again. I’m not sure pundits or the press would even take a breath between the two elections with speculation so high. If Trump were the victor, buyers’ remorse would occur as he focused not on their grievances but his personal grievances, leading to a sense of frustration while providing yet another instance of the electoral process disappointing those already discouraged. Governing, results, and everything else become afterthoughts, sadly.
Europe’s continuing corruption issues for former French presidents (how long has it been since a retired resident at the Champs Elysees Palace has not faced corruption charges?) or the leaders in Germany’s parties remain as likely as those in any developing nation under a unrestrained military government—or that of China or Vietnam. No wonder Viktor Orban seeks to rule with a heavy hand to prevent digging up dirt on what occurs in Hungary, much like Xi Jinping’s unwillingness to allow examination and accountability for the CCP and its actions.
Who will succeed Rishi Sunak if Labour defeats the Tories as so many expect? One of the observations I noted to my husband this morning is that I don’t hear a lot of names bandied about. I suppose BoJo could reappear from the wings along with other characters I am simply not tracking adequately. Starmer himself runs a rather unruly bunch, frequently anti-Semitic and downright horrifying to a substantial portion of the British electorate beyond the old Labour heartlands. Certainly the nationalist parties in Scotland and Wales seem unable and definitely unwilling to support national leadership in exchange for regional benefits.
According to this morning’s news, Sunak seems less inspired to hold an election soon (no kidding) though I believe he must face the voters by January of next year. Britain’s system is less painful in that they endure the intense political hostilities for a mere (doesn’t feel that way, I am sure) six weeks versus our never-ending four year cycles of abuse masquerading as elections.
What these people in lofty political positions as governing and wannabe governing elites across the wearying western democracies miss is that we are watching the decay of political systems without recognising what will replace them. More than once I have noted that Venezuela, today a ridiculously governed place which should be wealthy and functioning had a vibrant two party system which eroded through complacency, at best, and political malpractice as a alternate explanation. Thirty years ago today, few if any thought it could be in the hands of bumbling thug today as everyone ignored the signs of voter disgust and party self-satisfaction.
Do others need go there to wake up to this decay?
I welcome your thoughts on electoral politics, Britain, and the rest. I certainly may have it all wrong but do worry about the actions and resulting consequences we see too often. Thank you for your time, you interest, and your commitment to this newsletter. Please feel free to circulate this if you find it of value. I especially welcome readers from across the pond to chime in.
Be well and be safe. FIN