why is this being launched by Tory MP's? Why not Johnson himself? No mention of the Great Levellers grubby paws being on this - oh I remember now he got what he wanted off the Red Wall so they can now fuck off..............all these MP's now shitting themselves as they face being a none term wonder and failing to get that much vaunted season ticket on the Westminster gravy train
The government says the new group is aimed at reducing regional economic disparities across Britain.
www.bbc.co.uk
Exactly.
It can't be launched by Johnson because this is a lobby group, and the person they're lobbying is Johnson, and why? Because just below the surface of his every man persona, Johnson doesn't really give a fuck, or at least not enough of a fuck to have the political courage to do what's required, but then neither do the red wall Tories in this facile smoke and mirrors group.
But what's a Tory to do? They have to be seen to do something coz they know the great unwashed will turf them out, once the Covid/Brexit consequences really kick in.
I've met a number of Tory MPs over the years, they were, for the most part, what one would expect. In my experience they're as dumb as dog biscuits, they're not evil or anything like that, they just have a kind of inbred callousness that informs everything they do. But that's not the reason they'll fail, it's their ideology, based as it is on privilege, class and greed, which means they're totally incapable of delivering on their levelling up bullshit.
I have no doubt populist Johnson would like to wave away, with a bit of Churchill-esque rhetoric, the economic disparity between north and south, as long as it didn't require too much effort, it would make him very popular, and we all know he loves to be popular. Thing is, where's the plan of action? What are our goals? How do we get there? How much is it going to cost? How long will it take? And the crux of it all, what role will government play? I know Covid has thrown everything up in the air, but even before Covid there was very little beyond soundbites.
Unfortunately Johnson is totally incapable of addressing this problem with any seriousness, but it's not because he's incompetent, lazy, a bit dim, a liar, or any number of his well known personal failing that make him unsuitable for high office, it's because of what he and his fucking cronies (and everyone in that stupid lobby group) believe, that's the nuts and bolts of it.
The problem in this instance is not Johnson the man, it's Johnson the ideologue. The scale of government intervention required to seriously address the north south divide is ideologically unacceptable to the Tories, and not just to Johnson, it goes way back, certainly as far as Churchill in the early 50s, who eschewed the concept of post war planning because it smacked too much of socialism.
Oh well, same as it ever was.
Words come easy in a fantasy world of your own devising.....
Tired and emotional George Brown, the man with a plan.
www.independent.co.uk
www.mirror.co.uk
www.theguardian.com
www.gov.uk