Wednesday, 15 January 2025
Stuck with the Blob
Something which has become fairly obvious over the years is that developed countries such as the UK, rarely have a political government as promoted by political parties looking for votes. We don’t have a Parliament providing, on behalf of voters, pragmatic political oversight of the bureaucracy and all its associated pressure groups – the Blob as we sometimes call it.
The Blob directs political theatre, but is not entirely human and only partly based in the UK. It has impersonal aspects where situations evolve from both human and impersonal roots, from decisions, laws, markets, language, fashions, rules, transactions, aspects of human behaviour which don’t change much and aspects of reality which don’t change at all.
The Blob both responds to and influences what is published by the media, but not in the sense of applying political principles, promises or by consulting manifestos. The last general election didn’t introduce new political principles, ambitions, policies or whatever. The last general election is over, in the past, done with, buried and forgotten.
Fumbling along in a fog of complexity, it is a mistake to think we are able to change the Blob by casting one vote every five years. It is certainly a sound idea to call for change, to criticise absurdities, absurd people, absurd fashions, absurd failures and corruption. Of course it is, but like throwing pebbles from the beach into the sea, it doesn’t change anything - the tide doesn’t change, the waves don’t adjust their waving.
Not that voting is a waste of time, but it is more opinion poll than a route to change. In itself, an election it isn’t likely to change anything voters thought they were voting for. It might possibly make the work of the Blob more difficult for a while, but this isn’t likely to be a positive development and isn’t likely to be permanent. We know it too - for decades we’ve seen how it all works, or rather doesn’t work.
What we can say is that here in the UK, many things are not done well and much is done badly, especially when the Blob has a role to play. Yet it is a mistake to think this can be corrected by voting. It has rarely worked in the past and shows no signs of working in the future.
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5 comments:
Medieval Bury St Edmunds was dominated by its own Blob - the monks of its Abbey. At one point exasperated citizens beheaded the Prior and displayed his head in the market. Wokeypedia used to contain a good account of events but it seems now to have been suppressed. God knows why, eh?
Anyway the day is saved by the website of the Abbey. "Relations between town and abbey were often tense, occasionally erupting into riots as in 1327 when the abbey gate was burnt down and in 1381 when the Prior was killed."
Peaceful reform of the Blob is now virtually impossible, as it is very good at neutralising what it sees as a threat. The experience of Dominic Raab springs to mind. Attempts at changing things were met with accusations of bullying.
There is some cause for hope, however, in that the more powerful the Blob gets, the more obvious it is that it has interests which markedly diverge from those who pay for it. The Civil Service working from home, for example. People working in supermarkets and factories have surely noted that. Along with everything else.
Well, as I'm always saying, give violent insurrection a chance. Participants, if they play their cards right, could end up with government compensation under the human rights acts.
Look at America. Trump won his first Presidency vowing to 'drain the swamp' - and the swamp counter-attacked. But the Biden won - showing how the swamp would behave without restraint and people took a fresh look and didn't like it. Trump II seems to be taking a much more uncompromising line. We will see if the swamp can be drained.
Now in the UK the Conservatives floated on top of the swamp, choosing not to challenge it and have now been roundly rejected. Starmer (and Labour) is a creature of the swamp and doesn't even realise the swamp is sucking him down. Perhaps we will have to have a bigger political upheaval?
And you can order a red ball cap from Amazon with your own logo. I don't know if Amazon would deliver a MUKRA cap to 10 Downing Street.... I certainly don't care to wear one myself.
dearieme - sounds as if the rebels had a sense of humour too -
Two luckless symbols of authority felt the full weight of the mob’s hatred. One was the King’s Justicar (Chief Justice), Sir John Cavendish, author of the hated poll-tax, the other the abbey’s Prior, John De Cambridge. Both were decapitated, their heads were put on spikes in the marketplace, facing each other as in mocking conversation.
https://www.abbeyofstedmund.org.uk/news/the-town-rebels-and-more-trouble/
Sam - yes that's an interesting point, the activities of the Blob are becoming more obvious. Even if some people don't notice, the chances are that it will be pointed out to them on social media or just verbally by friends and colleagues. Online jokes, video clips, one-liners, all one click away.
Tammly - if events unfold as they are doing, then something dramatic might come of it. Starmer has stirred up something and has no idea how to make tactical retreats.
DJ - I think Trump is likely to run into difficulties. He only has four years and the Swamp has ways of undermining his appointees one by one. The best he can do may be to establish a lasting change of mood as already seems to be initiated.
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