I am bringing out a new book which looks at why populist parties and Presidential candidates are doing well in many elections. It looks at the big gap between what the establishments do and what the voters want them to do. It points out that the two sides do not just disagree about the remedies, but they now disagree about what are the main problems.
More criticism and disillusion set in with the series of difficult civil and religious wars in the Middle East. Electorates in the USA and the EU were not impressed by the political follow up to the military campaigns, and by the fall out from the bitter wars. It got worse with the banking crash of 2008-9. Governments and Central banks blamed the bankers, but voters thought the governing elite were partly responsible as well. In more recent years the failure to advance real incomes at the pre crisis pace, the attack on personal transport and the wish to control people’s thoughts on a wide range of topics, the alliance between big business and big government, higher taxes and the apparent scorn for democracy have all served to make the fissure greater between traditional political parties and candidates on the one hand, and the governing elites on the other.
The price is paperback Ā£6.99; kindle Ā£4.99.
The links to the book to buy online:
Paperback version:
ISBN-10: 1095254952
ISBN-13: 978-1095254950
Kindle version:
ASIN: B07QYBK9SZ
On Amazon:
On Bite-Sized Books website:
https://www.bite-sizedbooks.com/shop/public-affairs-books/we-dont-believe-you/
The book has chapters on military intervention, austerity economics, Brexit, the collapse of the Social Democrats and Christian Democrats as governing parties in most of the EU,the clash between social media and conventional media, the way some large businesses side with big government to the annoyance of their customers, political correctness, large scale migration and the difficulties caused by the Euro.
“We don’t believe you Why Populists reject the establishment” Bite-sized books Available through Amazon
May 3, 2019
Good morning
And thanks.
Does the book have any recommendations as to how these problems can be fixed ?
One possible solution would be to ban all political lobbying.
May 3, 2019
Government were at fault for banking fiasco and still are! Govt can change regulations like Glass and seamless. Blaire and Brown copied Clinton! Ten years on no one brought to account, no one. Fred Goodwin still receiving his huge pension while tax payers picked up the tab. Govt still own private banks. I think you need to correct para.2 of your blog.
Traitor May needs to produce evidence on Williamson, if not resign. This is a miscarriage of justice. Where is the evidence? Double standard applying. Rudd caught out for May’s Windrush scandal, allowed back in government to act against constitution and government! Rudd still there and invited for the Putins girl night out!
May 3, 2019
JR I urge you to read, Again another cracking article by Bruce Newsome in Conservative woman why May has put Huaiew before national security and the power play of Sedwill. It is time to get rid of Sedwell along with Traitor May. It goes to the heart of we do not believe you.
May 3, 2019
Ban political lying š¤„.
Canāt we make selling political ideas and policies subject to consumer trading laws. If people offer to sell you a sausage and deliver a lemon they commit an offence. A manifesto is similarly an offer to consumers: delivering something different means offences of false pretences and misrepresentation.
How are we meant to choose between candidates other than on the basis of their manifestos?
Of course one may not be able to keep to detailed elements of a manifesto. And a coalition needs to define a joint manifesto. But to publicly state āOh I never agreed with the manifesto, so Iām not following itā is an outrage and should lead to criminal charges for deception and dishonesty.
Trading Standard Officers š®āāļø can be given guidelines for when egregious departure from the spirit of a manifesto is sufficient to warrant prosecution. Obvious remedies include politicians losing their seat, being banned from standing in future elections and prison.
May 5, 2019
A Right of Recall would also serve to keep them honest. If building a scaffold outside the Doge’s house kept them straight, perhaps similar would work here.
I would suggest that rather than named Trading Standards Officers who can be mislead or have Civil Service agendas, the other option would be a simple change to the legal system: make manifestos contracts in Uberrimae Fidei.
If insurance and share documents can be annuled and jail time given for lying, why should an election not be voided and a government removed if, in court, they are found to have strayed too far from its contract with the electorate? Set the taxpayer’s money for the case aside in a private account at the start of each’s term.
May 3, 2019
Banning all political lobbying would hit the Brussels economy hard.
May 3, 2019
Vote for a party which has popular policies.
May 3, 2019
The problem so often is that once elected they almost never do what they promised. David Cameron pretended to be a ālow tax at heart Conservativeā and a Cast Iron Eurosceptic. Yet he increased taxes hugely and massively sloped the pitch towards remain in the referendum but still lost by a good margin. He promised to stay on, implement the result and serve the section 50 notice next day but then just pathetically abandoned ship. May is far, far worse still. How many extra good councillors lost their seats just due to her incompetent sacking of a minister the day before the local elections?
May 3, 2019
Or make it actually possible to provide information to parliamentary working groups. The last time one came up in my field of expertise and I tried to find out how to submit data, I was sent in an endless loop which resulted in being told to send it to the Civil Servant supporting the enquiry – but no one knew who that was or could give me their contact details.
May 3, 2019
Interesting idea Mark, Cameron did say Lobbying is the next big disaster to hit politics (or words to that effect).
I wonder if he just meant the UK, or was he also trying to draw people’s attention to the massive amounts of lobbying in the EU where the big corporations are given the red carpet treatment, often to the detriment of the interests of everyone else?
May 3, 2019
š
May 4, 2019
There is only one possible solution I can conceive of that might even begin to address the problem. It is the power of recall. Nothing else even comes close.
May 3, 2019
Did you cover how formerly right wing parties were infiltrated by lefties like Mrs Merkel and the CDU? Or at home, how former members of the SDP, like Greg Clarke and Ms Soubry, ended up as ministers in Conservative governments?
May 3, 2019
The Cabinet is still full of appalling lefty Libdem types. May herself is clearly an appalling pro EU, PC, SJW, identity politics pushing, Libdim, socialist.
She is wrong on everything and totally dishonest with it.
May 3, 2019
Couldn’t have put it better myself, Sir. (Hope ‘Sir’ correct: there’s no indication.)
Ī Ī
May 3, 2019
Not that the Tories have been right wing. Certainly not under Heath, Major, Cameron or May anyway. Even Mrs Thatcher fail to cut the state down to a remotely sensible size or tackle the NHS etc.
May 4, 2019
True but Mrs T had a mountain to climb and most of the wet Tory Party stood in the way just as they still bat for the other side. The very rottenness of the current regime is the living proof of that.
May 3, 2019
Entryism by Rory Stewart- Labour, Clarke-SDP Wollaston, Nick Gibb ken Clarke etc.
Gibb was the latest this week to say he was a liberal conservative. What he and many others mean they are liberals wearing blue to get in office by deceiving the voters! If they campaigned for Remain in the last general election they would not be in office! Shysters the lot of them.
May 3, 2019
Be interesting to see if Rory sticks to his promise of only staying a MP for two terms
May 3, 2019
Like he would go if prisons did not improve! There is no deterrent in prison last week another female prison guard imprisoned for sexual activity with an inmate! After the usual sexting in mobiles! Both he and Gauke not fit to run a whelk stall. Left wingers in the wrong party.
May 3, 2019
Indeed.
May 3, 2019
@DRW; But then he would also have to cover how the far right infiltrated the traditional right-wing, after all the UKIP were launched to protect the UKIP, not campaign on immigration or religious issues etc…
May 3, 2019
What do you mean by this? “after all the UKIP were launched to protect the UKIP …”
May 3, 2019
@DRW; Sorry, a typo, UKIP were formed to protect the GBP (or as I was trying to phrase it, in a rush, as the “UKP”).
May 3, 2019
Can you explain jerry who is ‘far right’ in the current Conservative Party?
May 3, 2019
Answer: anyone who disagrees with him.
May 3, 2019
@a-tracy: Try reading what I said, not what you think I said, thus showing just how touchy and defensive some have become on the right….
May 3, 2019
Jerry, I think you’re seriously askew with your left-right spectrum, which is out of date anyway. The real divide nowadays is libertarian-authoritarian. This new divide splits the older parties. The EU, much of Labour, the LibDems, and some Conservatives such as Theresa May are very definitely authoritarian. UKIP is towards the libertarian wing, and is similar to the old Liberals – patriotic, live-and-let-live, generally in favour of free enterprise, but opposed to corporatism and globalism.
May 4, 2019
@NickC; Talk about the filth pot trying to call the brand new kettle a little shop solid! As for libertarianism, same old politics, just a different name, back in the 1970s those holding such views were often called ‘radicals’, be they Left or Right leaning libertarians.
May 3, 2019
I’d say you pretty well nailed it there DRW. All this talk in political circles about ‘Broad Churches’, I don’t think it really works. If one has faith in a certain philosophy and it is proven to work, there comes a point beyond which compromise with others just isn’t possible. National sovereignty is a case in point. People either believe in it or they don’t.
May 3, 2019
The content described focuses sharply on what voters care about in seeking change for the better.
May 3, 2019
It sounds like a sensible analysis.
The other areas that also concern me are the growth of millions of essentially parasitic non jobs in bother the state sector and the private sector. This largely due to damaging red tape, complex planning laws, absurdly complex tax laws, government interventions in energy and so very many other areas of life.
Also what is essentially corruption or crony capitalism with lobbying and political paid “consultants” are hired to change laws for the interest of big business against the interest of voters and the economy. Politicians just declaring their paid “interests” is not enough. It is still often a blatant fraud against the interest of the people and damaging to the economy. The “renewable” energy industry is a massive example of this as is the making tax digital moves. Many pointless essentially parasitic jobs in the university sector too funded by soft student loans for largely valueless degrees. Half of degree students seems have 3 D’s or less at university!
May 3, 2019
In terms of political correctness , specifics in large scale migration, and the failure to integrate in some areas of multiculturism, you are as guilty as anyone else in the establishment by blocking comment or discussion. Like prohibiting alcahol it is driven underground, in this case onto the internet and then can get really nasty. You cannot teach people what to think in the face of their personal exleriences. George Orwell and 1984 come to mind.
May 3, 2019
Agricola,
‘The Strange Death of Europe’ – Douglas Murray
May 3, 2019
“there was no more effective way to demolish Europe’s resplendent aura than by relegating it to the status of a mere “natural” extremity of the very region over which it was supposed to excel.”
That is a quote from the seminal work of the godfather of Eurasianism,Nikolai Danilevsky-“Russia and Europe: The Slavic world’s political & cultural relations with the Germanic-Roman West.”(1869).Very influential in it’s day and even more so now(not just in Russia but also in Turkey,China,Iran,etc),it proposed that Russia should reject the West and create a specifically Eurasian civilization with it’s Eastern and Southern Asian neighbours.It wasn’t published in English translation until 2013(one literary critic noting that it was “incredible that a book so important in European thought should not have been translated until then”)but has influenced western writers like Oswald Spengler,Arnold Toynbee and Samuel Huntington.
Moving NATO to Russia’s borders has been a complete and utter disaster for the west.
May 3, 2019
A contact at a Russian think tank has alerted me to an incendiary note posted on the Kremlin website last week under tasks for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs-to devise a format for an official visit by Turkey’s President Erdogan to Crimea to officially open a new Grand Mosque for the local Tartar population.It’s a brilliant masterstroke by the Russians to flatter Erdogan by allowing him to posture as a would-be Caliph to their muslim communities(he was also invited to open the new Central Mosque in Moscow a couple of years ago) but a head of state of a NATO member visiting Crimea …….get the popcorn ready!
May 3, 2019
Blocking comment about migration, political correctness and multiculturalism?
Really?
Nowadays, I seem to hear about little else. For and against.
Also, what do we do when the populists don’t deliver?
May 3, 2019
I look forward to reading it.
The title “We Don’t Believe You” applies especially to May and the small clique surrounding her trying to push her sell out WA through Parliament. Her latest wheeze, sacking Williamson and promoting Stewart, has already encouraged the latter to promote the stitch up deal with Labour and announce a leadership bid from what he describes as the “radical centre”. That didn’t take long. Tory MPs need to ensure it unravels at the same speed.
I do not see how the current Conservative party, run by a small clique with no accountability to its paid up members, and losing the support of its perennial voters, has a future. Those foot soldiers have been taken for granted and are now in mutiny, deserting in droves to join the Brexit party. It seems to me that Brexit supporting MPs should break away and establish a new Conservative Brexit party which actually provides a voice for members it attracts – not treat them like dirt. That way they might win the support of those many associations and members who reject May and her devious machinations. PS I am not Conservative party member but I know several people who are. Their outrage is palpable.
May 3, 2019
Agreed, Oldtimer.
It is time Conservative Brexiteers learnt the lesson from the 1993 Canadian federal campaign and the demolition of the Canadian Progressive Conservative Party.
It is time they recognised just how popular Farage and the Brexit Party are. (There would have been no need for the Brexit Party if there had been a break-away Real Tory party; now they might be too late to stop it.)
It is time they recognised that the vast majority of Conservative associations, members, and voters would back a breakaway Real Tory party; that the Remain vote is split across Con/Lab/Lib; that whoever puts up a credible ‘Leave’ party is likely to win the next General Election (particularly if that election arises in the next 6 months).
They have the power to bring down this quisling Government, but fail to act.
They carry equal responsibility for this farce of continuing EU membership, which is costing our country dearly.
Whilst Tory Brexiteers dither over their misplaced loyalty, the UK burns.
Time to act, Sir John.
May 3, 2019
All this week the BBC has been in overdrive with endless climate alarmism propaganda. With Tomb Stone Ed Miliband (architect of the damaging lunacy of the climate change act that all but a handful voted for), flying over (economy? probably not) to push this total lunacy. As someone with some understanding of science, physics and energy engineering it is amazing how the BBC can have so many people discussing the subject and yet not a single impartial person who actually understands what they are talking about.
Much lunacy from The Committee on Climate Change (the CCC) is an independent, statutory body established under the Climate Change Act 2008 too.
One easy what to reduce the number of planes flying about would be to insist on all flight being nearly full of economy only passengers. No private jets no first or business class and no nearly empty aircraft. This could nearly half the aircraft miles needed. As governments do not insist on this then I think we can assume they do not take their own climate alarmism remotely seriously. They are surely like Price Charles and Emma Thompson types “do as I say not as I do” . (ed there are too many )blatant hypocrites or con merchants.
May 3, 2019
Ken Clark said Sir John Gummer was an “expert advocate” on energy matters on Question Time. Well an advocate and a history graduate with significant financial interests in this area perhaps. I certainly do not see Lord Debden as remotely impartial he is surely part of the problem.
Do Gummer and Ken Clark always fly economy I wonder?
May 3, 2019
@LL; “Do Gummer and Ken Clark always fly economy I wonder?”
If such people actually believed in their own climate alarmism they would not fly, not even cattle class, they would use technology to the full, hold climate summits etc via video conferencing and the like!
Before climate alarmist accuse some of being Luddites, I like many have nothing against wind turbines, PV panels or electric cars etc per se, its just that they do not work effectively (and probably never will) when compared to modernised clean but proven traditional alternatives.
May 3, 2019
On climate change you need to separate climate from snvironment. Climate is largely the business of the sun and has been since the World came about. Anyone who wishes to comoete with the sun can join Canute.
The environment is a differsnt matter, it is largely in our control and to date our efforts have been abysmal. You think of it and we have done little. Concentrate on righting all the obscenities in the environment and we will positively impact on the healtth of our population while at the same time reducing the pressure on the NHS.
May 3, 2019
Well said Agricola. We cannot change the climate but we can treat the environment better.
May 3, 2019
I have wondered about the coincidence of timing .. massive media coverage of the need for environmental action, at the same time as elections, local and EU Parliament.
May 3, 2019
It has to be an international coordination. The phrases such as extinction and emergency amongst others were suddenly picked up by ignorant politicians and repeated, with worship of hysterical teenagers and much repetition.
May 3, 2019
” No private jets no first or business class and no nearly empty aircraft ” – -No posh seats? What would protesting famous actresses flying from the USA to moan about fossil fuel use do?
May 3, 2019
@LifeLogic – People pushing alleged MMCC are the biggest users of Co2 but they dare to preach to us…
Some years back the BBC came to a decision as regards MMCC – following presentations to their ‘top’ people, they decided, on our behalf that it was all real, despite having no views properly discussed to the contrary – Ever since they have been pushing out this garbage, even though MMCC ‘science’ has been shown to be baloney, many times ever, with not one prediction coming true. They are allowed to go on with this propaganda, because it suits the establishment, and allows for more indoctrination of the young.
There is another reason for the current blitz by the BBC, and that is political. In our political system there are two parties that act as a safety valve for the 2 major party system. When voters are hacked off with both labour and Tories, they of course will vote for a safety valve party; Libdems, or Greens….. Without realising that they will both support labour and are no alternative whatsoever.
To ensure UKIP doesn’t do well in local elections, the BBC has been hyping MMCC, which both Greens and Libdems promote – hence a reseruction of these 2 smaller socialist parties at the expense of UKIP who were denied any promotion by the biased BBC.
May 3, 2019
Don’t forget private helicopters as well.
May 3, 2019
Well done for recognising the situation, and for understanding Politicians are often the problem, not the solution.
I wonder how many of your fellow Mp’s would agree with you.
Perhaps for your next book you could title it “How to throw away Billions in one easy lesson”
May 3, 2019
Largely parasitic big government (that goes much beyond defence and law and order) is nearly always the problem. People vote endlessly for lower taxes and better services they invariably get higher taxes and worse services delivered. With May & Hammond we are getting this in spades. With Corbyn/Mc Donnall/SNP it will be even worse.
May 3, 2019
It would be most strange if we did believe the establishment…having been lied to so often!
And donāt forget the betrayal..we never expected our leaders to consign us to the rubbish heap, to dispossess us and to trash everything that ever meant anything to us.
We have seen the skull beneath the skin..not sure if there is any going back.
May 3, 2019
Is there anyone who still believes Theresa May?
May 3, 2019
@NickC; “Is there anyone who still believes Theresa May?”
Judging by the early returns from the local elections Brexit appears to be the issue [1], not a TM (nor JC) issue, how ever much media and political spin-doctors try to make out it is.
The parties that are pushing the idea of a second referendum the most have gained, the parties that are telling the people ‘nanny knows best’ appear to be loosing support – time for true Brexiteers, not those with alternate motives, take back control of the message, time to call for that second referendum -asking the How-to question.
[1] otherwise explain why the LDs and Greens have made such gains
May 3, 2019
Not even herself or her husband I suspect. Why does she not just go before she does even more harm to country, party and people.
May 3, 2019
‘Going’ would have been the action of a rational person and would have happened a long time ago. If she goes, she is hell bent on bringing everything down with her!
Does this Dictionary Definition ring any bells?
What are the symptoms of paranoid personality disorder?
– believing that others have hidden motives or are out to harm them.
– doubting the loyalty of others.
– being hypersensitive to criticism.
– having trouble working with others.
– being quick to become angry and hostile.
– becoming detached or socially isolated.
May 3, 2019
The unelected men to whom she is acting as a human shield won’t let her.
May 4, 2019
Plus stopping Boris!
May 3, 2019
On order from Amazon. Thanks.
May 3, 2019
Free for a month on Kindle Unlimited I see. Also free some excellent books by David Craig such as:-
The Great University Con: How we broke our universities and betrayed a generation
by Mr David Craig and Hugh Openshaw
The Great Charity Scandal: What Really Happens to the Billions We Give to Good Causes? by Mr David Craig.
and more.
May 3, 2019
You didnāt mention mass immigration.
Iāve done the maths and the economic cost of importing millions of people who are low tax payers is a slightly higher amount than the cost of days lost to strikes in the 1970s.
This comparison is important for several reasons
1) Austerity is actually tax dilution. With the tax burden at a high there is simply more people sharing it.
2) The virtue signalling by far left politicans in the 1970s has now been adopted by Conservatives in the 2010s.
3) Unlike the 1970s the economic downside of virtue signalling will last longer than our lifetimes.
Reply Yes there is a chapter on migration
May 3, 2019
Gotta love that title — the rallying cry of our times, cutting across (and in many cases, completely trashing) traditional party loyalties like nothing before.
Looking forward to reading this one, Sir John, and I wish you every success.
May 3, 2019
Seconded
May 5, 2019
I’m reading it now.
May 3, 2019
Sir Graham Brady said Brexit had been a “massive frustration” for voters and affected the number of Tory supporters coming out. “We need to be more obviously competent as a government and we need to make progress – crucially on the central issue of Brexit.”
In the main they simply do not support the Conservatives any more with with these appalling robotic, Brexit traitors and socialist May in charge (with the highest and most incompetent taxes for 70 years) Philip Hammond in no 11 – why would they?
Need to be “more obviously competent”! As opposed to being led lying, cheating, fraudulent, tax to death traitors? I suppose that is what he really means.
Hopefully T May will apologise to all the decent counsellors she has evicted then resign herself now in total ignominy.
May 3, 2019
She won’t be allowed to resign and she will carry on blaming the Brexiteers.
May 3, 2019
Just bought it on amazon and found out I can start reading it online v
May 3, 2019
Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew ) has passed away. May the Force be with him.
May 3, 2019
Yeah, a day early! (May the fourth be with you).
May 3, 2019
I congratulate you and your efforts in this publication but without reference to specific individuals, their identity and the damage they’re causing then this book will have little effect.
The use of immigration as a political and electoral tactic is perhaps an issue that goes under the radar but this phenomena has caused huge damage to this nation, our freedoms and more importantly afforded the leftist political class to change the fundamental nature of the UK to achieve political and electoral benefit
In many ways the capitulation of the Tory party to the left on many issues will lead to the Tory party’s eventual destruction as many of their electoral supporters will simply fade away and seek a more amenable home
May’s decision to drag the party leftwards as Labour travels at light speed towards full Marxist reality is probably one of the most disturbing events in British political history
This PM is without question a danger to the UK and its residents
May 3, 2019
The title of Sir John’s new book is sanitised, of course it has to be, and that is perfectly understandable, but the words I hear being used in common contemporary palance to describe Theresa May and her band of underhanded wishy-washy ‘wets’ is far more severe.
As this is a time for post election candour, May isn’t just criticised, she is absolutely hated! I am convinced that were she to venture into some areas of the country, her personal safety could not be guaranteed.
Who in the hell in their right mind wants to persist with a politician who is such a dismal failure, she has literally torn communities and families apart with her dishonesty and duplicity?
May has caused so much ill-feeling, it is difficult to know if the damage can ever be repaired. This is not merely a case of not believing the executive, this is a national emergency requiring the immediate removal of the very person who has caused all the trouble and the bitterness.
May’s deliberate procrastination, obfuscation, and failure to deliver is so divisive, it is difficult to put into words. But she’s not the only one that needs to go, so too the likes of Liddington, Gauke, Rudd, Hammond, Stewart, and all the other talentless nonentities that should never have been in parliament in the first place.
I’m hoping Sir John’s book will open a few eyes to the very real dangers of having the likes of May in positions of trust and authority.
May 3, 2019
How ever do you find the time ? !!
May 3, 2019
Does the book cover the influence of Steve Bannon, the man on a mission sponsoring the right wing radicalisation of Western Europe?
May 3, 2019
RichardM
Theres a great chapter on making yourself various tin foil hats
May 3, 2019
Maybe we need, at the very least, a foil to the all-pervasive neo-liberal doctrine.
May 3, 2019
RichardM, What’s left wing radicalisation of Western Europe? New gulags? My father in law spent 2 years as a gulag inmate of the USSR – where Corbyn’s heart is. Not again, thank you.
May 3, 2019
Good luck with it – I will place an order!
May 3, 2019
Does the book highlight that the “progressives” are just as populist as those against whom they level the charge of populism?
Progressives promote policies to assuage the guilt of those in the establishment who are taking advantage of our peonage to the client state who are turning towards so called populism for some restbite.
May 3, 2019
Which is driving us towards populism not who are turning towards populism.
More haste less speed
May 3, 2019
As the governing elites get more extreme, anti democratic and repressive almost by the day the people are the ones that are accused of bigotry and extremism and suffer under thought control laws. Most politicians haven’t got the mental capacity to understand why we’re fed up. Lets hope they read your book Mr Redwood.
May 3, 2019
”… haven’t got the mental capacity to understand…”
They’re not ”elite” then, are they?
May 3, 2019
Look forward to reading it. It’s interesting to hear the commentary on yesterday’s Local Election results, no one as yet concluding the obvious truth that “broad church” parties can’t appeal to both Remainers and Leavers, it’s a dividing line for the country so is too for the main parties.
Until we start talking up Independence, something many countries across the globe have achieved and benefited from (including UK historically), we won’t have a party (or parties) in Government who wish to seize the moment.
May 3, 2019
I don’t take any delight in saying this because I once campaigned for the Tories, as you might already know, but the May administration couldn’t run a puppet show.
And it is precisely because the party held the doors open to all and sundry that the present highly predictable catastrophic situation came about. By and large, as the pinkos moved in, the true blues moved out.
To fill the party with ‘place-people’ and having too few ‘signposts’ who show the way to go, can only lead to limp-wristed compromised leadership and a lack of direction.
Ask any doctor, early diagnosis is vital when fighting disease. May’s disease was indicated early enough, but nobody did anything to cut it out, and now, the remedy must be radical. Get rid of May, and we can get rid of all the other infected body parts such as ‘High-tax Hammond’, ‘Let ’em all out Rory Stewart’, ‘I don’t want a second referendum (but secretly I do) Rudd, ‘leading solid unshakeable Brexiteer Letwin’, and a host of others who should never have been let anywhere near power.
May 3, 2019
“Populism” implies this is what the people want. What right does any politician have to do something else? But they do! There is a gulf between the politicians and the governed all over the world.
May 3, 2019
Exactly!
May 3, 2019
If Rory Stewart really thinks agreeing a deal with Labour behind conservative members and voters backs will ‘heal’ Britain he is unsuitable as a Minister and yet another Remainer who isn’t listening.
May 3, 2019
It’s the mind set. They have a different way of thinking. It is prescriptive rather than acceding to the public’s wishes. Not so much a public servant, more a master thereof.
May 3, 2019
A-tracy, Very true. We’re heading for the new Labour-Conservative coalition. Who would have thought it two years ago? However I did suggest last November that Labour support for May looked likely, but I was told that neither Tory nor Lab MPs would wear it. Anything to spike the Leave voting public, though, eh?
May 3, 2019
The Lib Dems have made HUGE gains today. Showing clearly that the British people in 2019 DO NOT WANT BREXIT. I trust you will cover that
Reply I don’t think it shows an y such thing, but I note the Lib Dems polled less as a percentage than either Lab or Con. What view of Brexit were people expressing who voted in many more Independent Councillors?
May 3, 2019
Paddy
What is it with Remainers that they are so naive and gullible. If you look across the results so far there is one obvious and striking detail. People have voted for a range of fringe parties such as LibDems, Greens, DV, FBM etc as a protest vote against the two main parties. EXACTLY as predicted
May 3, 2019
Even the LidDems agree this isnāt the case – they specifically campaigned on very local issues and avoided mentioning Brexit. Anyway Paddy, looking forward to your post after the EU elections.
May 3, 2019
I think it shows that Corbymania has peaked and the people who used to vote Liberal before Corbyn, have returned to their natural party. Mainly now because Corbyn isn’t turning out as anti EU as they had deluded themselves he was. This should be good news for Conservatives who always used to need the Liberal vote to stay up to keep Labour out. When it collapsed, as it did in 2017, Labour almost got in, even though the Conservative vote was high.
May 3, 2019
Sorry, for anti EU read pro EU. Understandable confusion!
May 3, 2019
”Straws”/”clutch”, Paddy?
But why do YOU think we should remain? Few remainers have an answer.
May 3, 2019
Don’t get ahead of yourself. If that was the case then you would have expected the LibDums to have made even more gains in Remain areas but that has not happened.
Take my area for example, I had a choice of Tory, Labour, Lib Dum or Green. So to punish both main parties left me to vote either LibD or Green but I would never vote for either so I spoilt my ballot paper because there wasn’t any suitable alternative candidate. The results show there has been a huge rise in the number of spoiled ballot papers, but I’m sure there were many who just put a X for Lib Dum or Green rather than vote Tory or Labour.
Simples.
May 3, 2019
Paddy
“Showing clearly that the British people in 2019 DO NOT WANT BREXIT.”
Tosh, quite frankly.
And you are qualified to make that statement ? or more to the point; entitled ?
May 3, 2019
I understand that you have used the word “populist” from a need to distinguish political alternatives to mainstream parties but it is all used as a meaningless liberal sneer like ” fascist” or “far right” to mean “anyone not 100% behind my worldview”.
Surely every political party is populist: just witness the “sweeties” they all offer at election time.
May 3, 2019
JW,
Yes I agree, Populist seems to be used as a pejorative adjective, when in reality it is a valid, alternative political view that has gained support. The ‘old parties’ naturally sneer at them, and fear new ideas that upsets the status-quo.
The good news is both Conservative AND Labour have got a bloody nose from the locals. IF they don’t learn the lesson and change by the time of the EU elections then they’ll be in third and fourth place at the next GE.
May 3, 2019
I shall look forward to reading the kindle version on my phone.
I am of a slightly different view. We can no longer reach consensus in democratic countries – there are too many disparate groups and this has been made deliberately so by the mass immigration of competing ideologies and the prioritisation of minority-within-minority interests (transgenderism.)
Society has been deliberately fragmented. Average people have been demonised – etc ed
On the surface of it we have democracy but whichever way we vote we are getting cultural Marxism because that’s the way the deep state, ruling establishment defaults and the way it likes it. This has become abundantly clear since The People’s anti EU rebellion of 2016, caused by the Deep State who blamed the EU whenever suspicions were aroused to what they were up to.
I would suggest that we don’t have *populism* so much as un-populism.
Please drop the (now) pejorative term *populist*, primarily because populism it’s not what we have.
We don’t LIKE Nigel Farage (he’s boorish.) We don’t LIKE Donald Trump (he’s an oaf) – but we are SICK to the back teeth of slick mainstream politicians taking the money, taking the perks and time and again ditching the manifestos they promised us, not because they won’t deliver but because they CAN’T deliver and they full well know Parliament isn’t in charge, the Deep State is.
Message to Andy and Newmania. The Tories aren’t tanking in the elections because they have a pro Leave PM and pro Leave politicians. Their funds haven’t collapsed because they’ve got us out of the EU.
They are Leftist. They are pro EU and now they are DEAD.
May 3, 2019
It’s all very well asking why *mainstream* parties are losing to so called populist movements.
Shouldn’t we just be focusing on why the Tory party is collapsing ? Do we really care if Labour has lost trust ? What does Labour have to do with the price of fish ?
All we should be focusing on (as a Tory forum) is the Tory Party.
To couch the question “Why is it happening to all mainstream parties everywhere ?” is out of the BBC handbook of tricks. They use it on knife crime “Worst stabbing rate since 1947” in other words “It was ever thus” (no it wasn’t) or “We’re all the same” (no we’re not !)
I don’t care how Labour are failing. I don’t care how the LibDems are failing.
I need to know why the Tories are now Cultural Marxists. That’s all I care about. You don’t need to write a book about all the others.
May 3, 2019
All dynamite – on order and many thanks.
Off topic – seems the Lib Demās have returned to their original role as dustbin for votes that canāt be cast for the 2 main parties.
May 3, 2019
Bit harsh. LiDems have a good reputation locally for getting things done at the council level and Iāve voted for them on that basis in the past. My current council are Labour and spend more time on grandstanding on national issues (like Brexit) than doing something to stop fly-tipping or a host of local issues. I wouldnāt vote for them in a national election of course.
May 3, 2019
I’ve always said I’d rather have an honest politician than a liar. I’d rather be told that ” this is going to be tough” – and it is – – than be told a pack of lies. Once someone has a reputation of being untrustworthy – they always will have it. DC told us many times they were getting immigration down to “tens of thousands” –while increasing it. Maybe the fact that none of those being waved in were going to be living near him, nor affecting his life or finances in ANY way helped him to lie through his teeth. Just like “If it is a Leave vote I’ll trigger Art 50” – -then just walked away, showed his true personality.
May 3, 2019
An anarchist sits on a Piano and a Conservative learns to play it. I like this aphorism because it illustrated how a child`s idea of āfreedomā( ie not to practice) results in a diminished life. It was Freud`s insight that the child is the centre of his world and healthy adulthood is the understanding that we are not.
Populism is that kind of popularity that appeals the child . It is the soothing encouragement to shout ā I am important, make it easy, feed me stuff !”
In medical terms it is a plague of obesity .Politically it is the reduction of complexity to slogans scapegoats and āfeelingsā.
Brexit is populism as Policy ā Political opportunists have suggested that without those foreigners here and abroad we will all be valued listened to housed and wealthyā¦.its easy , you are important !
What, I wonder will these fat lazy fractious children do when they find there are no sweeties after all ?
May 3, 2019
Do you have it to download on Kindle too?
Reply Yes, I think that is an option
May 3, 2019
Interesting to see the people going on Amazon to buy Sir Johnās book, a book that I understand address the problems of big business.
My little independent bookstore (contacted by phone) checked and can get it to me by Tuesday 14 May. Yes, I will have to walk there to fetch it. But isnāt exercise good?
May 3, 2019
Good point hefner supporting good local small independent bookstores and even the majors who pay for a high street costly presence is a good thing. I don’t have a book shop locally sadly other than The Works and I’m not sure this is a book they would stock. I ordered my copy through Amazon but I asked about Kindle for a colleague.
May 3, 2019
2016 Referendum – We don’t believe you.
2017 Election May – We are not convinced ( you are a Remainer)
2018 Withdrawal Agreement – We don’t trust EU.
2019 Leave forgotten? – We don’t trust you Theresa May and most Mps.
May 3, 2019
You Mrs, May turn but
This country is not For Turning…
Is the takeaway from local elections 2019.
May 3, 2019
Thank you, a wonderful observation, as always.
Protect what you have It is a normal trait of human nature.
In business it has a tendency to produce weak management, instead of attracting customers by better service or greater innovation. It becomes how can we construct inhibitors to others entering our market and competing.
In politics, again weak management, instead of creating an environment so that all citizens can achieve their full potential. It becomes how can we block the other gang and get re-elected. Good government is the one we donāt hear from ā it just happens.
The expansion of media outlets has led to a proliferation of āsound bitesā to attract the reader, which for the most part have nothing to do with anything other than promoting that outlet. Large views, large revenue.
We all suffer, as 5% of the population starts to believe, the same 5% that flip-flops in one direction or another when it comes to election time. Political groups play into this by playing the āme-toā card, instead of challenging the inaccuracies and so the quality of life deteriorates.
The barrier to businesses lobbying and for what purpose needs to be set higher. The barrier to business acquiring their competitors needs to be set higher.
Political candidates should all be selected by the communities they wish to represent, no one else. Electoral Ballot papers must include the option of āNone of the Aboveā. Our local elections, yes Sir John here in Wokingham, just offered a selection of candidates that all represented and I would presume were also selected by the same leadership that just loves to lie to the electorate. The choice support the corrupt or donāt vote ā thatās not engagement, thatās not democracy, thatās kicking the electorate in the teeth.
May 3, 2019
Osborne on LBC today pathetically blaming the sound wing of the Conservatives for wanting a 100% Brexit with only 52% of the votes. What a tax to death anti-democratic fool he is. You are either in or you are out and become democratic sovereign nation again. So long as you do not buy a Ā£39 billion straight jacket that is. The only way to save the Conservative party is to cull May and Hammond and become a real Brexit Conservative Party now.
What Osborne is suggesting is rather like chopping children in half to give half to the mother and half to the father in a divorce. Does anyone think that had the Cameron and Osborne Government conned the voters into a remain vote (with their lies, propaganda and sloped pitch referendum) by say 51/49% we would then have left by 49%.
Go away man, you have done far too much damage already. Brandon Lewis totally pathetic too on radio 4 same old drivel from the man. Mayās WA is not Brexit it is even worse than remain and it will bury the Conservative Party too you pathetic dope. Can we get Tebbit back as Chairman or clone him please.
May 3, 2019
Dear Mr. Redwood,
Perhaps you should include a few paragraphs on the advent of the internet and social media -this blog for example. People are much more informed on issues of the day and on what their elected representatives are supposedly doing on their behalf.
And they don’t like what they see.
Reply Yes the book covers the battle of the medias
May 3, 2019
Good luck with publicising that book – I know how hard that can be…
It would have been nice to see a chapter on socialism – the real disease of this era.
Something else, which is not just symbolic of the age, but major instruments in establishing more and more political correctness using acts of Parliament to control or should that be re-engineer us….. These are anti-populist legislation most people would want removed… or at least discussed / written about.
May 3, 2019
Seems like JR is one of the few politicians in the HoC who “gets it”.
Most MPs are part of the problem.
Take Vicky Ford, Chelmsford MP, being upset about the poor local election results for the conservatives – she clearly doesn’t realise that MPs like her pushing for BRINO and delay has electoral consequences.
WTO on 29 March and no Ā£39B and the results would have been so much better.
May 3, 2019
They are stupid and ignorant and out of touch with the bigger picture unlike our host.
May 3, 2019
JR Just like many of us, I hope that you have seen the need for a revised contract between electors and elected – It is well overdue that our government is controlled in a more democratic way – Governments, particularly this one, are too prone to sign treaties and make agreements because the global establishment wants it…..
That would make an excellent subject for your next book.
May 3, 2019
This morning as the figure of around 400 Tory losses were showing the deputy party leader … Whately was being interviewed looking very bleary eyed. She admitted that people had been saying ‘you promised us Brexit and we still haven’t left’ as a reason why support had collapsed as many have been predicting.
She then went on to say without any sense of shame that the Tories were a minority government and needed votes from other parties; if that support had been given by these MPs May’s treaty would have been passed and we would be out.
This is the warped perverted thinking at the top of the party. It’s destruction must continue because clearly there’s no chance of change. No recognition that vast numbers of people know full well that May’s surrender document keeps us tied tight to the EU and don’t want it.
May 3, 2019
The biggest problem faced by the planet is ever increasing population (not simply CO2 production) consuming the Earthās resources and leading to massive levels of unwanted migrations.
For the UK, as a small country, already with high population density, the biggest threat to our social cohesion and standard of living, is having open borders with the 500m+ EU which intends to continue expanding eastwards (āfrom the Atlantic to the Uralsā according to Mr. Cameronās Kazakhstan speech in July 2013) plus, having signed the UN Compact on Migration, regular inflows of migrants for the ME and Africa.
As a destination country for many reasons, including language, continuous and high immigration leads to not only an even higher population density but even more importantly to the inability to know or be able to forecast the population.
This means no government can predict future population levels and plan successfully for housing, schools, hospitals, prisons, police and infrastructure etc..
As a result we will always be in a crisis with the only plan to import more people.
A recipe for a downward spiral unless we vote the globalists out of Parliament and vote into power MPs who genuinely want the UK to be safe and its people survive and prosper.
May 3, 2019
One key thing that should be borne in mind when analysing the current demise of Parties, and in particular the Conservatives, is beautifully summed up in this tweet by Andrew Potts on Jacob Rees-Mogg’s twitter:
“The leadership is completely out of touch and doesnāt understand the psychology of betrayal. The betrayed are not temporarily disappointed – they are permanently enraged. No coming back now for the Conservative Party”.
I agree completely. Too many Cons MPs think that they can turn round things and all will be forgiven. It won’t be.
Firstly, they have let this betrayal go ahead and have refused to take the radical action necessary to prevent it.
Secondly, the motives for not taking this action do not bear up well under scrutiny. Some unpleasant truths come to the surface.
Thirdly, they have had three years virtually to do something about it, but instead have stood by and watched their Remainer PM and the civil service cementing their grip on Brexit to ensure that we remain effectively in the EU.
Fourthly, the relentless lying by the PM, the duplicity, the undermining of ministers, the shenanigans, the contempt for voters have been there for all to see, and nothing has been done to stop it.
What a disgrace. The voters won’t come back, I believe, and for very good reason.
May 3, 2019
Thank you, John. Will read with interest!
May 3, 2019
Bought. Arrives Thurs.
May 3, 2019
I had a look at the manifesto of the independent winner of the Middlesborough mayor election. I was impressed.
Worth a read by anyone interested in politics.
May 3, 2019
I know you are a man of honour and will not leave the conservative party. I hope that in any forthcoming General Election the Brexit Party will not stand a candidate against you or Bill Cash etc etc. Your experience will be vital to the new kids on the block and I think that a cabinet post awaits you in the coalition.
May 3, 2019
Disagree. The Brexit party needs to stand in ALL constituencies, it is the Conservative party itself that is at fault and it must be swept away entirely – all Conservative MPs are complicit in selecting and supporting May. The risk of voting in any Conservative MP is that once elected they will ignore their manifesto – it is just not possible to cherry-pick the handful who wonāt (even Rees-Mogg voted for the WA at one point).
May 3, 2019
Disagree Roy. I think if The Brexit Party wants to achieve anything they should only stand when they want to oppose the views of their leading competitor and concentrate their efforts and resources on making a difference, not spreading themselves too thinly and getting no-one elected. If they stand in my area against our Conservative MP, who I voted for stupidly in 2017, they stood on one platform then reneged and voted against her electorate the new party will not only have my vote but I will encourage others to vote for them if the current Tory MP stands.
May 4, 2019
Indeed he did and I wrote and told him my thoughts on his betrayal!
May 3, 2019
The fact that we the electorate do not believe you suggests to me a deficiency in the message coming from the majority of MPs. MPs are not reflecting the wishes of those they represent.
A strong leader, realising this, would gather them together for the bollocking of a lifetime. A weak one leaves them to squabble among themselves as now. The logical result is decimation at the polls today and annhialation at the EU election. It indicates to me that the HoC is not fit for purpose. Continue along this path and the conservative party in election terms is dead, even though a strong body of conservative thinking is alive in the country. I mean real conservative thinking, not Lib/Dums incognito nor extreme right wing fanaticism. My conclusion is that those who believe in real conservatism have two options. Take control of the party in the HoC, difficult at present, or break away. Having broken away you have two choices. Either stand alone and hope to carry the conservative vote in the country with you or combine with Nigel Farage. His desires on Europe are the same as I judge our hosts, but is there too much embarrasment to admit it. There is a vast shopping list of changes that need to be made which would form the basis for a manifesto for such a new party. The ball for the moment is in your court, muddle along and it is game over. The people will vote it out of your hands.v
May 3, 2019
My personal experience in the business world, with regards to interfering politicians, was simply to get them into a bar with their co-political colleagues as quickly as possible….with them out of the way, the serious discussions could take place…..
….addressing business issues in a practical, professional, knowledgable and semi-unbiased manner, would require the dispensing of Politicians PDQ….not all were hopeless I might add, but I do have sympathy for the Civil service who must find dealing with these “subject matter clueless” individuals rather tiresome!
May 3, 2019
the Civil Service as just as bad.
having had to fix and rescue projects they messed up, time and time again, I could write a book on how useless they are
May 3, 2019
Iain Gill
I cannot disagree, however, many a grand penny is to be made providing consultants to assist the Civil service in their decision process…the trick is getting them to execute the agreed plan?
The well-worn proverb: ‘You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink’……still holds true!
May 3, 2019
Off topic, as expected the tories/labour have taken a big hit in the local elections with greens and Lib Demās picking up votes which was also expected, the lib dems and greens being full of there own self importance the only reason they did well was because the Brexit Party werenāt standing in them, but come the European elections itās going to be a very different ball game with Mr Farageās Brexit Party wiping the floor with all the main parties , especially if labour keep spouting the nonsense of a confirmation vote on a deal do these labour muppets really take us for mugs or what, a confirmation vote is just another ploy to keep us in the Eu, it might fair well in snowflake London but not up north
May 3, 2019
Mick, agree. There is Diane Abbot and Jess somebody from Labour going on about being brave and getting a 2nd referendum. What don’t they understand about being Democratic? We’ve had the vote and we voted to leave. What is so difficult about that? Are they all really that thick?
May 3, 2019
Interesting that the left use āpopulistā as a pejorative term. Does your book define it ? Does it mean anything other than āpopularā which is surely the goal of all political parties ?
May 3, 2019
Populism can be from both sides. The original Peopleās Party (1892) was American, left-wing and agrarian. So the label can characterize an awful lot of ideas, and is often said to be a fig-leaf used to distinguish one from the Ā«Ā eliteĀ Ā» (another label as empty and undefined as the populist one). A quick search finds dozens/hundreds of books on the topics from various angles. Pick the one you like best and you will be able to use the label to define your preferred and/or most hated politician.
May 3, 2019
The word ‘populist’ is wrong as it refers to some American political stuff in the 1890s I think . The correct word should be ‘popularist’.
May 3, 2019
Populist is a derogatory term used by Globalist to describe those that respect democracy.
May 3, 2019
Off topic – I see Jeremy Hunt has made a big fool of himself as described in a report in the Metro today about his speech in Ethiopia about RT’s narrative about the ‘novichok poisonings’. He called 40 narratives lies and disinformation. How can 40 different possibilities be lies – they were speculations engendred by the UK’s narrative which itself was full of holes. RT did not say what actually happened so no lies were made. That he does not know how stupid his remarks are show how a low level of ministers we have.
A pity he didn’t mention the disinformation and lies that T. May has been making for a long time.
May 4, 2019
There is a nuclear weapons grade propaganda war in progress.Our influence in Africa has collapsed;China’s is surging and Russia’s is being rapidly restored.Ethiopa is an interesting chice of location though-close to Russia through Tsarist,Soviet and post-Soviet times-it’s the largest Orthodox Christian country in Africa-second or third largest in the world.
May 3, 2019
Well JR it sounds like a damn good book. I’ll have to order a copy.
May 3, 2019
Your problem is that part of the UK establishment is the pro-Remain Wet wing of the Conservative, the wing that controls it – or at least No 10. Until you are prepared to bring the temple down and crush these people, you cannot claim to belong to a Brexit party.
Let me ask you bluntly: who is going to draft the next Conservative manifesto, what will it say about Europe, and how can it satisfy both you and Amber Rudd?
May 4, 2019
On “We don’t believe you” I commented:
Political Spin hits the Brexit bluffers :
After years of top down European style ‘let them eat cake’ politically spun messages folks armed with digital devices are able to research more information on demand themselves and compare promises with actual results and experience.
Sir John Redwood explains how this has materialised as we are now at an historic crossroads in the West.
Essential reading to cut through and behind the daily froth of modern mainstream media and fake news.