LONDON LETTER JULY 2013 Reflection on Revolution, Putin, Shropshire and the BBC.

LONDON LETTER JULY 2013

I.

When Daniel Bell was completing his series of essays The End of Ideology, he did so sitting in his study in the University of Columbia, one of the universities that was about to erupt in the great ideological struggles of the 1960’s. If he had not had such a tin ear he might have discerned the coming struggle by paying attention to what was happening in the southern states of the US which were already experiencing the struggle of the civil rights movement.

I have been thinking about Bell a lot recently, and all the end of ideology crowd, from Francis Fukeyama to all the other triumphalist right wing   commentariat, as I am currently reading Paul Mason’s ‘Why is Everything Still Kicking Off Everywhere?’ A truly inspirational read for a jaded old leftie like me who have got so into the mindset of thinking that resistance could only be defensive. The book is proof, if ever it was needed, that history is always what happens when you are busy making other plans. Here is page after page of evidence that ordinary people can go onto the offensive. Those who seek to govern us are more afraid than you might think. I will be writing further on this.

Regular readers will know that I have been following events in the Litvinenko case with particular interest. Today, [Fri 12^th July], the government has declined the request of the coroner for a public enquiry, without giving any reasons. It comes at the same time as the conviction of lawyer Sergei Magnitsky of tax evasion, more than three years after his death in a Russian prison. This is  the first trial under a 2011 Russian law allowing posthumous trials.[1]

The government’s attempts to neuter the Litvinenko inquest represent an alarming example of Putin’s ability to extend his reach. This case is no mere nerdy obsession but is the litmus test of Britain’s willingness to stand up to a gangster regime. A test thus far it is failing dismally. If Britain caves to Russian pressure what message does that send to countries like Estonia, who have had withstood a far more intense campaign of bullying and harassment? What message too does it send to those seeking refuge from Putin’s murderous jealousy in the UK? That Britain prizes good relations with the Kremlin before human life?

Below is the text of my e-mail response to a letter from the Rt Hon David Lidington of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office:-

‘Thank you for your letter dated 3rd July respecting the Litvinenko inquest and your efforts on my part to obtain this response from David Lidington.*

However Mr Lidington seems to imagine that I am naive or stupid, or possibly a combination of both, for in his letter he states:-

'The Government ...has also provided the coroner with access to all the material he has requested.'' However then goes on to state, ..'In advance of of the main hearings...the Foreign Secretary made an application for Public Interest Immunity in respect of certain government material.'

These sentences put together render this letter profoundly dishonest, since what would be the point in the coroner requesting material he had already been told he could not have. Whilst composing this letter Mr Lidington knew, as I and the whole world did, that the coroner Sir Robert Owen had called for a public enquiry into Mr Litvininko's death, believing this to be the only way for the truth to come out. This morning, at the 11th hour, this request has been denied by the Home Secretary. 

Mr Lidington ends his letter:-

'The government's priority continues to be for judicial process to take its course and to seek justice in this case.'

The Home Secretary's decision this morning and the actions of the government to date cast very great doubt on the sincerity of these words. Indeed the whole world believes that a deal has been struck with the Russian State to bury the truth, and that good relations between Britain and Russia are more important than the death of a British citizen. If the government wishes to disabuse the world of this belief it is going to have to try a lot harder than Mr Lidington's letter.

Mr Lidington should also be advised that in writing to his own or other MP's constituents he would do better to do so on the premise that he is writing to someone a little more aware than an enthusiastic 11 yr old. 

*Please note Idon believe in titles and consequently do not use them. I use yours out of courtesy, since you have always demonstrated courtesy tom. I am afraid it is not enough for Mr Lidington to be declared honourable, he must furnish me with proof.

     
 

II.

Shrewsbury

I am just back from an extremely pleasant week in Shrewsbury. Shropshire is probably amongst the most unspoilt counties of England. Though in the 1960’s it was thought appropriate to create a large new town in the county, Telford; designed to house the overspill from the vast Birmingham conurbation, Telford represents all that is wrong with development in this country. At no stage were people properly engaged in deciding the kind of communities to be constructed or what facilities were required. The result is a great scar on the map of Shropshire with all the charm of a varicose vein. It is no accident that Telford has featured in the news recently with the grooming for sex of underage girls by Asian men; the reasons for this phenomenon are complex however the consequence of years of separatism and lack of integration in the context of a soulless new town are primary factors.
Shrewsbury, though still predominantly white, is much more multi racial than when I lived there as a child. There has been no segregated development and whilst the first arrivals invariably paid a heavy price in racism and discrimination, the consequence of this organic development will be much healthier and create much more harmonious and integrated communities in the long term.

The train journey from Shrewsbury to London is like a corridor running through England separating me from my childhood and morbid adolescence. Train journeys are definitely the form of travel most conducive to a certain kind of reflection and reverie. Along with Betjamin it is Philip Larkin who best captures this, and two of his best poems are about railway journeys, The Whitsun Weddings, and I Remember, I Remember.

‘Coming up England by a different line
For once, early in the cold new year,
We stopped, and, watching men with number plates
Sprint down the platform to familiar gates,
"Why, Coventry!" I exclaimed. "I was born here."

I leant far out, and squinnied for a sign
That this was still the town that had been 'mine'
So long, but found I wasn't even clear
Which side was which. From where those cycle-crates
Were standing, had we annually departed

For all those family hols? . . . A whistle went:
Things moved. I sat back, staring at my boots.
'Was that,' my friend smiled, 'where you "have your roots"?'
No, only where my childhood was unspent,
I wanted to retort, just where I started:’

Back in London I watched senior members of the BBC being grilled in Parliament by Margaret Hodge and the Finance Committee. 

I grew up trusting the BBC, I always considered to be one of the great assets of this country. Constant attacks on its independence by governments of both colours have steadily eroded its journalistic élan. This and a spawning gravy train bureaucracy[2] have served to erode public confidence.
The new BBC headquarters is amongst the biggest in Europe, the BBC being amongst the biggest news gathering agencies in the world, with a wealth of experience and resources that can only make smaller media organisations salivate. Financially secure it is in a position to investigate and break new stories, place reporters on the spot and provide information from a colossal research database. With all of these resources at its disposal you might think this might make the BBC a truly formidable organisation, regularly able to break exclusive news stories, expose venality and speak truth to power. Expecting a lion, you will get a tabby cat.
All the biggest stories in this country and abroad have recently been exposed by the much smaller news outfit at Channel Four; whilst the BBC has lead on Kate’s baby and the victory of a British tennis player at Wimbledon, (for two days no less), Channel Four was breaking stories about undercover police spies, the mendacity of Rupert Murdoch and in depth coverage from Egypt.

Really good British Summers are a rarity and we appear, at the moment, to be having one. Consequently I am now going up on the roof terrace to imitate a desert lizard.

 If you have been, thanks for reading me.

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[1] One of the downsides to being an autocratic thug is that nobody is willing to tell you when you are making a prat of your self.

[2] I recently learned that as part of a slimming down process the BBC had got rid of 200 managers. 200, what were they doing, aside from fighting complicated turf wears.

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