How suited are our MPs to their role? Do they take governance of the UK seriously, or are MPs simply seeking the limelight?
In a recent
Freedom of Information Act request to the MP for Maidstone, the question was
posed “What is the government’s plan to reduce the £2.4 trillion National
Deficit”. This is a very significant issue and is a ticking time bomb.
Inflation will push up monthly borrowing, which before the crisis was already
larger than some government department spends.
Her response
“A clear financing strategy is in place to meet
the Government’s funding needs, which is set independently of the Bank of
England’s monetary policy decisions. It is for the Monetary Policy Committee to
take decisions on quantitative easing operations to meet the objectives in
their remit, and my colleagues at the Treasury remain fully committed to their
independence.”
It all sounds very clever and certainly
sounds like there is a plan in place, but it is utter nonsense. The reader is
bamboozled with jargon and platitudes, a typical response from government.
Quantitative easing simply means, printing
money. Does this work and is it a long-term plan? We are meant to learn from
history, but it certainly doesn’t seem that the government has learned anything
from history. In Germany in the 1930s printing money was a fall-back position
and it led to hyperinflation. You could go into a coffee shop for a 1000-mark
coffee and by the time you paid it was significantly more expensive. Printing
money is a stop gap, and the MPs response shows lack of thought. Government
borrowing will not be curtailed and so printing of money will continue to be
the plan. That is highly dangerous and is NOT a plan.
So, what do we learn from this. 1. The government
doesn’t have a plan, or the MP doesn’t know the plan, 2. The MP/government
possibly fails to see how dangerous the plan is. 3. MPs may not be suited to
their role and may not have a clue about key issues. 4. MPs/government are
content to fob off the public with platitudes and treat them with contempt.
What about other government plans? Boris
Johnson recently criticised Tony Blair for failing to plan for nuclear energy
facilities. However, there has been several prime ministers since Tony Blair - Brown,
Cameron, May and Johnson. So, the reality is that none of them has had a clear
energy strategy, apart from wind farms and solar, which would only ever deliver
a fraction of UK needs. Even if the successive governments claim they had a
strategy, it is abundantly clear that they all failed, given the current
crisis.
Other areas where there is a lack of long-term
planning:
1.
Water. The recent
drought has highlighted that no action has been taken since the last drought in
the 70s. Same with sewage.
2.
Policing.
Successful arrests seem outrageously low, and burglaries are not even attended.
The police appear to be non-effective.
3.
Military, Numbers
have been successively cut despite manifesto pledges and of course increasing
instability in Ukraine, South China Sea.
4.
NHS. The only plan
seems to be to spend more than the opposition. Does the government even know or
care what happens to the money?
5.
No clear Energy
policy.
6.
No clear policy on
reducing the National Debt
7.
Selling off UK
companies leading to asset stripping and or tax avoidance.
8.
The pandemic lab being
closed months before Covid struck.
9.
The UK gas reserve
facility being shut months before the energy crisis.
What about election manifestos? Every
election follows with U-turns and manifestos are simply abandoned as soon as a
party is elected. In effect, the only plan is shredded and was only in place to
dupe the electorate. It is a common joke in the UK that politicians cannot be
trusted, and yet we all seem to accept it. When it comes to elections, only
about two thirds[1]
of the population votes. So, a third of the population were possibly too frustrated
that no government seems to make a difference? Are we simply voting for the
best of the worst parties in an election?
It is becoming clear that no government
in the last 30 years have had any long-term plans. There is clearly no thinking
in government. MPs seem only in government either for fame or to back-stab
colleagues to climb the political ladder.
As an example of MPs seeking fame, a very prominent MP abandoned her
electorate in favour of fame in I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here 2012.
So, what is the answer. The UK government
needs to be answerable to the public, after all it is the UK electorate that
they represent. The exact mechanism needs some thought but as an example, a
body of people, probably around 20 or so, should replace the House of Lords.
Their remit should be:
1.
To identify key
areas that need government strategies, such as National Debt, Energy,
Education, Policing, Climate Change, etc (as examples).
2.
To ensure that
these areas have clear and meaningful long-term plans and not simply platitudes
and that these plans are being addressed and met.
3.
Election manifestos
are reasonable and are also achieved. Manifestos should not be outlandish to
simply get votes and then lead to U-turns.
4.
The Civil Service
should once again take a lead role in planning the above and should be the
connection between changing governments. Quangos filled by friends and families
of MPS are not working, are not fit for purpose, and cost too much money.
5.
A method should be
found to ensure MPs are suited to their office, prior to their standing for the
role.
6.
British Industry is
not sold off to overseas companies, then asset stripped, despite assurances.
In summary, the UK has been severely let
down by successive governments spanning at least 30 years. The National Debt is
a massive ticking timebomb. Quantitative easing, if that is the only plan, is a
potential disaster and we need to learn from history and mistakes made. Long
term planning in all departments is essential and to date has been absent for
many, many years. It is simply not good enough and successive governments have
failed the UK people.
[1] https://inews.co.uk/news/politics/general-election-turnout-2019-uk-voter-numbers-how-many-people-voted-374546
