Benedict Spence has a fine Critic piece on a familiar problem, the extraordinary shallowness of managerialism.
Weren’t the grownups meant to be back in charge?
Shallow managerialism has failed us already
Britain is a bastion of stability again. As Europe pivots right, America regresses, and Putin menaces the world, our happy home is sane once more. The unmentionables are out of government, the untouchables on the back foot, and the unquestionables in the ascendency. The Financial Times is bullish. Andrew Marr says the money’s pouring in. Brussels is fluttering its lashes at us. Olympic opening ceremonies, the height of cultural sophistication, are en vogue once more. The serenity is palpable. The swagger unstoppable. Yes folks, the twenties, slightly later than billed, are roaring again: the grownups are back in charge.
There may have been some trying times of late, but I think we can all agree (put that down) that we can see the improvements already. A sensible approach to government (I said down) has been sorely lacking, but now we have a prime minister and chancellor (indoor voices, please) who understand (is that smoke?) what needs to be done (can you not use that word?) to get the economy back on track, (that’s definitely smoke) provide a more progressive approach to solving crime (call 999) and create a fair, compassionate immigration system (I think we need to leave) that serves both the interests of the labour market (the door’s locked!) and shelters the world’s (break it down!) most vulnerable (*muffled screams*).
The whole piece is well worth reading as a good, solid dose of deserved sarcasm directed at the ridiculous beings who would rule over us.
In the aftermath of the Southport knife attack, Downing Street and Parliament were lit up in pink lights — lighting now considered a more subdued, tasteful gesture to the garish approach of spontaneously breaking into a chorus of “Don’t Look Back in Anger” when something truly horrific has happened to small children. That was supposed to be the end of it. The subsequent violence, and howls of anguish from the wings, has highlighted just how unsettled, and out of control, the grown ups really are. Out have come the usual suggestions — send in the army! Censor the internet! Bring back emergency covid measures! Anything, other than addressing the problems themselves.
Britain is a bastion of stability again. As Europe pivots right, America regresses, and Putin menaces the world, our happy home is sane once more. The unmentionables are out of government, the untouchables on the back foot, and the unquestionables in the ascendency. The Financial Times is bullish. Andrew Marr says the money’s pouring in. Brussels is fluttering its lashes at us. Olympic opening ceremonies, the height of cultural sophistication, are en vogue once more. The serenity is palpable. The swagger unstoppable. Yes folks, the twenties, slightly later than billed, are roaring again: the grownups are back in charge.
There may have been some trying times of late, but I think we can all agree (put that down) that we can see the improvements already. A sensible approach to government (I said down) has been sorely lacking, but now we have a prime minister and chancellor (indoor voices, please) who understand (is that smoke?) what needs to be done (can you not use that word?) to get the economy back on track, (that’s definitely smoke) provide a more progressive approach to solving crime (call 999) and create a fair, compassionate immigration system (I think we need to leave) that serves both the interests of the labour market (the door’s locked!) and shelters the world’s (break it down!) most vulnerable (*muffled screams*).
The whole piece is well worth reading as a good, solid dose of deserved sarcasm directed at the ridiculous beings who would rule over us.
In the aftermath of the Southport knife attack, Downing Street and Parliament were lit up in pink lights — lighting now considered a more subdued, tasteful gesture to the garish approach of spontaneously breaking into a chorus of “Don’t Look Back in Anger” when something truly horrific has happened to small children. That was supposed to be the end of it. The subsequent violence, and howls of anguish from the wings, has highlighted just how unsettled, and out of control, the grown ups really are. Out have come the usual suggestions — send in the army! Censor the internet! Bring back emergency covid measures! Anything, other than addressing the problems themselves.
11 comments:
The scariest aspect of this is the possibility that harsh prison sentences and tough language will deter rioters, and Starmer will just plough on regardless. An avalanche of immigrants, banning twitter and equivalents, and Islamophobia laws. What could we actually do about it if they cut us off from alternative sources of information?
Looking at the BBC today, I realise that in a few short years I have stopped seeing it as a flawed but generally reliable source of news, and now think of it as a very elaborate left-wing blog.
If you really want to see how the 'adults' behave just read a few of the articles in the Guardian... just from today:
These riots are more than thuggery: they’re the outcome of 14 years of Tory race-baiting ~ George Monbiot
Some are calling these far-right riots an outpouring of legitimate anger. They are not
~ Joe Mulhall
Labour should listen to pro-Gaza voters. But it’s letting toxic narratives about them flourish
~ Owen Jones
Can Britain really keep the rise of the populist right at bay? History tells us it can
~ David Kynaston
Pearls have been clutched so hard there are only handfuls of pearl dust left.
How I wish that everybody at that brief appearance of Surkier, with his bunch of Spad bought, full expenses claimed, provided by us, flowers at the scene of the murder of three children had taken the knee. The picture of his bafflement would have been priceless.
Sam - a very elaborate left-wing blog describes the BBC very well. It has probably been that for a long time but we didn't notice it so much when there were few alternatives apart from Private Eye which we thought was radical enough even though it wasn't.
DJ - ha ha, handfuls of pearl dust indeed. The Guardian is at least an extreme reminder of how far politically accepted discourse has moved on its journey towards totalitarian rule. Not a good situation, but at least we know.
Doonhamer - I'd like to have seen that too. Sir Kneel is very good at bafflement.
Looking at those quotes I'm glad I've never read The Guardian. Are their contributers mad?
Tammly - yes I think they are mad. Professionally mad maybe, but mad.
@Tammly
For a while the articles were all left-leaning but you could have a quality debate in 'Comment is Free'. But BREXIT was a hot topic and when Remainers lost the Referendum something seemed to break and no dissenting opinion could be entertained.
We gave up the Guardian long ago when we decided that the authors of Letters to the Editor were bonkers, virtually without exception.
dearieme and DJ - it was the environmental articles for me. I gave up on the Guardian decades ago because I thought their environmental coverage was deranged.
So we took The Independent for a while. Then a large article appeared about penis jewellery. My wife remarked that we didn't seem to be the target audience so we stopped that. The Times without Bernard Levin proved a feeble thing so we moved to the Telegraph.
Our best daily paper had been The Scotsman but that was more than forty years ago. I dare say it's feeble now.
dearieme - I used to enjoy Bernard Levin's pieces in the Times. I remember one where he lambasted the expansion of university education as something which would lead to lower standards. Obvious really, but still it went ahead.
Post a Comment