Political Allegiances

If you’re not a liberal when you’re 25, you have no heart. If you’re not a conservative by the time you’re 35, you have no brain. Falsely attributed to Winston Churchill

Pete in Dunbar raised the issue of political allegiance; that of the unthinking variety; “my party no matter what.” Bob Piper has picked up on the theme, and it has set me thinking. You see, I disagree with Bob’s remark that those of us who leave the party are glory hunters:

Those who support one team, and are wedded to that team through history, family, culture and tradition, don’t do that and they have contempt for the ‘glory hunters’ who do.

The quote refers to the football analogy – which I shall avoid as I detest the game. Leaving the Labour party for me was not a matter of glory, it was a matter of conscience. Ironically, Indeed, rather than glory hunting, I have joined the losing side (although hopefully that will change). It is fashionable today to deride civil libertarians. I am one of a band of unpopular, unfashionable people who believe in things such as free speech, the right of assembly, the right of free movement, the presumption of innocence, habeas corpus, the rule of law and due process, and, freedom of and from religion. Not very modern concepts, I grant you, but some of us have the quaint idea that they are valuable and worth preserving.

When I left, the local membership secretary said that he intended staying on to fight from within. He hated what Blair had become and was turning the party into. My response was that if he could stomach the lies, obfuscation and rank hypocrisy then good for him and I wished him well. For me, I could no longer live with the double standards. There was too little left to like or fight for. And, when the party no longer represents ones ideology, leaving is the honourable thing to do.

Leaving caused me to think about where my politics really lay. Neil Harding will rant about “the right” as if this is the root of all evil. A refrain I recognise. A refrain, indeed, that once I indulged in – during the eighties and early nineties. I’ve grown out of it. Does that mean I have become a conservative? Really?

Er, it’s not that straightforward. While it is true that I no longer adhere to some of the old ideologies – I am no longer ideologically opposed to the concept of private companies operating public services, for example; (indeed, as the Pedant General asked on this very blog; just how would the monolithic GPO have coped with modern telecommunications demands?) I do, however, cling vainly to the concept of free healthcare for all at the point of service – even though the evidence is overwhelmingly damning that the practice is rather less than satisfactory. Ah, a little of the old leftie liberal remains it seems… :devil:

Am I right wing or left wing? Neither and both. Therein lies the beauty of being non-partisan. I can agree with whoever I believe to be right. No longer do I cling to the old mantras of my youth. Maturity; political, emotional and intellectual; has cast the scales from my eyes. I realised that some of those Tory ideas were, actually, the right policy for the time. Who’d have guessed it?

Equally, Labour’s decision to give the control of interest rates to the Bank of England was sound and I applaud it. I harbour, too, the idea of equal opportunity, realising all too well that we are not and never will be equal – all men and women are not the same. How awful it would be if we were.

My distaste for Labour stems from the realisation (fairly early on) that lying was systemic. The build up to war exacerbated this and brought it into the open. Then there are those illiberal policies – no, I’m not going to list them again, it’s far too depressing.

The mass graves on the battlefields of Europe remain forever a corner of Britain, an enduring reminder of loss and sacrifice. A sacrifice made by young men to protect future generations from the tyranny of totalitarianism. The very totalitarianism Blair is building in modern Britain as he sweeps aside their sacrifice like so many breadcrumbs from a tablecloth. But, then, World War II is just so Twentieth Century, m’dear. Not modern at all. Things changed at the stroke of midnight on the 31^st of December 1999 and we became 21^st Century people. Anyway, for our Tone, sacrifice is something other people do on his behalf. I have learned to despise him with every fibre of my being, every ounce of my soul, for this man would steal our freedoms and sell them cheaply for the benefit of a headline.

And, perhaps, the last word should go to Churchill – although once more it is a disputed quotation – because here is where my political journey has brought me:

“Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery.”

Nice idea, shame about the practice. :dry: