They only “go marching around with rifles” on private land. They are also a regiment of the British army despite being a private guard (similar to say the pikemen and musketeers).
Why does that matter? If I started using one of their rifles for target practice on private land it would be a firearms offence.
They aren't a regiment of the British army. Their own literature says precisely the opposite.
Are the muskets of the P&M still working and loaded with live shot?
Nothing to stop them organising ceremonial reenactments and pageantry but they don't have a good excuse for using live weapons.
Labour needs to make their mind up. Is it okay to vote with the Tories, or not?
I suspect this 'private army' is about as significant as the Sealed Knot.
The Sealed Knot do Civil War reenactments and fire blanks. Very loud ones. But they could in theory make bullets and shot and put them in their muskets/cannons.
I doubt MI5 are worried about the threat.
It’s always the ones you least suspect
They are a regiment of the British army. I checked their official website (atholl-estates) and found no reference to the British army and them not being a regiment but feel free to link it.
John Thurso noted in the Houses of Parliament “The Atholl Highlanders is a regiment of the British Army”.
If you have a suitable firearms license you can shoot on private land - similar to if you went shooting on a farm. Do they actually shoot them though? When was the last time they discharged a weapon? The only evidence I can find is a picture from 1955 saying they haven’t been fired in years at that point.
I merely referenced the P&M as a similar type of private guard albeit not privately paid for.
It's not a case of "I'm not sure any human has the ability" but more a case of we need to understand what the causes of the problems are and then ensure we have the collective will to create a system that can tackle them and restore justice, reduce inequality and give people some hope.I remember a PM, many years ago now, saying the country was becoming 'ungovernable'. (It's so long ago I don't recall which PM, or even which party.)
I suspect this is now true. In part, because human society has evolved to a degree of complexity it's beyond the capacity of our brains to understand, let alone control. I think that's the root of much discontent, as well as facile slogans like 'take back control' which resonated with what many of us feel, given that our world seems inexplicable and chaotic.
I'm not sure any government could resolve this. As it's literally ultra vires - beyond their powers. The laughable idea that putting a demagogue of very limited ability - Farage - into 10 Downing Street would change this is delusional. But in fairness, I'm not sure any human has the ability.
If you think of a medieval village, it's easy to understand how it worked both in political and economic terms. But if you look at modern society, which is now evolving at a faster and faster rate, it's almost impossible to describe how it works. I don't even understand how most people earn a living. The complexity is beyond us.
This alienation from 'the system' has far-reaching consequences. Apathy, anger, frustration, victimisation, isolation to name but a few. It's a perfect recipe for discontent, even without such malign actors as Musk trying to manipulate us.
Anyway, that's my philosophical thought for the week off my chest. Please note I offer no solutions. All I will say is we can't go back to 1955, or whatever year you may think is optimal. Conditions have changed irrevocably.