I'm no legal bod so this is merely an outsider's observation, but since Keir Starmer appeared on the political scene, I've tended to view him via this 'equation' -
Human rights lawyer = Blob bureaucrat
In other words, our Prime Minister is Deep Blob.
5 comments:
He is a Deep Blob - when the world is gradually turning away from Global Human Rights Moral Superiority. I wonder if he has already realised he is trying to hold back the tide of history?
DJ - he doesn't seem to be great at grasping political realities, but the pressure of change won't be lost on most of his colleagues. Interesting times.
Bureaucrats normally need telling what to do, and the rules they need to follow have to be pointed out to them. There's a strong element of that in him, but the concept of human rights requires something extra. The human rights fanatic needs to have a pre-existing belief that individuals are somehow downtrodden, and that the state and institutions are inherently oppressive. I think it makes more sense to see Starmer as an anti-authoritarian, on the side of Muslims and blacks and trans people, but prepared to crush opposition to his plans by authoritarian means.
I got a letter yesterday from the National Drains Authority, or some such. It advised me on use of the loo. Only the three Ps were to be put into it: pee, poo, and paper. (I count four Ps there but I suppose three is close enough for government work.) Is Sir Sneir Smarmer made of papier-mâché, do you think?
Sam - maybe human rights lawyer is merely something he can do with virtuous goals as the reward. He needs cases to work with, choses the approved source which fits his ideology and where there is lots of scope for a career. The authoritarian stance becomes an inevitable corollary because critics would deny him the virtue and what may be the only thing he can do.
dearieme - is that a suggestion that Sir Sneir Smarmer was made accidentally by some kind of unpleasant blockage? Could be.
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