There is a moment in Darkest Hour when Gary Oldman’s Churchill is considering Europe’s defence against Nazi Germany. Lord Halifax, played by Stephen Dillane, bursts out: “Europe is lost!”
I think we can now say “America is lost”. It’s in our faces every day.
But Britain is not lost.
Not yet.
According to the polls, 33% of British voters believe that the only thing that matters is to vote Reform and Stop the Boats. If we can do that, then turning the United Kingdom into our own version of USA 2026 is an acceptable price.
There is nothing anyone can say to change people’s minds on this. Have you tried?
There is no future in pointing out that Nigel Farage wants to sell the NHS to Corporate America, that he would see Russia take over Ukraine. He would dismiss any “quarrel in a far-away country between people of whom we know nothing”.
The Reform supporter does not accept that finally Getting Brexit Done would reduce the bottom tier of British society to the kind of poverty not seen since the days of Dickens.
They are not swayed – not open to reason. They believe only that everything will be better once we Stop the Boats!
So, I am not going to bother with any of the hackneyed opinions you can hear any Friday night on Question Time. But just in case you are one of those people who stops reading when something gets too depressing for words, may I suggest there is one last hope?
And it really is our last hope – if we blow this, Britain really will be lost. As history has shown, once a country submits to Fascism, there can be no peaceful return to democracy.
Our last hope is this: That every political party opposed to the right-wing agenda agrees to bury their differences and form a Grand Coalition to oppose Reform UK.
They would all have to agree to divide up the country and, between them, put up just one candidate in each constituency to oppose Reform.
Because, although Reform has 33% of the vote, Reform has only 33% of the vote.
There’s a historical precedent: In 1933 Hitler became Chancellor of Germany on 33% of the vote. He won because his opposition failed to get organised and present a united front against him. In effect, they split the anti-fascist vote.
And so, 80million people died – and if it had not been for American magnanimity and the Marshall Plan, post-war Germany would have been condemned to the sort of dark ages that Russia has lived through over the past 35 years.
Britain’s last chance election could be as much as four-and-a-half years away. But in political terms, that is not so very long. What would it take for the Greens to reach out to Labour? For Labour to talk to the LibDems? The Tories to decide which way to jump…
Yes, there will have to be secret meetings. “Feelers” will have to be put out. The whole rotten system, which has hamstrung British Politics for generations, will need to be stretched until it fractures and flies apart.
But would that be worth doing? To Save Britain?
i just can’t stop thinking about all those poor girls and family’s that have had to suffer the grooming gangs most perpetrators who have no right to be in this country in the first place .
But alas those of you who are lucky enough not to be touched by these despicable men carry on keeping your eyes shut one day it could be your family.
I truly struggle to understand the toxic and sick far right individuals in the US, The UK, Germany, Italy etc etc..
What is the drive, the rationale (if that word can be allowed) the imputes that drives such a toxic behavior and irrational ignorance?
We can’t just disagree we have to understand if we are ever going to move them away from their suicide pack of trumpism.
We are literally in the age of global self-realization and direct access to almost every individual on the planet.
(Including a sailor in the middle of theAtlantic Ocean)
What an opportunity!!
I feel much the same about America. Trump and the cult that adores him is destroying our once great nation and alienating our allies. There is a glimmer of hope. Our midterm elections are November 3, and it is looking like the Republicans will be thrown out in mass. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for the country, and for the world. Not all of us Americans have lost our minds.
You are absolutely correct John. Reform and Farage are fascists who need consigning to the dustbin of history. All they’ve got is hate and I think that there are enough good people in this country to see through their lies.