Who's Queen?

One of my favourite comedy creations is Miranda Richardson's Queen Elizabeth I in Blackadder II.

'Who's Queen?' is her continuous retort to anyone trying to prevent her from doing exactly as she likes, whenever she likes.

But it has occurred to me that now might be the time for Queen Elizabeth II to final zip into action, aged ninety two and after sixty six years on the throne.  As we know, in a constitutional monarchy, the sovereign is not supposed to do anything more than lurk in the background.  Advising once a week to the prime minister of the day, turning up for ceremonial tourist-pleasing duties and so on. 

Yet we in the UK find ourselves in total limbo at the moment.  And being terribly British, the refrain is now 'oh for heaven's sake, just get on with it'.  Our politicians have shown themselves to be completely unequal to the task in hand.   And the EU has nothing to gain from assisting the UK in making our suicidal leap any easier.

Isn't it time for the Queen to knock a few heads together?  We pay an awful lot for the Royal Family to be there.  Could this not be the ultimate payback?  That the Queen saves us from Brexit chaos?  

Our economy and businesses, our government and public services both national and local and our lives in general are hanging on the Brexit thread.  No-one want to invest, to move, to travel, to buy stuff.  There is talk of stockpiling food and medicines.

The Queen has lived through the War, through rationing, through endless crises.  No public figure has more experience than she does.  I am not a Royalist particularly but if anything was ever going to convince the country that it is worth having the Royal Family, surely this is the time.  Take action, Ma'am!  Use whatever powers the constitutional experts can dredge up! For the love of your people's sanity (and the endless news agenda), take action.  The uncertainty has gone on too long.

I want to Remain.  I always have.  But I don't see how another referendum can address the fact that we are supposed to leave the EU in sixty seven days...  Millions (billions?) have already been spent on leaving.  Millions (probably billions) will be lost from no-one having a clue what is going on.

Who's Queen?

Protest, protest, protest

If there is anyone still out there checking on my blog, you will know that I have not written for months.  This was not intended but somehow seems to have continued far longer than I would have wanted if it had been planned.  I am not even really sure why!  But I am back and ready to start spouting my stuff all over again.  I haven't stopped reading, Instagramming or thinking since I last blogged.  I have a whole load of subject matter to whitter about, don't worry.

The above is a screenshot from Facebook.  It is utterly horrifying if you just read the list and compare it to the news coming out of the US.  And the news from other places too.  Italy for one.  One article which has spurred my return to blogging was by Fintan O'Toole in the Irish Times.

In this piece he argued that far from being an off-the-cuff tweeter/policy maker/speaker, etc, everything which Donald Trump says or does is carefully calculated to see what he can get away with.  It is not aimed at the more liberal press or at people who would never vote for him.  He is only concerned with maintaining his ratings with the voters who brought him to power.  For example, the use of the abhorrent term 'infest' in a tweet about immigrants.  Widespread disgust was reported.  But Trump's approval ratings with his core supporters went up and the (to him) important far right news outlets (Fox etc) loved it.  O'Toole says that 40% of voters is the typical starting point for Fascism.

I have also re-read The Handmaid's Tale this year.  Margaret Atwood's scarily worrying novel of a fascist future.  If you haven't read it, do so.  (Or watch the excellent TV adaptation.)  And marvel/quake at how many elements of it would appear to be coming true, three decades after it was written as fiction.  No wonder this was one of the books being widely shared after Trump took power.

We live in frightening times.  As the mother of two teenagers, I am chewed up by thoughts of their futures.  Trump is, in my humble opinion, on track for a second term - that's six more years legally.  But with a Supreme Court nomination to come, could we see a move for more?  Brexit is going through regardless (note 'fraudulent elections' on the above list - a nice little trial run there with the Brexit referendum).  Countries like Italy are turning to the far right.  And as for Russia...

I leave you with a couple of quotes I have found during my reading this few months.  Read them and weep.

Make the lie big, keep it simple, keep saying it and eventually they will believe it. - Goebbels

The perfect dictatorship would have the appearance of a democracy but would basically be a prison without walls in which the prisoners would not even dream of escaping.  It would essentially be a system of slavery where, through consumption and entertainment, the slaves would love their servitude. - Aldous Huxley

But when you have wept, remember...

The need for protesting will never end. - China Achebe

Plot Predictions

Thirty years ago I was doing Economics 'A' Level. Thirty years!  A good few lessons were devoted to ‘the ageing population’ and the looming pension, health and social care crisis in the UK.  I remember being shown predictions for, well, about now actually.  I remember thinking 'my own parents will be retired'. 

Let’s just say that again. Thirty years ago students were being taught about a well-documented and researched certain future event - our working population would not be able to provide for the increasing number of aged people. This was not hearsay or a teacher cutting an article out (remember that?!) from the press. It was part of our syllabus. 

  

A couple of years later I found myself in a British Politics lecture at university. One of the main themes was the excellent continuity our civil service provides.  The whole ‘Yes Minister’ culture of gently steering whichever party happened to be in government.

But where have we been steered to? Thatcher fell during my first year at Uni (oh the hangover after that) and huge damage had been done in terms of council housing, benefits, etc.  But there was still time for someone influential to say hang on, we are teaching about a looming crisis. How are we doing to deal with said crisis?  Sad to say, after John Major's floundering, Blair’s New Labour seem to have made little dent on social care, council housing, the NHS.  They went for private finance initiatives. And then the banks had their own crisis.

To say nothing of the feeble coalition years and the recent Tory disasters.  Simplified version?  Yes.  But the fact remains that this was expected to happen yet still we have hospital beds clogged with elderly people who desperately need full-time care.  In the midst of what may well turn out to be the worst winter in seventy years of the now teetering NHS.  

Thousands of people still have no real idea how they will fund their retirement.   Many probably don't realise how bad things are going to be.  Retirement ages have been increased but there have been decades of mismanagement.

We are in 2018. With a broken social care system, a breaking NHS and pension problems a go-go.  All predicted.  At least six Prime Ministers and thirty years ago.  Something has gone badly wrong with our system of government.