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Another Brexit bonus A powerful cross-party group of MPs today warns Theresa May that Brexit is “sucking the life” out of her government – as cabinet sources admit that the crisis is forcing vital domestic business off the government’s timetable.
And the problem is?
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Sure, the company line is this is keeping them from addressing problems in the NHS (why won’t you think of the children?).
But if the past is any guide, extra bandwidth will be taken up by making fox hunting legal and adding more people to monitor your twitter account.
Her future plans are vile and endlessly tyrannical. That she will not survive to peddle her shite would be a big bonus from her fall.
And if they manage to sabotage Brexit then time to stop taking any notice of their bullshit “laws” anyway.
We have the same “problem” in the U.S., whenever there’s “a special investigative panel”, the gub’mint is “shut down”, or the Legslative Branch is in recess.
Admittedly, I don’t think the Legislature has been “in recess” since Mr. Obama was President.
The problem will sometimes be that while ministers chase one anothers’ tails, Sir Humphrey Appelby – or rather, the viler generation of civil servants that succeeded him and his kind – do what’s best for themselves, which is often not what’s best for us.
Given that it is Theresa May’s government we are talking about here, this will not always be the problem. “If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it” may apply to far less than we’d like in our administration, but “If it’s working badly, don’t apply the kind of ‘fix’ that will make it work still worse” is often relevant. And if Sir Humphrey’s successors need ministerial approval to change things, then a minister-too-busy-caused inability to do so may also be a good.
Long ago, when British Telecomm was a monopoly, BT’s engineers went out on strike. They expected management to cave quickly – after all, when they were working, things went wrong constantly and they were needed to fix them. But in their absence, with no-one daring to change anything, the machines just kept running.
This is a good thing.
No man’s life, liberty, or property are safe while the legislature is in session. – Mark Twain
Some things never change.
That reminds me, Niall. I have left Sir Humphrey to run around loose without any oversight for a couple of weeks now. Must get back to work and get him corralled again right after supper.
This is also why I have no issue with politicians playing lots of sports, such as golf.
How is it possible to suck life out of Zombies?
The problem, Natalie, is that it is the elected government that is undermined by the “emotional vampire” Theresa Msy – the permanent government (the bureaucracy) grows and grows, and controls POLICY. Both on regulations (increasing them) and on government spending (increasing it).
Only very strong elected politicians can stop (let alone reverse) the growth of the state – and that Mrs May and people like her prevent taking place. They take the positions that should be held by better people.
There actually are some good ministers – but being in a government dominated by Mrs May (and people like Mrs May) sucks all the life out of them. Leaving the cancer that is the modern state to expand and expand and expand.
This post reminds me of something that was said just after Britain withdrew in great confusion from the European Exchange Rate Mechanism, during John Major’s premiership.
Someone asked a TV Talking Head: “What now are the prospects for the British economy?”
The TV Talking Head replied: “Well, now that the Government doesn’t have a policy, the prospects are looking rather good.”