Time for Starmer’s moment in history

There will never be a better time for United Kingdom Opposition Leader Keir Starmer to put his mark on history.

The Government he opposes stumbles from one crisis to the next. Dogged by a drumbeat of corruption, led by a law-breaking Prime Minister and reeling from one of the biggest by-election defeats in modern times, it is ripe for a knockout blow.

True to their name, Boris Johnson’s Conservatives are obsessed with conserving their hold on power, but with inflation heading towards double figures and industrial unrest spreading, their options are limited.

Johnson’s buffoonish behaviour and clown tricks were amusing at first, but the joke is wearing thin. People have tired of government-by-slogan and look for competent and inspiring leadership in what is becoming an increasingly dire national emergency.

So far they have found it to be alarmingly lacking.

Against this background, Labour’s Starmer should be streets ahead in the polls and while his party does lead the Government, it is not by a decisive margin.

Starmer has been forced to defend himself against some of his own colleagues who see him as ‘flat’ and ‘dull’, but as I have said before, that should not be a disadvantage in the frenetic atmosphere the Government has created.

People are increasingly ready for a steady hand, but Starmer should take this further by inserting into Labour’s platform now a confirmatory referendum on the 2016 decision to leave the European Union.

Of course the Johnsonian Brexiteers would jump on this, claiming that Labour was taking the country backwards. “Brexit is done and dusted”, they would claim, “time to move on to the glorious future that awaits us as a sovereign independent nation”.

Yet it would also galvanise the UK’s truly forgotten people; the 48 per cent who voted to remain in the EU in 2016, who saw through the litany of misrepresentations and downright lies peddled by the Brexit camp that eventually won them their narrow victory.

There were all those millions that were to come to the National Health Service the moment the country left the EU. Then there was the invasion of Islamic militants that would occur with Turkey’s imminent membership of the bloc.

Where is that money now? Where is Turkey’s membership now?

Labour and Starmer would not have to be supporting a return to the EU. They would simply be giving the people an opportunity to have second thoughts after all that has happened since.

There is even a precedent – the 1975 confirmatory referendum on membership of the European Community after the UK’s entry three years earlier.

Those who voted to Remain in 2016, and I suspect the millions who might now regret their vote to Leave, have been doubly betrayed — first by then Prime Minister David Cameron who walked away after calling what he later claimed to have been only an “advisory” referendum, then in 2019 by Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn’s refusal to take up the cause of Remain at the General Election.

In his earlier role as Shadow Brexit Minister, Starmer was at the forefront of making the case for a confirmatory referendum to stop a “damaging Tory Brexit”. While there was some opposition to this within Labour ranks, at the time the majority of the party supported it. 

Starmer was only too right about the damage Brexit could cause; now Labour should at least give the British people the option of repairing it.

 

Sri Lankan officers to dig for survival

 Sri Lankan Public Servants will be given an extra day off each week to tend their backyard vegetable plots and grow food, the Government says.   

The island nation's unprecedented economic downturn has left several staple foods in short supply, along with petrol and medicines, and rampant inflation is ravaging household budgets.

"It seems appropriate to grant Government officials leave for one working day of the week and provide them with the necessary facilities to engage in agricultural activities in their backyards," a Cabinet statement said.

The extra day off would be a "solution to the food shortage that is expected to occur in the future", the statement said, adding that cutting down on Public Servants’ commutes would also help reduce fuel consumption.

Public employees will get every Friday off for the next three months without a pay cut, according to the Cabinet decision, but the arrangement will not apply to essential services staff.

The Government also said any members of the 1.5 million-strong public sector who wanted to travel abroad to find work would be given up to five years of unpaid leave without affecting their seniority or pensions.

The move is aimed at encouraging more people to get foreign jobs and send money back to the island, which is labouring under a critical shortage of foreign currency to buy imports.

Sri Lanka has defaulted on its $US51 billion ($A73 billion) foreign debt and is in talks with the International Monetary Fund for a bailout.

Public protests have demanded the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa over the mismanagement of the country's economy and the severe hardships facing its people.

Mr Rajapaksa introduced sweeping tax cuts soon after coming to power in November that have been blamed for leaving the island without the means to pay for essential imports.

The cash shortfall was worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic, which savaged the local tourism industry and cut remittances sent back home by Sri Lankans working abroad.

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At the abyss: The villains of Brexit

Years after the 2016 United Kingdom referendum which resulted in a slender 51.9-48.1 percentage majority in favour of leaving the European Union, the Prime Minister at the time, David Cameron, was asked why he did not insist on a ‘consensus majority’ of 55 or 60 per cent in favour on such a crucial issue.

Cameron replied that he had always considered the referendum to be advisory only, to be revisited when the terms of leaving became clearer.

In essence, his answer was hardly surprising. All referendums in the UK are advisory, Parliament is sovereign and nothing can be implemented until MPs have had their say.

Where the former Prime Minister failed – and failed miserably – was that he did not remain in office to manage the process he had created.

His claim that as a supporter of remaining in the EU, he should step away from the development of a plan he did not agree with, does not stack up.

It should have been clear to him that with a wafer-thin majority in favour of leaving, there needed to be continuing consultation on both sides of the argument for and against Brexit.

An agreement with the EU on the protocols of quitting the bloc should have been hammered out in order that a final deal, with all the consequences fully debated, could then have been put to the people in a ‘confirming’ referendum.

That’s what ought to have happened; that’s what Cameron should have overseen.

Instead he walked away within days of the 2016 result, leaving the Government at the mercy of Brexit fanatics who were determined that the people should never have a second chance to spoil their dream.

If Cameron is the main villain of this sorry saga, close behind him comes another – the former Labour Opposition Leader, Jeremy Corbyn.   

At the 2019 General Election, with the EU withdrawal still incomplete after three tortuous years, Corbyn had a golden chance to go head-to-head with Prime Minister Boris Johnson over Brexit.

It would have been the time to rally the forces of Remain and offer the second referendum that Johnson and his fellow Brexiteers had repeatedly refused in their headlong flight to ‘Get Brexit Done’.

Instead Corbyn, the old lefty and never an EU enthusiast, waffled about re-opening negotiations for a better deal while trying to switch the debate to non-Brexit issues when at the time Brexit was the overwhelming issue on which the election was being fought.

As a result the Remain camp, more than 48 per cent of the population, and probably a lot more after the consequences of Brexit had been fully revealed, was cut adrift with no-one to vote for. The field was left open for Johnson’s crushing victory.

If the Conservative Government has been efficient in anything, it has been the suppression of opposition to Brexit.

Pro-Remain MPs have been weeded out and the economic and social disaster that is unfolding has been blamed on everything from the pandemic, to climate change to the Ukraine War — but the excuses are wearing thin.

The country has been terribly served, betrayed by its leaders. Now is the time to put that to rights.

 

Fears Pakistan military may control PS

Pakistani politicians and activists have raised fears over the increasing military control of public life after Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif gave the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Agency vetting power on Public Service appointments.

The move places the verification and screening of Government officials in charge of postings, appointments and promotions in ISI hands.

Pakistan’s powerful military, which ruled the country directly for three decades, and its premier Intelligence Agency, the ISI, have a long history of meddling in politics and controlling politicians.

It is widely perceived in Pakistan that politicians need the military’s backing to come to power, but many now fear bureaucrats could also need the same support for their appointments and postings.

Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar said the decision would weaken civil bureaucracy and compromise its independence.

“We have shot ourselves in the foot and it’s a decision worth reconsidering,” Senator Khokhar said.

Former Chair of the Senate, Raza Rabbani called Mr Sharif’s decision an attack on the Constitution.

“The concept of civilian supremacy is tarnishing,” Mr Rabbani said.

Author and expert on military affairs in Pakistan, Ayesha Siddiqa said it was depressing that none of the senior leadership of the major political parties had condemned Mr Sharif’s move.

“The Government’s notification has legalised military intelligence’s power over other institutions,” Ms Siddiqa (pictured) said.

“At the same time [it has] sown seeds for a long-term disempowerment of the political class to strengthen its position and that of the Parliament to weaken the military’s control over politics.”

However, Leader of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, Maryam Nawaz, defended the Prime Minister’s decision.

“The ISI works with the Government and it directly works under the Prime Minister,” Ms Nawaz said.

“If the Prime Minister has taken such a step, he knows very well how to assign responsibilities and tasks to which organisation and at what time.”

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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.