They’re at it again. The Great Undoshed. Anti-austerity demonstrations in London and other UK cities. What are they thinking? I don’t see an achievable objective here, and without one demonstrating is utterly pointless. And it’s not an isolated case, they’re planning more of these tickle-fests to encourage fiscal irresponsibility.
For some time now Russell Brand’s been going on about a revolution. I imagine the only revolution he’s been involved in is the one where you ‘turn round, touch the ground’ after someone mentions the ‘Scottish Play’ MacBeth, in order to ward off the ridiculous imagined spectre of it bringing bad luck to your line-forgetting thespian board-treading pretentious Arts Council-funded financial Bermuda Triangle. But I digress.
There ain’t going to be a revolution in the UK. There aren’t revolutions while people have food on their table, a roof over their head and heat in the winter. Even Greece hasn’t had a revolution. And they would think any complaining Brits aren’t showing solidarity with the actually dispossessed generation of Greeks, Spaniards etc., but rather taking the piss. We don’t have austerity here! And the Mediterraneans would be the first to point that out.
I have to say also: Cuts? What cuts? During the early noughties we all knew that banking was a significant part of economy, not to say driving it. And bankers were handsomely rewarded for doing well, and, another feature of the bonus system, unrewarded for not doing well. During that time, all of us lived off banking sector windfall after banking sector windfall. Let’s call those windfalls what they really were: bonuses. It paid for Labour to go on a spending spree, blowing money like a lottery winner in a hoodie. So all those extra ‘services’ and ‘jobs’ were paid for, de facto, by the banking sector that still does wonders for our economy.
But now the party’s over. Tony B.Liar and, subsequently, unelected dictator Gordon Clown, blew all the extra money, so it’s not cuts, it’s just back to normal.
Back to the protestors. We just elected a majority government using a system that was ratified by the electorate just a few short years ago in a referendum. Like it or not ‘Out with the Old and in with the Blue’ is the message. What is to be gained by protesting a government before the State Opening of Parliament on 27th May? A new government that, in accordance with our albeit unfair electoral system, has a majority, and therefore may do as they wish, most probably until at least the next General Election in 2020. The protestors exhibit a fundamental failure to understand the simple cart and horse arrangement. It’s a new government that hasn’t done anything yet. So it’s not really reasonable to swear at a new government before it’s even been sworn in, any more than it’s reasonable to put the cart before the horse!
The middle class people of England say “shut up! Get back to work, or thanking the immigrants who do it for you and provide the money to pay your benefits. Or whatever else it is you (pretend to) do. Oh and we had better not find out you never paid your poll tax while the rest of us did…”