Time for a touch of gravitas

The United Kingdom’s Leader of the Opposition, Keir Starmer, has been having a hard time of it lately.

He trails Boris Johnson as preferred Prime Minister; he has had to plead with his own Shadow Cabinet members to stop briefing the press that he is “boring”; other descriptions of him have been “flat”, “weak” and “bland”.

He is also under police investigation for breaching COVID-19 restrictions last year at a curry and beer dinner with colleagues in the run-up to a by-election. If the investigation goes against him he says he will resign.

On the face of it, this is not the kind of publicity Starmer needs at a time when the Government is increasingly seen as floundering and incompetent while it tries to defend two looming by-elections.

However, in the midst of all this, there is another quality that many people see in the Opposition Leader — honesty. Surely this is something that UK politics really needs right now.

Yes, Starmer does face a police investigation, but apart from the rabid right-wing press, most believe it will be seen as a working meal in the midst of legitimate party duties

He has also made a pledge to fall on his sword if the probe finds against him, something that would have been an accepted practice not so long ago before Johnson dictated that ethics and honour should be thrown overboard.

It may be that in comparison to the clownish Prime Minister, Starmer is “boring” and “bland”, but what do the public want – circus performers or hard working politicians and statesmen?

The terrible truth is that many Britons have come to see the activities of their leaders as entertainment, but the humour is beginning to turn dark as inflation soars out of control and 1970s-style industrial action takes hold in the streets.

Johnson’s leadership is failing; all his energies now seem to be directed at holding on to his own well-paid, inflation-proofed job, something that is disgusting significant  numbers of his own MPs.  

Starmer may not be much fun, but the time for comedy is over.

 

President moves against judiciary

Tunisian President, Kais Saied has tightened his grip of the nation’s bureaucracy, sacking 57 judges and seizing control of the previously independent Electoral Commission.

Mr Saied (pictured) accused the judges of corruption and protecting “terrorists”, saying in a televised address he had given “opportunity after opportunity and warning after warning to the judiciary to purify itself”.

Among those sacked was former head of the Supreme Judicial Council, Youssef Bouzaker which Mr Saied dissolved in February.

The Council had acted as the main guarantor of judicial independence since Tunisia’s 2011 revolution and the move fuelled accusations that Mr Saied was interfering in the judicial process.

He said he would replace most of the members of the Electoral Commission — a move critics said would entrench his one-man rule and cast doubt on electoral integrity.

Commission Head, Nabil Baffoun told the Reuters News Agency that Mr Saied’s decree was a blow to the democratic gains in the country’s 2011 revolution and meant the body was no longer independent.

Last July, Mr Saied dismissed the Government and seized executive power, before setting aside the 2014 Constitution and dismissing the country’s elected Parliament, saying the action was needed to save the country from crisis.

While the public seemed to support Mr Saied’s initial power grab there is growing discontent over his rule and the powerful UGTT union has called a strike later this month (June).

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Why Putin’s imperial quest is doomed

If history is a guide — and I find it usually is — then Vladimir Putin’s quest to reconstitute the Soviet Union will end in failure.

In the past few days Putin has likened himself to a figure from Russia’s past, Peter the Great, to justify his invasion of Ukraine.

I believe his actions better link him with a figure much further back in history, the Eastern Roman Emperor, Justinian I.

This is to accept that Russia is and never was, a nation-state in the Westphalian sense.

Going back to Peter and before, it was always an empire, made up of peoples of different ethnicities, cultures and religions held together by a centralised network of bureaucrats, military and secret police.

This imperial model works as long as most of the population believe it is in their best interests — who can hope to prosper by supporting it. Once that fails it is inevitably prone to disintegration from pressures both within and without.

This was the fate of the Western Roman Empire in the fifth century. Ravaged by internal conflict and ineffectual leadership, it was unable to resist attacks and conquest by invading tribes.

It was the case for the Soviet Union in the 20^th century when Mikhail Gorbachev’s attempts at reform awakened nationalist feelings among previously subservient peoples on its peripheries.

However, as we now enter a new phase, with Putin seeking to restore the Soviet Empire, both in territory and influence — history can once again give us a clue as to the outcome.

In the sixth century the ruler of the remaining Eastern Roman Empire, Justinian I launched a campaign to recover the western provinces and Rome itself in what became known as the last Gothic War.

Justinian’s armies had initial success, but determined resistance and 35 years of prolonged warfare left much of the Italian Peninsula devastated and depopulated.

The Eastern Romans eventually withdrew and much of what had once constituted the Western Empire was lost forever.

Former NATO Secretary General, Lord Robertson of Port Ellen believes Putin has a similar “messianic obsession” to restore the Soviet Empire. Like Justinian, he has been buoyed by early success, snatching back territory from Georgia and the Crimea from Ukraine.

Hubris has turned to rage as the next stage of his victory march has been foiled by Ukrainian resolve. Provinces once hailed as a beloved part of Putin’s motherland are being pounded into dust by his armies.

Russia’s slow advance is over a dystopian wasteland that will take decades to recover.

Even if he succeeds in occupying Ukraine’s south and east and declares victory, he will never know peace. In Ukraine, he has spawned a generation who despise him and all things Russian, and who will work relentlessly to bring him down.

Justinian did not live to see his ambitions in Italy come to nothing, although the vast sums he expended on his attempted reconquest sent the Eastern Empire into a slow but relentless decline.

Putin, approaching 70 and according to consistent reports ailing, may yet suffer the same fate. 

History is a harsh mistress.

Graduates urged to save democracy

In separate addresses, United States President, Joe Biden and his Attorney General, Merrick Garland have urged graduating students to consider Public Service careers in order to “restore hope” in America.

Mr Garland (pictured) went further, saying good people were needed to combat ongoing turmoil in the US with “democracy under threat”.

Both men were speaking days after the school shootings in Uvalde, Texas, and against the background of the war in Ukraine.

Delivering his commencement address to Harvard University’s graduating class, Mr Garland said it should not take a tragedy to prompt people to look for ways, day in and day out, to help those in need.. 

“There is one particular reason that makes my call to public service especially urgent for your generation. It is an urgency that should move each of you, regardless of the career you choose — it is the urgent need to defend democracy,” Mr Garland said. 

“Both at home and abroad, we are seeing the many ways in which democracy is under threat.”  

President Biden urged students at the University of Delaware not to lose hope in America and to take up a life of public service.

“We need all of you to get engaged in public life and the life of this nation,” Mr Biden told graduates in his commencement address.

“There’s one message I hope you take from me today: This is no time to be on the sidelines. It’s not hyperbole. I mean it from the bottom of my heart.”

Mr Biden graduated from the university in 1985.

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Desperate Johnson’s hate-fuelled ‘bonfire’

United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson says he wants to make a ‘bonfire’ of laws on the country’s statute books dating from the time when it was a member of the European Union.

This comes just a few days after his threat to replace the UK’s Human Rights Act which is based on — you guessed it — the European Convention on Human Rights.

Faced with the scandal over lockdown parties at 10 Downing Street, and with a poll showing he could well lose his seat if an election were held now, Johnson has reverted to Europe-bashing type, hoping it will energise the EU-hating voters who kept him in power in 2019.

Johnson has long shown that retaining power is his single priority, in pursuit of which he is willing to lie, sacrifice all scruples, and discard every shred of honour.

However, the destruction of essential laws, simply because they bear the taint of the EU, will threaten communities and individuals alike, as well as further damage the UK’s standing in the world.

It is no coincidence that all this is to be combined in the so-called Brexit Freedoms Bill. Johnson has become big on freedoms, latching on to the Populist war cry during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As usual, the Prime Minister has been short on detail of what might constitute his EU ‘bonfire’ except to say they will be of laws that are ‘outdated’.

Outdated laws are often removed from the statute books, but they are usually those that go back decades and even centuries, such as a ban on MPs wearing armour in Parliament, or eating mince pies on Christmas Day.

However, legislation initiated during the time when the UK was an EU member is unlikely to be so redundant.

One such piece from a few years back, which I have often quoted, was a ban on the use of  lead in plumbing, which had the right-wing press of the day up in arms, presumably demanding the ‘freedom’ to expose the nation to the risk of lead poisoning.

Now, more than ever, there is an absolute need for a society based on the rule of law.

The Ukraine War is a daily example of human rights violations that are met with bland indifference or a simple denial they are taking place. Atrocities once thought to be safely outlawed are now routinely committed.

In a functioning democracy rules are introduced for a purpose. If they are seriously questioned there are methods and challenges for their removal, ultimately though the ballot box. 

This is something to be cherished and protected — not violated in order to prop up a failing political career.   

Minister ‘reversed flexible work support’

Unions have accused United Kingdom Minister for Efficiency, Jacob Rees-Mogg of chasing cheap headlines with his push for Public Servants to return to the office, pointing out he had previously supported flexible working as part of efforts to minimise the need for office space.

Head of the FDA union, Dave Penman said Mr Rees-Mogg had written in support of the 2018 Estate Strategy, which set out plans to reduce the size of the Government estate to free up public land for housing, including by promoting "smarter working" and "working in ways that minimise our need for office space".

Mr Penman also referenced a 2019 essay co-written by Mr Rees-Mogg that encouraged the Government to accelerate the plans and appoint a senior Cabinet Minister responsible for identifying and releasing public land for housing.

This is in stark contrast to Mr Rees-Mogg's recent efforts to push Public Servants to return to the office.

Mr Penman said the contrast proved "just how poorly thought through his comments on hybrid working are".

He said it demonstrated the Cabinet Minister had "no idea how modern workplaces operate and is basing his decisions on blind ideology instead of reality".

Meanwhile a Department for Education order for workers to spend 80 per cent of their time in the office has led to chaos.

The Department has twice as many staff as desks, as even before the pandemic about 60-to-70 per cent of staff had worked flexibly.

Officials working in cramped corridors or sharing desks have led to protests from unions to Secretary of Education, Nadhim Zahawi (pictured), who last month ordered an end to home-working after pressure from Mr Rees-Mogg.

Public Servants said the first week of the new policy had resulted in staff milling around trying to find space with some trying to work amid diners in the canteen.

One described the situation as like “a tube station in rush hour”.

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Newsrooms reopen on university campuses

A United Kingdom publisher has reached a deal with three universities that will see its newspapers re-open newsrooms in the areas they serve.

In a move that might be a model for similar partnerships in Britain and internationally, journalists on the Leicester Mercury, Lincolnshire Echo and the Teesside Gazette will work from offices provided on campus by the University of Leicester, the University of Lincoln and Teesside University respectively.

The universities all run degree courses for trainee journalists, and in return for the accommodation senior editors from the publisher, Reach plc. will provide a program of lectures, job-shadowing and mentoring opportunities for the students.

This reverses a trend where Reach has been closing many of its offices in a cost-saving move, planning to run its nationwide operations from just 15 major centres and leaving most of its regional titles without bases in the areas they serve.

Both partners are enthusiastic about the deal. Leicester, Coventry and Northamptonshire Editor for Reach, Adam Moss, said there were huge mutual benefits.

“We’re really looking forward to getting to know all the students on the journalism course, doing some guest lectures and giving them some real-life vocational experience of real-life journalism to go alongside their academic course,” Mr Moss said.

Associate Dean for Learning and Teaching in Teesside University’s School of Arts and Creative Industries, Clare Fletcher, said the move was an extension of a long-standing, collaborative relationship with Reach.

“It is fantastic to welcome reporters from Teesside Live to campus and we look forward to seeing how this developing partnership will progress moving forward,” Professor Fletcher (pictured) said.

As someone who entered journalism towards the end of the golden age of newspapers, I have also been witness to their decline, to the point where all the titles I have worked for over more than 40 years have either disappeared or are in much-reduced circumstances.

Mistakes were made at the dawn of the internet era and those of us who love the crafting of words have had to live with them. However, creative thinking such as that outlined above may help keep the production of responsible journalism alive, possibly even reversing its decline.