MR CAMERON’S CHRISTIAN VALUES
Just before Christmas David Cameron intoned the need for us to return to something called ‘Christian values.’ Mr Cameron proved to be somewhat vague about what these values actually are and, as so often with those making this plea, even vaguer about the precise period in which he feels these values were prevalent.
Perhaps the 1950’s, always a popular one this, to the Christian values of the rope and borstal lash, when gay men were imprisoned and wives, still little more than chattels of their husbands could not open a bank account without his permission, a time when catholic priests and care home staff could physically assault and rape the children in their care with impunity; possibly not.
What about the Christian values of the 1930’s, of the Jarrow marchers and salvation army soup kitchens, no sickly welfare state here, you feel we might be getting warmer, all that ‘charity,’ big society stuff; for he surely cannot mean the Christian values of the early church, the burning of witches and mass slaughter of ‘heathens!’
But no what really tugs the Cameron heart strings are the Christian values of the Victorian era, when Christian charity was the watchword among the rich, privileged and powerful.
“The rich man in his castle, the poor man at his gate, God made them high or lowly and ordered their estate.”
Well one can see the attraction of such ‘Christian values’ for a man like Cameron. Though perhaps you think I am being unfair to Cameron who makes much of his ‘niceness,’ often seen with his pretty wife abhorring those who kick cats or fart during the church service. However during the Christmas recess, as he and the kids huddled around the fire to hear him read from a Christmas Carol, imitating the words of Bob Cratchett and Tiny Tim, ‘God bless us every one,’ across London, particularly in my own borough of Kensington and Chelsea, very Dickensian scenes were being enacted as tenants were turfed out of their homes as their rents exceeded the Housing Benefit ceiling. My local CAB cannot cope with the scale of enquiries about this, described by no less a person than Boris Johnson as mass ‘economic cleansing,’ takes place.*
Of course Boris has recognised the flaw in this arrangement, if you kick out all the oiks whose going to do the fagging, (only 1 in 8 people on housing benefit is unemployed), the house cleaning and child minding, the wiping of dirty bums and noses? Oh well are there no charities, are there no prisoners? What no workhouses? Well that can be soon remedied!
*Much, one assumes, to the satisfaction of the historian Richard Starkey,
http://alextalbot.blogspot.com/2010/10/on-ubiquitous-mr-starkey.html
* * * * * * * * *
Most dismal political image of last year
Now there is some very silly talk that ‘the public,’ whoever they might be, do not like conflict and acrimony in political life. This is of course patent nonsense, the reason that Prime Minister’s Questions are so popular is that people see it for what it is, a blood sport, the modern equivalent of bear baiting. Now not a huge fan of PMQ’s, the yah boo sucks to you,* quality of the debate, I do believe that politics is ideologically based and that a chasm should exist between even social democrats and the current government ideology and expect political debate to be appropriately ferocious and not engaged in as if it were some polite exchange of views over the aesthetic merits of the wallpaper. What I do not want rubbed in my face is the reality that it is a cosy club and that they are all really mates, after all they all went to the same school.
Incidentally during a recent exchange Ed Miliband stated that a dinner lady earned in a week what Mr Osborne spent on his annual skiing holiday. Well I think not, not unless Mr O has taken to flying Easyjet and dossing down on the sofa of an old student pal with digs conveniently close to the piste.
*The true quality of the Tory back bench was recently revealed when a female member of their tribe commenced her question by stating that she was frustrated; frustrated, nudge nudge, wink wink, gerrit, there followed howls of laughter.
* * * * * * * * *
The historical character that Nick Clegg most closely resembles is Ramsay MacDonald. For the price of his bum on the prime ministerial seat and on the pretext of saving the country in a financial crisis, he allowed the Conservatives to impose drastic financial cuts to further the interests of what used to be called ‘the monied classes,’ Baldwin more than happy to let MacDonald be his lightning conductor, taking the flack for the worst of the cuts, to be neatly sidelined when the moment arose.
The Liberals who helped facilitate this state of affairs were soon rendered an irrelevance in British Political life whilst MacDonald ended his days in ignominy and obscurity having hawked his conscience across the pages of the tabloid newspapers.
Now of course there are many considerable differences, not least that fact that Clegg has thus far carried his party with him, though I suspect as 2012 enfolds the question what to do about Nick will be found increasingly on their lips as the full extent of his electoral liability makes itself felt and they seek to limit the damage.
He will, I predict meet a similar end to MacDonald, a footnote in history, though a considerably less substantial one.
* * * * * * * * * *
Nick Cohen’s new book, You Can't Read This Book: Censorship in an Age of Freedom is out on the 19th Jan and it already sits in my Amazon basket. Have corresponded with Nick, which makes me feel very important, and want to use the book as the basis for a night’s debate in Battersea. This has made me feel very responsible for sales of this book and so recommend it, available from January 9th in all good book stores.
Have just finished reading 'Frontline Pakistan: the struggle with militant Islam, Zahid Hussain' it makes for alarming reading and things have grown considerably worse since its completion in 2008, the question of how to deal with a Pakistani state in which state structures and civic society is being steadily eroded by a tide of Islamic fanaticism will demand attention, irrespective of what happens in Afghanistan.
Perhaps the 1950’s, always a popular one this, to the Christian values of the rope and borstal lash, when gay men were imprisoned and wives, still little more than chattels of their husbands could not open a bank account without his permission, a time when catholic priests and care home staff could physically assault and rape the children in their care with impunity; possibly not.
What about the Christian values of the 1930’s, of the Jarrow marchers and salvation army soup kitchens, no sickly welfare state here, you feel we might be getting warmer, all that ‘charity,’ big society stuff; for he surely cannot mean the Christian values of the early church, the burning of witches and mass slaughter of ‘heathens!’
But no what really tugs the Cameron heart strings are the Christian values of the Victorian era, when Christian charity was the watchword among the rich, privileged and powerful.
“The rich man in his castle, the poor man at his gate, God made them high or lowly and ordered their estate.”
Well one can see the attraction of such ‘Christian values’ for a man like Cameron. Though perhaps you think I am being unfair to Cameron who makes much of his ‘niceness,’ often seen with his pretty wife abhorring those who kick cats or fart during the church service. However during the Christmas recess, as he and the kids huddled around the fire to hear him read from a Christmas Carol, imitating the words of Bob Cratchett and Tiny Tim, ‘God bless us every one,’ across London, particularly in my own borough of Kensington and Chelsea, very Dickensian scenes were being enacted as tenants were turfed out of their homes as their rents exceeded the Housing Benefit ceiling. My local CAB cannot cope with the scale of enquiries about this, described by no less a person than Boris Johnson as mass ‘economic cleansing,’ takes place.*
Of course Boris has recognised the flaw in this arrangement, if you kick out all the oiks whose going to do the fagging, (only 1 in 8 people on housing benefit is unemployed), the house cleaning and child minding, the wiping of dirty bums and noses? Oh well are there no charities, are there no prisoners? What no workhouses? Well that can be soon remedied!
*Much, one assumes, to the satisfaction of the historian Richard Starkey,
http://alextalbot.blogspot.com/2010/10/on-ubiquitous-mr-starkey.html
* * * * * * * * *
Most dismal political image of last year
Now there is some very silly talk that ‘the public,’ whoever they might be, do not like conflict and acrimony in political life. This is of course patent nonsense, the reason that Prime Minister’s Questions are so popular is that people see it for what it is, a blood sport, the modern equivalent of bear baiting. Now not a huge fan of PMQ’s, the yah boo sucks to you,* quality of the debate, I do believe that politics is ideologically based and that a chasm should exist between even social democrats and the current government ideology and expect political debate to be appropriately ferocious and not engaged in as if it were some polite exchange of views over the aesthetic merits of the wallpaper. What I do not want rubbed in my face is the reality that it is a cosy club and that they are all really mates, after all they all went to the same school.
Incidentally during a recent exchange Ed Miliband stated that a dinner lady earned in a week what Mr Osborne spent on his annual skiing holiday. Well I think not, not unless Mr O has taken to flying Easyjet and dossing down on the sofa of an old student pal with digs conveniently close to the piste.
*The true quality of the Tory back bench was recently revealed when a female member of their tribe commenced her question by stating that she was frustrated; frustrated, nudge nudge, wink wink, gerrit, there followed howls of laughter.
* * * * * * * * *
The historical character that Nick Clegg most closely resembles is Ramsay MacDonald. For the price of his bum on the prime ministerial seat and on the pretext of saving the country in a financial crisis, he allowed the Conservatives to impose drastic financial cuts to further the interests of what used to be called ‘the monied classes,’ Baldwin more than happy to let MacDonald be his lightning conductor, taking the flack for the worst of the cuts, to be neatly sidelined when the moment arose.
The Liberals who helped facilitate this state of affairs were soon rendered an irrelevance in British Political life whilst MacDonald ended his days in ignominy and obscurity having hawked his conscience across the pages of the tabloid newspapers.
Now of course there are many considerable differences, not least that fact that Clegg has thus far carried his party with him, though I suspect as 2012 enfolds the question what to do about Nick will be found increasingly on their lips as the full extent of his electoral liability makes itself felt and they seek to limit the damage.
He will, I predict meet a similar end to MacDonald, a footnote in history, though a considerably less substantial one.
* * * * * * * * * *
Nick Cohen’s new book, You Can't Read This Book: Censorship in an Age of Freedom is out on the 19th Jan and it already sits in my Amazon basket. Have corresponded with Nick, which makes me feel very important, and want to use the book as the basis for a night’s debate in Battersea. This has made me feel very responsible for sales of this book and so recommend it, available from January 9th in all good book stores.
Have just finished reading 'Frontline Pakistan: the struggle with militant Islam, Zahid Hussain' it makes for alarming reading and things have grown considerably worse since its completion in 2008, the question of how to deal with a Pakistani state in which state structures and civic society is being steadily eroded by a tide of Islamic fanaticism will demand attention, irrespective of what happens in Afghanistan.
Addendum: It has been pointed out to me that Mr Cameron may have no strong opinions respecting farting in church, however with respect to cat kicking he is almost certainly against it.
