ELON MUSK said it recently. Over 30 years ago I said “If we continue to deindustrialize like this there will be civil war in the UK”

Too many of my friends were seduced by Mrs Thatcher’s policy ‘reduce manufacturing industry, develop service professions’

They did not give credibility to the reasons that provoked me to say it

These reasons have contributed year after year in our journey towards self destruction and the only politicians who seem to have an understanding of it currently are from the REFORM party. The Tories lost their chances when they missed the opportunity when it was all starting to elect Notman Tebbitt and more recently Rory Stewart to their leadership, a contender when Boris Johnson was elected. Norman Tebbitt and Rory Stewart had very different backgrounds but both cared about people generally. Rory Stewart has had amazing political and life experiences for a young man. Oh what could have been if the Tories had had sense then. Oh what they could achieve if they brought him back now, still a young man – no chance of that, see note at the end of this rant

If you disagree with me you are invited to respond on this page. Agree or disagree – share your own experiences please

These were my predictions and I believe they are now happening

De industrialisation is probably the most damaging decision for the UK by UK politicians – ever.

• It reduced in a very short time a major percentage of good, satisfying jobs for mainly men who took satisfaction in being able to provide a home, clothing and food and a satisfying lifestyle for their families
• It blew apart whole communities, especially those in the coal mining and steel areas. From skilled worker to relying on benefits in two generations
• It has created an ever widening gap between white collar and blue collar workers
• Self esteem falls through the floor, parents on benefits do not inspire the next generation and so it is into drugs and crime

Service Jobs and high tech engineering jobs will suit many in the UK but not the majority of the UK workforce. For the country responsible for the industrial revolution it is obscenely stupid that we have scrapped and shipped overseas hundreds of thousands of blue collar jobs in automotive, steel, mining, defence, machine tools (the mother of all manufacturing), oil and gas. Becoming a Barista does not satisfy these workers!

The lack of control of immigration has brought major problems that add to civil unrest

Now we have too few blue collar jobs

We have too many not contributing to the UK economy, too many having to rely on benefits

Even as a Christian country we managed to have serious divisions between Catholics and Protestants. Now Islam has been added to the mix of religions – and the problem is they do not mix! The first years, decades of Caribbean, African, Indian and Pakistani immigrants was reasonably controlled. Allowing immigration to mushroom out of control, even when it is named ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION by government after government, has created the danger

The new government is being very heavy handed in dealing with the riots. Some of these people deserve prison but not all, some are just very frustrated by the current situation. Surely there is a lower cost way to bring them back to sanity? How about giving them a provisional jail sentence but this opportunity first:-

• Set up residential units, far less costly than prison, where they attend presentations and discussions for a couple of hours every day. They can air their feelings and hopefully hear some positives for the future. If they abscond – jail, no discussion
• They are taken to various workplaces every day to do something useful that is not a cost as is prison. Use their trades if they have them
• Try to engage them in working to improve themselves when they leave, capable of doing things they could not do before their offence
• Give them the opportunity of understanding how to contribute to the community, look after their family better and be a better example to the next generation

Giving people the chance to earn self esteem and feel they are contributing to a  worthy UK is, I believe, the only way we will avoid civil war

8^th September 2024 

Anyone interested in politics and politicians and how positively ineffective they have become should read ‘Politics On the Edge’ by Rory Stewart

Following is Penguin’s on line summary of a book that gives expert confirmation of many of our suspicions about politicians

Over the course of a decade from 2010, Rory Stewart went from being a political outsider to standing for prime minister – before being sacked from a Conservative Party that he had come to barely recognise.

Tackling ministerial briefs on flood response and prison violence, engaging with conflict and poverty abroad as a foreign minister, and Brexit as a Cabinet minister, Stewart learned first-hand how profoundly hollow and inadequate our democracy and government had become. Cronyism, ignorance and sheer incompetence ran rampant. Around him, individual politicians laid the foundations for the political and economic chaos of today. Stewart emerged battered but with a profound affection for his constituency of Penrith and the Border, and a deep direct insight into the era of populism and global conflict.

Politics On the Edge invites us into the mind of one of the most interesting actors on the British political stage. Uncompromising, candid and darkly humorous, this is his story of the challenges, absurdities and realities of political life. Instantly praised as a new classic, it is an astonishing portrait of our turbulent times.

Read this, read his biographical notes (Wikipedia is very complete) and you may well feel the frustration I feel at the opportunity the Tories and the UK have missed. I don’t agree with everything, he voted ‘remain’ for example, but he should be a major influence in politics. Despite his relatively young years he has experiences and understanding the rest do not have. When bidding for the leadership he made an impression on and his bid was supported by senior Tories such as Ken Clarke and Nicolas Soames and former soldiers like Tobias Elwood and David Gauke. This link is to a short recent interview

https://inews.co.uk/inews-lifestyle/rory-stewart-interview-ready-to-work-for-labour-government-3124278  Not your usual politician!

https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/442034/politics-on-the-edge-by-stewart-rory/9781529922868