Clarke's Comment Archives - Renew

Here’s Renew’s take on a week of smoke, mirrors and shuffles – 14/02/2020

manu — Thu, 02 Nov 2023 22:08:49 +0000

“We must realise that now is the time to be building an effective new political force”

As we awkwardly adapt to life under the new administration there is no real consensus on what to expect. The knee-jerk reaction to the election result was pure resignation and the overwhelming belief that Johnson would be in power for 10 years at least. Based on the performance of the Labour and Liberal Democrat leadership, the behaviour of their activists and the scale of their parliamentary defeat, it would initially appear that the route back would be extremely long and fraught.

Many in the UK can see that leaving the EU is a mistake, that Johnson is unfit for office, that the least extreme Conservatives have been removed and that Cummings is a reckless fantasist. The same people cannot also believe that the government’s wacky schemes will come to fruition or that the Brexit lies will not return to haunt them. We are seeing signs of this already.

The idea of a road bridge from Northern Ireland to Scotland has been widely and deservedly ridiculed by groups as diverse as engineers, economists, hauliers, the shipping industry, journalists and politicians not to mention the Irish and the Scottish. And, regardless of its merits, HS2 will become increasingly controversial as the inevitable cost increases and delays kick in. It will end up costing more than the Channel Tunnel whilst providing far less of an impact.

Let us not forget that Johnson has form in the realm of extravagant folly, with the failed Garden Bridge project, London’s cable car to nowhere (unsuccessful and extortionate), not to mention his (banned) water cannon, which was neither triumphant nor economical.

The Garden Bridge project cost £43m of public money, and this mock-up is all we have to show for it…

We learned this week that N26, a digital bank with 200,000 customers would be leaving our shores due to ‘Brexit disruption’, joining Jaguar, Aviva, Airbus, Barclays, Michelin, Panasonic, Philips, Sony, UBS, Toyota (I could go on) in the flood of disinvestment from the UK. Arguments over alignment in financial services and divergence (or not) from EU norms will not be resolved to our advantage and our broader search for trade deals is emphatically not leading to a rainbow-concluding pot of gold.

Expect this story to run and run.

Yesterday’s cabinet reshuffle was also an instructive sign of things to come; the welcome and reasonable removal of embarrassing characters like McVey, Leadsom and Cox was totally overshadowed by the loss of his Chancellor, who refused the humiliation of firing his advisors. Once again, Conservative MPs are forced to learn the new rule: integrity gets punished.

Without a drastic and unforeseeable change in fortunes, Mr Johnson will be facing a 2024 election carrying the baggage of 14 years of austerity, division, recklessness, broken promises and, in all likelihood, an annihilated reputation for fiscal responsibility and good governance.

So we must realise that now is the time to be building an effective new political force. We must continue to oppose those who have managed to grasp the initiative and snatch power by harnessing popular discontent and channelling it into a dangerous and regressive political project.

New administrations don’t last forever.

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The post Here’s Renew’s take on a week of smoke, mirrors and shuffles – 14/02/2020 appeared first on Renew.

Ripeness is all..

manu — Sat, 13 May 2023 10:32:35 +0000

Clarke’s Comment

EDGAR

What, in ill thoughts again? Men must endure
Their going hence even as their coming hither.
Ripeness is all. Come on.

GLOUCESTER

And that’s true too.

Exeunt

King Lear, Act 5, Scene 2

As the country waits on tenterhooks for the much, much, much-anticipated Sue Gray report, and the Met Police investigation, and for the next scandal or scandals to leak, emerge or erupt, the writing may be on the wall for our current PM. At the time of writing, it appears to be the case of when, rather than if, and high-street bookies are offering odds as short as 1/4 on that Johnson will be gone from No.10 at some point in 2022.

Many are speculating that the Tories may try to keep Johnson in place as a scapegoat for potentially catastrophic results in the May local elections, and others that the wound must be cauterised sooner rather than later, in order to mitigate the worst effects of a bad showing at the locals.

It appears that the PM’s perceived strengths have become liabilities and that, just as in 2019, where more people appeared to vote against Corbyn rather than for Johnson, the opposite might happen in a ‘Johnson vs Starmer’ contest. Whilst we tend to spend a lot of time focused on the most partisan groups in society (Momentum, the ‘woke left’, the ‘alt-right’, anti-vaxxers, ERG-types etc), the hard facts are that elections are won in the centre, and by a relatively small number of swing voters in a fairly small number of swing constituencies. This of course, is one of the key issues that we need to address; that the ‘democratic deficit‘ of this system means that some votes count far more than others, which is an affront to the concepts of fairness and democracy. In a world that is becoming more political, more organised, and also more diverse, this system looks more and more like an anachronism, a throw-back to simpler, and less just times.

In fact, talk of political reform is becoming far more commonplace. Rather belatedly, political operators across the spectrum appear to be arriving at the same conclusions that Renew came to in 2017 regarding the unworthiness of the current UK political system, structure and culture. ‘Root and branch reform of the system’, a central Renew message, is being espoused by Labour’s Andy Burnham, who is now criticising the whip system, abuses of power and our generally scandal-prone system of government.

And former Conservative Rory Stewart went viral last week with a fairly scathing interview on Sky News, followed by an absolutely scalding attack on Johnson in the Financial Times, the opening lines of which are worth quoting in full.

“Boris Johnson is a terrible prime minister and a worse human being. But he is not a monster newly sprung from a rent between this world and the next. Twenty years have passed since the Conservative party first selected him as a candidate. Michael Howard and David Cameron made him a shadow minister, and Theresa May gave him the Foreign Office. Thirty years of celebrity made him famous for his mendacity, indifference to detail, poor administration, and inveterate betrayal of every personal commitment. Yet, knowing this, the majority of Conservative MPs, and party members, still voted for him to be prime minister. He is not, therefore, an aberration, but a product of a system that will continue to produce terrible politicians long after he is gone.”

Is Johnson ready for the axe?

He may have to endure his going hence even as his coming hither.

Ripeness, after all, is all.

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After Boris, what…?

manu — Sat, 13 May 2023 10:31:19 +0000

Clarke’s Comment

The recent miseries of our benighted PM have caused many of us to reflect on What Happens Next? Whilst many millions of opposition supporters (as well as plenty of Tories) would react to his departure with a colossal cheer and perhaps a street party, where would we actually be in a post-Johnson UK?

Well, in the short-term, we might exchange the anarchic and amoral soap opera of the current PM for the slick but soulless PR-act of bookies-favourite Rishi Sunak, or perhaps the comedy stylings of Liz Truss; a Sophie’s Choice to chill the heart of any thoughtful, compassionate or intelligent voter.

And what of the effects of this at the next General Election? Might the Tories be able to pull off the same trick another time and assure the voters that, after Cameron’s catastrophes, May’s misadventures, and Boris’ beastliness, ‘The Newer, Cleaner, Brighter Conservatives©’ deserve a fifth chance? Once again, the prediction markets currently favour a Conservative win, in spite of everything.

And if the faction-riven, unreformed and dysfunctional Labour Party were somehow able to claw a victory, or cobble together a coalition, would that really represent such a deliverance? For 77 years now, we have been governed by the Conservative Party, with occasional interruptions from Labour whilst the Tories bicker and regroup. We have also had a single coalition, which turned out to be a disaster for all involved. Is this really a way to govern a modern and diverse democracy?

Our country has never wanted for talent, for intelligent, passionate people, for campaigners, for great orators and for globally respected figures in all walks of life, but these people have so infrequently come from the ranks of our major politicians, and the reasons for this are increasingly clear. Any young person interested in participating in the political life of this country is immediately faced with a massive obstacle, to decide between the crumbling monoliths of the blue party and the red party. In other words, the very first thing you must do in politics is to abandon your personality, your convictions and your beliefs and submit to one of two outdated, prescriptive ideologies. From then on, your success will be directly correlated to your ability to follow orders, look convincing and toe the party line.

We see this amongst current and former Cabinet ministers who supposedly undertook Damascene conversions from being avowed remainers (when they thought remain would win) to ravenously aggressive leavers once the result was in (see Liz Truss, Sajid Javed, Matt Hancock, Robert Jenrick, Grant Schapps, etc). These people have successfully internalised the logic of double-think and have been rewarded for it. Meanwhile, the calibre of our elected officials plummets. For evidence, we need look no further than the following tweet regarding Nadine Dorries, MP, from the European Culture Editor for the New York Times – ‘Germany’s culture minister is a trained art historian; France’s wrote a book on Verdi. The new UK culture secretary … ate ostrich anus on I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here.’

In truth, the UK’s political system and culture is overdue for a radical overhaul. Whilst our professions are packed to the rafters with capable, thoughtful individuals, Westminster operates in a parallel universe where blind loyalty and the ability to lie without twitching are the most prized qualities. It’s time for something new.

As standards in public life continue to collapse, we at Renew will continue to stand up for our beliefs, for reform, fairness and participation, we will continue to call out the Government, to work for greater transparency, cleaning up our politics, modernising our democracy and standing up to be a part of what comes next.

We have put forward a raft of policy positions on how to reform and revitalise UK politics, including cleaning up money, transparency, free votes, term limits and citizens assemblies.

If you want to be a part of this new chapter for Renew, look at our refreshed website to learn more and sign up to be a member!

Join Renew at Democracy Rally in Parliament Square – Feb 5th

Our partners at Make Votes Matter have organised a rally to oppose the Elections Bill and to fight for equal votes. Renew will join the rally in support and all Renewers who are able to attend are welcome to join us from midday, Feb 5th at Parliament Square.

Following the rally, we will hold an informal discussion and drinks at a nearby venue TBA.

The official sign-up is here. Please also contact us at hello@renewparty.org.uk if you have any further questions.

If you want to be a part of this new chapter for Renew, look at our refreshed website to learn more and sign up to be a member!

Have a great week,

James and the Renew Team

The post After Boris, what…? appeared first on Renew.

“I thought it was a work event…”

manu — Sat, 13 May 2023 10:27:46 +0000

Clarke’s Comment

“When I went into that garden just after 6 o’clock on 20 May 2020, to thank groups of staff before going back into my office 25 minutes later to continue working, I believed implicitly that this was a work event… All I ask is that Sue Gray be allowed to complete her inquiry into that day and several others, so that the full facts can be established.”

Boris Johnson – Prime Minister’s Questions – 12th May 2022

“The Prime Minister did not spot that he was at a social event. That is the excuse, isn’t it? Come off it. How stupid does he think the British people are? The worst of it is that he has already managed to completely destroy Allegra Stratton’s career and tarnished the reputation of Lord Geidt, and now he is making a fool of every single MP who cheered him earlier and everyone who goes on the radio and television to defend this shower of shenanigans. Would it not be absolutely despicable if, in the search for a scapegoat, some junior member of staff ends up losing their job, but he kept his?”

Chris Bryant, MP for Rhondda

“Hi all, after what has been an incredibly busy period we thought it would be nice to make the most of the lovely weather and have some socially distanced drinks in No 10 garden this evening. Please join us from 6pm and bring your own booze!”

Martin Reynolds, Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister

Chris Bryant really nailed the PM at PMQs on Wednesday, more effectively even than Keir Starmer managed. But the issue of the e-mail is also spectacularly damning. Johnson claims not to have received the email, which begs the question, ‘Who gets an invitation to a party in their own garden?’ The PM either organised the party or gave explicit permission for it. Johnson is really stretching the credulity of Parliament, of his own party, and of the country by insisting on pursuing this rather timorous tactic of hiding, not in a fridge this time, or from that scary Andrew Neil, but behind an inquiry led by a civil servant.

As is now tradition, social media has been having a fine time with the PM, with “I thought it was a work event…” being applied to all manner of images and moments and comic situations.

The UK speaks its mind…

While the PM likes noting the lawyerly mannerisms of the Leader of the Opposition, he is attempting the same kind of linguistic/legalistic tightrope-walk that was exhibited to its extremes in Dominic Cummings speech in that very same garden, back on 25th May 2020, not 5 days after Johnson’s historic party. A lot appears to ride on Sue Gray, who is either a bastion of good practice or a notorious quasher of Freedom of Information requests, depending on who you listen to.

In addition, the indefatigable Good Law Project have launched legal proceedings against the Met for their failure to investigate other parties which came to light late last year. The police may now be forced to investigate No.10 in the same way that they investigated ordinary people during the lockdown, issuing warnings, threats and fines to would-be partiers as well as dog-walkers, joggers, shoppers and the rest. One law for them and another for us? Let’s see how far the authorities are prepared to go in trying to dispel this all-too-common accusation.

As we have mentioned here before, Johnson’s hold on power remains bolstered by the dearth of talent beneath him and the lack of a unifying candidate as successor; according to one former minister, ‘I am very angry at Boris but if the answer is Liz Truss, I will keep him in position.’ Makes sense. Of course, this is the kind of thing that one notices in weak democracies and worse; once the best people have been discouraged, sidelined, ignored, passed-over, purged, otherwise expunged or resigned (or, importantly, never joined in the first place), you are left with a crop of pretenders so ill-equipped and lacking in ability, credibility or nous that the incumbent remains in place well beyond their sell-by date.

Could this be the beginning of the end for Johnson? After 150,000 dead, billions wasted, an economy trashed, the pound floundering, inflation rising, costs sky-rocketing and international relations at their lowest ebb in decades, could the PM be done for by a garden party? Well, let’s not forget that, in the end, they got Al Capone, famously, on tax evasion, and not, famously, for murder.

If you want to be a part of this new chapter for Renew, look at our refreshed website to learn more and sign up to be a member!

Have a great week,

James and the Renew Team

The post “I thought it was a work event…” appeared first on Renew.

A Year In Renew ‘21 – pt.2

manu — Sat, 13 May 2023 10:26:32 +0000

Clarke’s Comment

Part 2 of our summary of 2021

Autumn

Early autumn was spent organising the Renew Conference ’21. It would be the first official, in-person gathering of Renew members since the December 2019 General Election campaigns in Sefton, Edinburgh, Hackney and Bromley. The excellent Us&Co premises in Monument were secured (the same venue we had used for the London Mayoral Hustings), invitations were sent, videos, speeches, workshops and presentations prepared, sandwiches procured, shirts pressed and hair cut.

October 9th finally arrived, in the middle of the UK’s party conference season. The day went very smoothly, with excellent weather and a good deal accomplished. We set out our proposed reorientation, towards a forward-looking reformist agenda, focussing on reform, fairness and participation, and explored the idea of working as a platform to encourage and support independent-minded candidates to stand for office at all levels across the country. Our philosophical underpinning was discussed, with a focus on a new approach to politics, framed by a rebalancing of society. We announced 5 key areas of policy – reforming political culture, repairing the social fabric, Britain’s place in the world, climate and environment and democracy and technology. There was time for all those present and those attending remotely on Zoom to debate the issues, ask questions, conduct group discussions and share ideas.

At the end of the day, Renew’s social side came to the fore, with drinks all round and trip to the lovely St Katherine’s Dock to continue the discussions informally.

Meanwhile…

A rise in National Insurance is announced, widely reported as 1.25% but effectively a 10% rise for most workers, with the burden bearing down disproportionately on the young and lower earners.

I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here!’s Nadine Dorries made Culture Secretary (you read that right).

Recordings emerge of our new Housing Minister Michael Gove, referring to ‘dirty northerners’ and ‘fetid foreigners’, (amongst other noxious remarks).

President Biden openly snubs the PM over the threat to a change in the Irish Accords.

Food and energy prices begin rising, economists openly discussing spectre of stagflation.

At Labour conference, Keir Starmer attempts to rehabilitate the legacy of Tony Blair, whilst Angela Rayner refers to the cabinet as ‘Etonian scum’.

120,000 pigs needlessly shot and burned, people literally fighting each other over access to petrol pumps.

At the Conservative conference, the PM compares businesses to junkies, ‘addicted’ to cheap overseas labour’ and ‘mainlining‘ low-cost migration. The Federation of Small Businesses responds with fury. Meanwhile, the tone of the conference is summarised by sessions such as – ‘Levelling Up – Gin & Tonics provided‘.

Conservatives vote to allow water companies to continue pumping raw human ordure into our rivers and seas.

MP Owen Patterson’s influence-peddling is revealed.

Winter

Renew’s main task following the conference was to share our new headline positions across all our channels. Videos, and posters were distributed digitally and we began a programme of outreach with like-minded campaign groups and other political parties.

In November, we hosted ‘What Comes Next? 2021, a discussion with representatives from Open Britain, Make Votes Matter, Best For Britain, Unite to Reform, Electoral Reform Society, Young European Movement and Unlock Democracy in attendance, amongst others.

The discussion covered a wide area of topics, from potential political collaborations in a potential May 2023 General Election, to the campaign priorities for political reform such as PR, term limits, party funding and cleaning up politics. Interestingly, the crux of the discussion came at an unexpected point, that of explicitly pro-EU politics vs. that of an explicitly reform-based agenda. Whilst some believed the two goals to be compatible, others felt that the UK requires systemic, internal domestic reform before any realistic return to the EU might be realistically broached.

One of the results of the meeting was an alignment between Renew and Unlock Democracy with the two organisations cooperating officially in a number of initiatives including opposition to the Elections Bill, the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, the Judicial Review and Courts Bill, proposed changes to the Official Secrets Act.

Meanwhile…

MP Owen Patterson scandal and attempted cover-up explodes, forcing his resignation.

MP Geoffrey Cox revealed to have been working from the British Virgin Islands and being paid £900k to defend the BVI against a corruption enquiry being conducted by… wait for it… the UK Foreign Office.

Further sleaze stories implicate Matt Hancock, Robert Jenrick, Iain Duncan Smith and, naturally, Boris Johnson.

Inflation hits 4.2% – the highest for 10 years, and rising, as the underlying issues of the supply chain and Covid are amplified and exacerbated by Brexit.

The PM faces an unwelcome stand-off with the EU over the seemingly insoluble issue of Northern Ireland.

Government politicking an aggravating factor in the deaths of 27 people in the channel.

French President Emmanuel Macron reportedly referrs to the PM as a ‘clown’ and a ‘knucklehead’. The story is considered unremarkable and is scarcely reported.

It is revealed that one or more Christmas parties allegedly took place at 10 Downing Street in the run-up to Christmas last year, at a time when everyone else was keeping apart from their loved ones and others died alone.

The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill and the Nationality and Borders Bill seeks to criminalise almost all forms of protest.

Conservative voters abandon the party en masse at the North Shropshire by-election.

99 Tories rebel against Covid passports and mask mandates.

Lord Frost’s resignation makes 2 Brexit Secretaries and 3 Chief Negotiators down and counting.

The Omicron variant sweeps through the population, placing enormous pressure on the NHS.

Johnson forced to apologise over his conduct over the affair of his flat refurbishment.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For us in Renew, we will stick to our principles of supporting reform, fairness and participation, and we will stand up to be a part of what comes next.

If you want to be a part of this new chapter for Renew, look at our refreshed website to learn more and sign up to be a member!

Have a great week,

James and the Renew Team

The post A Year In Renew ‘21 – pt.2 appeared first on Renew.

A Year In Renew ‘21 – pt.1

manu — Sat, 13 May 2023 10:24:35 +0000

Clarke’s Comment

I must begin this review with a disclaimer. Typically these end of year lists are quite joyous affairs, semi-nostalgic and designed to rekindle pleasant memories of the highlights of the year past, rather like the love-in which is ‘Sports Personality of The Year’.

Well this list really isn’t anything like that, I’m afraid, but let’s do our best to recount the major events of the year in politics and the year in Renew, and let’s try and be cheerful about it.

Spring

Renew began the year by locating and securing fine new offices with enough space for a handful of staff to work safely and socially distanced. After four years of begging, borrowing, sharing premises and relying on the kindness of strangers, we finally found an HQ to call home, to invite guests, conduct meetings, and to plaster Renew posters in the windows with proper pride.

It was from here that we began planning our campaigns for the Scottish elections and London Mayoral election, the first time in our history that we had attempted to run 2 major campaigns in parallel.

Our basement became a makeshift ‘boiler room’ for our new team of young recruits and volunteers to brainstorm media and comms ideas for the campaigns.

Upstairs we built and populated new websites and crowdfunder sites for each campaign and conducted the day-to-day business of Renew.

We organised an in-person hustings for the London Mayoral challenger candidates, which Extinction Rebellion’s leader gatecrashed and attempted to hijack before flouncing out.

Whilst the electoral results in those elections were not spectacular, we nonetheless did what we set out to achieve, which was to spread the word of Renew as far and as wide as possible, to engage with voters as best we could in elections where face-to-face campaigning and public events were almost impossible, and also with a shoestring budget. Our candidates acquitted themselves brilliantly and our ability to recruit top drawer young and committed campaign volunteers was underlined once again.

Renew launches Ignite Magazine and conducts a series of video interviews with UK businesses suffering as a result of the Brexit deal.

Pre-election hustings, organised by Renew.

Meanwhile…

Labour inadvertently leaked plans to ‘appear more patriotic’ in their agonising attempts to drag themselves away from Corbynista politics, anti-Semitism, and other corrosive prejudices.

The Handforth Parish Council drama shone a light on how local politics are conducted in this country and made a hero of Jackie Weaver as the only adult in the room.

The reactionary right and militant left reunite again, as they did in the Leave campaign, but this time against vaccine passports.

The Government responds to a flood of bad trade news by launching a number of paid advertorials in the mainstream press, making outlandish claims about the successes of post-Brexit businesses.

The vast amounts of money wasted on the failed Track and Trace system come to light, the Gov’t spend £2.6m on a boondoggle ‘White House Style’ media briefing room and NHS staff are offered a desultory below-inflation 1% pay rise.

‘No more f*****g lockdowns – let the bodies pile high in their thousands’. Quote attributed to the UK Prime Minister.

Various scandals emerge, PPE procurement, Greensill, Dyson, cash for curtains, etc.

The Gov’t proposes making Mayoral elections subject to first past the post and proposes stringent US-style voter ID rules.

Labour’s Andy Burnham attempts to challenge Keir Starmer’s leadership, and declares that Labour voters should ‘Embrace Brexit’.

Dominic Cummings reports to the joint science, technology and health select committee that tens of thousands have died unnecessarily, due to incompetence, political expediency, the primacy of daily news management and a refusal to countenance tough measures until it was too late. He asserts that a party system that produces a choice between Johnson and Corbyn is “terribly wrong” and that, “if you took anybody at random from the top 1% of competent people in the country, and presented them with the situation, they would have behaved differently to how the Prime Minister behaved.”

Summer

As standard political campaigning slows down over the summer months, Renew conducts a series of consultations with our stakeholders, board members, candidates and loyal supporters. It is clear that in a post-Brexit, post-COVID world, politics is going to look very different, and that we must adjust to these new realities. To that end, we embark on 3 distinct projects, one to produce a list of distinct and digestible policy positions that define who we are as a party, one to produce a broader and more philosophical foundational document outlining our moral and intellectual values, and one to explore the possibilities of supercharging our position by harnessing the skills of independent candidates throughout the country.

Much of the summer is taken with political work, with a view to reorientating and revitalising the party in view of the tumultuous changes to the political landscape that have occurred since our launch in 2017.

We happy few..

Meanwhile…

The Delta variant continues to proliferate whilst flights from high-incidence regions continue unabated.

The England Men’s football team’s outstanding performances at the Euros stand in defiance of various Government figures, who disparaged both the team and the manager for their principled stand against racism as ‘gesture politics’, in a cynical attempt to provoke culture war. It backfires spectacularly. The country is confronted with leadership as represented by skilled, principled and competent sportsmen against cynical, opportunistic and failing politicians. “The standard of leaders in this country the past couple of years has been poor, looking at that man (Southgate), he’s everything a leader should be, respectful, humble, he tells the truth.” Gary Neville

The G7 meeting highlights once again the intractable issue of Northern Ireland and the unavoidable situation with the UK/EU border. The Government’s decision to play fast and loose with the Good Friday Agreement damages its reputation amongst all parties. “The lesson of this week is that you can’t have a global Britain which is genuinely respected and influential and impactful around the world if people doubt your basic bona fides. There is no point in writing new Atlantic charters which depend on mutual trust, mutual confidence and the rule of law, when you are operating as chancers.” Former UK ambassador to US and EU.

The 5 year anniversary of the referendum vote passes. There is no cause for celebration amongst Leavers, Remainers, or any other interested party.

Renowned pollster Frank Lunz warns UK politicians against following the US trajectory of tribal division. His study finds that, ‘Fairness and equality are essential British values’.

‘Freedom Day’ occurs, with great fanfare, mostly amongst tabloids.

The ‘pingdemic’ multiplied by Brexit causes densely packed quarter-mile queues at Heathrow. UK opens its borders to more countries, which promptly close their borders to the UK.

Johnson jokes that Thatcher closed the mines in order to get a head-start on decarbonisation. The joke is poorly received

Investigative Journalists at the FT and others discover a flood of cash channeled to the Conservative Party from overseas sources, most prominently Russian and Middle-Eastern, in addition to the secret donors club established by Ben Elliot.

KFC, Nando’s and Greggs are unable to access chicken. Brexit-related logistics issues leave shelves empty. Ian Botham made a Lord. Roaming charges return for holidaymakers in Europe.

Kabul falls as Foreign Sec Dominic Rabb ‘paddleboards in the Med’. Local UK allies left to the hands of the Taliban for want of Home Office visas…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Apologies for these reminders, but Pt.2 of the yearly review will continue next week!

For us in Renew, we will stick to our principles of supporting reform, fairness and participation, and we will stand up to be a part of what comes next.

If you want to be a part of this new chapter for Renew, look at our refreshed website to learn more and sign up to be a member!

Have a great week,

James and the Renew Team

The post A Year In Renew ‘21 – pt.1 appeared first on Renew.

No Sympathy For The Devil

manu — Sat, 13 May 2023 10:22:29 +0000

Clarke’s Comment

Robert Johnson, a middling blues guitarist and a lazy womaniser, but with an oversized ambition, went to the crossroads of route 49 and 61 to sign a deal with the devil. The devil (aka Papa Legba) gave him the ability to succeed in exchange for his soul. Johnson gained fame, but was tormented, and met his end just a few years later, as a result of revenge for his misdeeds.

Boris Johnson, a middling broadsheet hack and a lazy womaniser, but with an oversized ambition, went to the big red bus depot to sign a deal with the devil. The devil (aka Dave Lucifer) gave him the ability to succeed, in exchange for his soul (a rather modest transaction). Johnson gained fame, but was tormented, and met his end just a few years later, as a result of revenge for his misdeeds.

Johnson & Johnson – The devil works in mysterious ways

Whilst it is premature to be writing Boris Johnson’s Prime Ministerial memorial, it is nonetheless a very tempting exercise. But après le déluge de Johnson what fresh hell might we expect? In another era, a queue of high-calibre and credible pretenders would be forming to take his place and yet, in this somewhat shabby facsimile of the Conservative Party there are none. As Andrew Adonis noted recently, ‘Of the 24 members of David Cameron’s Tory cabinet 5 years ago, only 3 are still in office & only one (Liz Truss) has been in office continuously since May 2016. Frost is the 47th ministerial resignation related to Brexit. A revolution devouring its children.’ Indeed, the Brexit curse has done for 2 Prime Ministers (and counting), 2 Brexit Secretaries and 3 Chief Negotiators (and counting). Following Lord Frost’s resignation, the poisoned thermos has now been passed to leadership hopeful, and otherwise unremarkable individual Liz Truss, who, if successful, will be able to find new and interesting ways of failing.

Truss’s chimerical US trade deal looks like a decent contender. Trade Secretary Penny Mordaunt recently made a speech in the US, entreating (pleading) the Americans to be more supportive of the long-mooted UK-US trade deal beloved of Brexiteers but scoffed at by both US political parties and the President, predominantly due to the destabilising effect Brexit is having on the island of Ireland. It is worth noting that, in the extremely polarised world of US politics, opposition to this is one of extremely few topics that both Republicans and Democrats can publicly agree on. The speech was reported to include the telling line, “Brexit is not a tragedy to be mourned by the international community, or an act of self harm or one that requires us to be punished.” What more ringing endorsement of the new Conservative project and philosophy could be uttered? Why was this gem of a motivational slogan not plastered on a bus, one wonders? How might it be distilled into a more reductive Cummingsian 3 word tagline? ‘Self harm, no!‘, ‘Don’t bully us!‘, or perhaps ‘Pain is Gain‘?

And yet, in spite of all this, the UK is still capable of enormous and admirable achievements, at home and abroad. The ability of our scientists to develop a world-class viral vector vaccine in record time; the ability to vaccinate up to a million people per day, these are not examples of a failing state, these are examples of UK endeavours, industries and institutions that work. They are proof of the existence of a functional and successful UK. The issues we face can be traced in most cases to the top layer, the political layer.

Our doomed talks with the US are of no more surprise than our doomed talks with the EU or with anyone else. Brexit was no more than a poor idea, fuelled by a lack of ability or resolve to adequately dismiss it. The root cause of the problem was a system no longer robust enough to withstand poor ideas, and a system staffed by individuals inclined to cave into such ideas, rather than to resist and to lead, for what all knew was the common good. When a country’s ruling political classes cannot resist, withstand or repel ideas deleterious to the national interest they become mere puppets, rag-dolls and cyphers, blowing in the wind; they are no longer fit for purpose and the time has become ripe for something new.

For us in Renew, we will stick to our principles of supporting reform, fairness and participation, and we will stand up to be a part of what comes next.

If you want to be a part of this new chapter for Renew, look at our refreshed website to learn more and sign up to be a member!

Have a great week,

James and the Renew Team

The post No Sympathy For The Devil appeared first on Renew.

Rebel Hell

manu — Sat, 13 May 2023 10:21:02 +0000

Clarke’s Comment

By the time you read this, the North Shropshire by-election results will be in. At the time of writing the odds of a spectacular upset by the Lib Dems have lengthened to 13/10, having been as short as 1/2-on earlier in the week. Regardless of the final result, it is a shocking reflection on the current unpopularity of the Government and of the PM in particular by Conservative voters that the possibility of a 20% swing overturning a weighty 22,949 majority is even being entertained. Johnson’s own seat in Uxbridge and South Ruislip (maj. 7,210) will look extremely vulnerable unless he can engineer a complete turnaround in terms of both performance and reputation by the time of the next General Election. Such swings have been known, with the recent Chesham and Amersham election producing a 25.2% swing earlier this year, and another ten by-elections since 1991have produced swings of over 20%.

Conservative strategists and spin doctors will be frantically analysing the way that traditional Tory voters are feeling and the reasons why so many of them appear to be switching alliances or simply not showing up to vote. Clearly there is a sense of unseemliness in the flavour, taste and smell of the current leadership, with recent scandals adding to an impressive pile of old ones and an idea that we have become an us and themsociety setting in. Interestingly, the reasons for voter dissatisfaction appear to be quite different to those facing the embattled PM from his own MPs, who are increasingly motivated to rebellion more by libertarian ideologies than by indignation at corruption or hypocrisy.

99 Conservative MPs (dubbed ‘99 rebel loons‘) failed to vote with the Government over Covid passports and mask mandates, dwarfing previous rebellions and bringing the future of Johnson’s leadership into sharp focus. The PM is now effectively in the position of having to face-off against his own party, with the dilemma of protecting national interest vs the vested interest of holding the Tory party together by pandering to the extremes. Does this sound familiar to anyone?

It is fascinating to note that these troublesome MPs were not so motivated to vote against the abominable ‘Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill‘, a bill so distinctively un-British and corrosive to any sense of fair play that one might have expected more push-back. MPs claiming that undermining public health measures is a brave stance in defending freedom appear to have no qualms about restricting freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, freedom to protest, or the freedoms borne of transparency, democracy, accountability, the sovereignty of parliament and due process. The idea that freedom to protest might be curtailed or criminalised based on the speculation of ‘unease’ it might cause any anonymous bystander is frankly bizarre, if not outright authoritarian.

Rally, campaign, march or protest?

Interestingly, the same MPs who waived through emergency legislation mandating vaccination for care workers have somehow moved the goalpost and now draw the line at showing proof of vaccination to get into football games. How is the mild inconvenience of a football fan or concert-goer considered to trump the employment rights of a caregiver? The answer likely lies in the culture war mentality of a certain type of Conservative backbencher. In this world, certain types of people are clearly and shamelessly considered more equal than others.

In democracies, the right to protest is sacrosanct and attempts to curtail it are never made by those who have our best interests at heart. As with many of these somewhat alien attempts to recast the UK’s classically liberal DNA, one has to ask the question, ‘What problem is being solved by this proposed change, this legislation’? There may be many answers to this question, but all of them are deeply concerning. Either the UK is in the grip of a dangerous, radical leftist insurgency that needs to be clamped down on with great urgency, or we have an illiberal government determined to restrict our freedoms and undermine our traditions in order to remake our country as a less open, less tolerant, less free place to live.

COVID opened the door to allow the government to make urgent decisions quickly, bypassing necessary scrutiny and oversight by parliament. Whilst these processes may be deemed necessary in a public health crisis, they must not become a wedge to increase the ongoing arbitrary exercise of executive power for political purposes. There are many worrying precedents for this in history, the US Patriot Act being one of the most notable.

It may be considered ironic to note that one of the most consistently effective bulwarks against these types of anti-constitutional manoeuvres has been the House of Lords, but we do live in strange times. It is crucial that ordinary citizens and Renewers stand up against these insidious and anti-democratic moves at every juncture, because once they succeed in coming for the protesters, they will be free to come after everyone.

For us in Renew, we will stick to our principles of supporting reform, fairness and participation, and we will stand up to be a part of what comes next.

It’s time for something new.If you want to be a part of this new chapter for Renew, look at our refreshed website to learn more and sign up to be a member!

Have a great week,

James and the Renew Team

The post Rebel Hell appeared first on Renew.

Dead Cats…

manu — Sat, 13 May 2023 10:17:53 +0000

Carla’s Comment

I’m a massive fan of cats (I’m not averse to dogs either, before I alienate half of you), I love their aloofness, selective affection and the way they approach life absolutely on their own terms. So I was mildly alarmed when I began to notice use of the term “dead cat” in relation to political news stories.

I had to Google it.

For anyone else unfamiliar with the term, deadcatting is the practice of politicians releasing dramatic, shocking or sensationalist stories designed to distract from a more damaging story. The practice appears to have been named by an Australian political strategist, Lynton Crosby, who was employed to support Boris Johnson’s Mayoral election campaigns in 2008 and 2012 and who seems to have had a lasting impact on the incumbent Prime Minister.

Both the PM and the Government seem to have experienced extremely regular “leaks” of sensationalist stories that relate to things that happened months previously and happen to come to light just when something they want to bury is unfolding. The practice is now so blatant that it has been widely and explicitly referenced in the press this week with even the FT picking up on it.

Dead cat stories tend to be salacious, gossipy and perfectly designed to feed a click-bait hungry public. These stories make it easy for the tabloids to then relegate other more serious, more important and often depressing stories to the middle pages. And, to clarify, by depressing I mean stories that relate to issues like erosion of our rights, undermining our checks and balances, creation of VIP procurement channels…

So, what was this week’s feline frenzy? First, the damaging story: the revelation that a Christmas party allegedly took place at 10 Downing Street in the run up to Christmas last year, at a time when everyone else was keeping apart from their loved ones and some people even died alone. I shall henceforth call this Schrodinger’s Christmas party: it has been denied that it took place, but the person who joked about it taking place has tearfully resigned and a man who has failed to confirm or deny that he was in attendance has been asked to investigate it. The cringe-inducing footage of senior Tory party officials laughing about the nature of the gathering, whilst being fully aware that it was being recorded, speaks for itself. They hold the public in utter contempt.

And the dead cat? It would be a stretch to claim that the timing of the birth of the PM’s most recent baby was deliberate (that would have required planning, foresight and attention to detail of a diabolical level, and only part of that is accurate in relation to our PM). But that was the announcement made yesterday and there’s nothing like a December baby to warm the cockles of the public’s heart. Although, judging by the response to Schrodinger’s party, it’s beginning to look a lot like the public’s heart is turning.

For a political party that has been critical of people who have children when in precarious financial circumstances, one might have expected the PM to wait until he could afford his own flat refurb before reproducing again, but no. On the same day as the birth was announced it was revealed that the Electoral Commission had fined the Conservative Party approximately £18k for improperly declaring donations that were used to fund the refurbishment of the flat at 11 Downing Street. The coinciding of these stories is no doubt accidental however the irony is not lost.

The other stories that the government would prefer us to overlook relate to a couple of pieces of legislation: the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill and the Nationality and Borders Bill.

The first Bill is of particular interest to me because ever since the 2016 referendum I have found myself participating in peaceful protests for the first time in my life. This Bill seeks to place almost all forms of protest at risk of being deemed criminal, with those participating potentially facing criminal charges. The Bill has had insufficient scrutiny in the Commons and contains loosely defined concepts which would seemingly place someone like me at risk of criminal prosecution for simply being deemed to be “noisy” (I am), causing “annoyance” (I do – you can ask my family) and having “impact” (well, quite – otherwise what is the point?). It also places additional discretionary powers into the hands of the police, who have not currently covered themselves in glory with their application of such powers.

The criminalisation of peaceful protest belongs to fascist regimes and dictatorships, not a country that once saw itself as a bastion of the rule of law. Morality should always underpin legality.

Speaking of morality, the Nationality and Borders Bill stoops even lower. It introduces powers to strip people of their British Citizenship without even telling them and without recourse to appeal. It could also see prosecution of those rescuing drowning refugees in the Channel and the establishment of “processing centres” for asylum applicants in other countries. Australia have attempted this approach, resulting in huge expense and severe trauma of already traumatised refugees. The “pushback” of boats in the Channel is highly likely to be in breach of international law, however such details are unlikely to perturb a government that has grown absolutely comfortable with a complete absence of legality, morality, accountability or compassion.

Compassion in politics is something that Renew has always taken seriously. Whilst we tend to be heavily critical of the government we have always tried to ensure that our views are balanced, well informed and based on evidence. To inform my thinking on what a kinder and more compassionate politics could look like, on my Christmas list this year (supposing Santa is satisfied that I have not been too noisy or annoying) is a new book: “How Compassion can Transform our Politics, Economy, and Society”, edited by Matt Hawkins and Jennifer Nadel. I am looking forward to reading more ideas about how we can work together to improve our country and help everyone achieve their full potential.

In the coming weeks, see how many dead cats you can spot. When you think you might have spotted one, look for the story being buried and, more importantly, consider what action you could take to raise the profile of that particular story: donate to a relevant charity if you are able, Tweet / e-mail / snail mail your MP, write a letter to your local newspaper or phone in to a radio show. Participation is far, far easier than I ever realised – and once you take the first step, you’ll wonder what ever held you back.

Thanks for your continued support for Renew. We can’t do anything without you so please spread the word and get others to join us. Thank you.

Carla

Deputy Leader

Renew

The post Dead Cats… appeared first on Renew.

Variant of Concern

manu — Sat, 13 May 2023 10:14:43 +0000

Clarke’s Comment

Variant of Concern #1, Boris Johnson was on the end of more unflattering headlines this week as Emmanuel Macron reportedly referred to the PM as a ‘clown’ and a ‘knucklehead’. It is a sign of how low Anglo-French relations have fallen that this story was scarcely reported and a sign of how low our own expectations of Johnson have fallen, that news of this barely merited a shrug amongst the UK public and media. Under Johnson’s leadership the UK appears to be mirroring the reputational decline suffered by the US under 8 years of George W. Bush whose Presidency began with many detractors, but many more staunch allies and the respect of the international community, and ended in ridicule and decline. If the UK is to avoid tracking this trajectory, then reports of Conservative plotting to remove Johnson before the next election will need to step up a gear.

As we gear up for another nervy winter, there are a number of confusing and contradictory stories about the new variant, its transmissibility, and its Infection Fatality Rate. As is ever the case, the Government is failing to provide consistent messaging, let alone speak with one voice on the issue, and appears to have learned little from last year’s on-again-off-again Christmas restrictions that contributed to the UK’s horrendous peak of infections and deaths last January and February. The constant push-pull of optimism, pessimism, caution and impatience, ‘listening to the science’ and ‘drowning out the science with Xmas songs’ has brought us back to this familiarly disorientating state, Schrodinger’s conga.

Whereas the PM, with predictably boosterish jollity, has suggested that we can socialise when we want to, the Health Secretary has suggested getting tested first and the Science Minister proposes having Xmas parties (close your eyes)… over Zoom. If the idea of a work Xmas party on Zoom makes you cringe, Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey then weighed in with the helpful, ‘I don’t think there should be much snogging under the mistletoe.’ Especially at the Downing Street knees-up, I should hope.

It will come as no surprise if people, given this lack of leadership and direction, simply continue to do as they see fit, with similarly dismal outcomes that the UK has seen throughout the pandemic.

As the UK struggles to agree on either tough measures or a laissez-faire approach, there are signs that our European neighbours are prepared to take a much harder-line approach, especially with regards to vaccinations. Austria is introducing compulsory vaccination, Greece has banned the unvaccinated from public indoor spaces and will be fining all unvaccinated over-60s €100 per month from January, Germany is only allowing the unvaccinated into supermarkets and pharmacies and Slovakia is offering a €500 inducement to get jabbed. Given the UK’s political climate, the prevalence of faux-rebellious anti-vax poseurs, and the vast void in our political leadership, it is almost impossible to imagine these restrictions being applied here, and yet it will be interesting to see whether these initiatives lead to civil unrest or, conversely, to a swift uptake in vaccinations.

~~~~~~~~~~

By the time you read this the result of the Old Bexley and Sidcup by-election should be in. A solid Tory seat with a 19,000 majority and a 62% leave vote, it is not likely to change hands this time, but the Conservative turnout and the composition of the opposition votes may be instructive. Labour and the Lib Dems are reported to have come to the type of informal anti-aggression pact that was impossible under Swinson and Corbyn. This arrangement has benefitted the Lib Dems in Chesham and Amersham, where they unseated the Tory incumbent and Labour in Batley and Spen, where Labour held the seat by a mere 323 votes with Keir Starmer under extreme pressure.

Two other candidates to look out for are Richard Hewison of Rejoin EU and Richard Tice of ‘Reform UK’ (UKIP 3.0). Despite the somewhat amusing fact that the two Richards have often been confused for one another on the doorstep, it will be interesting to see how this area responds to the ongoing Brexit drama and where the potentially disgruntled Tory votes go to.

Having grown up in this constituency, it is of particular interest to me personally. The seat was held for many years by the not famously congenial ex-PM Edward Heath, and in the 1992 election, my school friends and I witnessed his concession to campaigning in person. He entered The Anchor pub, stage left, walked down the bar, saying ‘Hello, hello, hello’, and promptly left stage right. The entire event lasted about 25 seconds. As we have often lamented, safe seats do not encourage conscientious representation, but it is our job as voters, activists and Renew candidates to make these people work and fight for every vote.

For us in Renew, we will stick to our principles of supporting reform, fairness and participation, and we will stand up to be a part of what comes next.

It’s time for something new.If you want to be a part of this new chapter for Renew, look at our refreshed website to learn more and sign up to be a member!

Have a great week,

James and the Renew Team

The post Variant of Concern appeared first on Renew.