Britain’s got talons

30 May 2009

The Spectator looks ahead to the local and European elections

The difference between Mr Cameron and his forebears is twofold. First, 21st-century technology has made it possible to speak of the ‘post-bureaucratic era’ with honesty: thanks to the digital revolution, the true devolution of power away from the apparat and the elite to the citizen and to the consumer of public services is now feasible. Transparency is easily achieved: witness the posting of MPs’ expenses online. It is not hard, likewise, to imagine parents and businesses collaborating on the web to take advantage of the Conservatives’ plans for independently established schools. If there is a Cameron revolution, it will probably be defined by a new historical phenomenon: a ‘progressivism’ which is e-led rather than elite-led.

Second, as James Forsyth points out on page 8, Mr Cameron does not have the luxury of his predecessors — namely, to kick all this into the long grass once he is in Number 10. The consumerisation of personal behaviour, coupled with the growing contempt for the political class, means that the next Prime Minister dare not renege on his promise to transfer power from the centre to individuals and communities. Such treachery really would be a recipe for pitchforks and tumbrils in Whitehall.

As the local and European election results roll in, we shall see how close we already are to a rising of the suburban sans-culottes, a taking to the barricades by Mondeo Man. Even now, it is perfectly clear that the status quo is not an option, that the voters’ fury is intense and of a quite different order to routine grumbling.

Parliament, usually regarded by the public as a dusty institution, is now seen universally as a fortress of spivs and thieves. It is impossible to conceive how the occupants of that fortress can continue to legislate until May 2010. Its authority has drained like water from a bath, and is no more retrievable. In this context, Mr Brown’s fate is a secondary matter. Mr Cameron’s reform plans — however sound — are not the highest priority. Whatever happens on 4 June, the public will continue to seethe with righteous anger until they are given the chance to vote for a new parliament in a general election. All else is a distraction.

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Robert Sebag-Montefiore

May 29th, 2009 11:09am Report this comment

"Parliament, usually regarded by the public as a dusty institution, is now seen universally as a fortress of spivs and thieves." Isn't the truth that Parliament is seen as both? While we remain in the EU and 75% of our laws are imposed from Brussels how much remains of the importance and vitality of our ancient l
Legislature ? Shuffle the chairs around your moribund and moribound Titanic as you wish! Westminster is a stage show to divert us from the truth: that we are no longer a Sovereign Nation.

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