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LAST UPDATE | 17 Nov 2023
THAT SOUND THAT you can hear from across the Irish Sea, that’s the sound of millions of Brits collectively groaning as news of yet another government reshuffle broke.
We have seen it all before. The infighting. The egos. The procession towards Number 10 Downing Street of men in suits whose one talent is to fail upwards, meaning that they are naturally next in line to be bestowed with the keys to one of the “great offices of state”. And, of course, David Cameron.
The former Prime Minister has been ennobled, with King Charles generously bestowing upon him the dignity of the barony of the whole United Kingdom. Why take just a bit when you can have it all?
This cheeky piece of aristocratic slight of hand has allowed Rishi Sunak, the current Prime Minister and fourth since Cameron resigned a mere seven years ago, to appoint Cameron as foreign secretary without requiring him to go through anything quite as boring as getting elected. Such is the wonder of British democracy.
Sunak’s decision to bring Cameron back is perfectly in keeping with a government that has long seemed to think that the best way to run the UK is as some ill-conceived tribute to Victoriana.
The glory of empire, trade with the dominions, putting those continentals back in their box, these are the things this Brexit government aspire to. So why not do like the Victorians did, and pick a cabinet of lordly Lords?
There are some British commentators who would like us to believe that Cameron’s appointment is a shrewd political move. They say that having a political heavyweight in the Foreign Office will free Sunak up to focus on domestic issues. Putting aside that this seems to be an admission that Sunak cannot walk and chew gum at the same time, it is rumoured that Cameron was not even his first choice. Sunak apparently wanted another former Conservative leader (and former foreign secretary) to take on the role. William Hague though, had the good sense to turn the offer down.
Cameron’s appointment is simply further evidence that Sunak is way out of his depth. At the Conservative Party conference, he used his speech to try to position himself as the change candidate as we head towards a general election.
This was a stretch, to say the least. Now, having appointed to Cabinet one of the key architects of the failed political consensus that, only last month, Sunak committed to smashing up, that speech looks like a joke.
Like the manager of a failing football team that is staring relegation in the face, Sunak has no strategy, is tactically inept and is overseeing a group of players who embarrass themselves each time they walk on the pitch. This clown show would be entertaining if we did not have to pay a pretty penny to live in it. All that is left for the British public is to stand on the terraces, wet, cold and groaning.
One character in all of this who should not be considered a clown is Suella Braverman. Her behaviour has demonstrated that she is a far more dangerous and frightening prospect than the inept Sunak. If she is a clown, she is the type that Stephen King might imagine.
Braverman is British politics’ foremost Trumpian. She is an illiberal, authoritarian, populist who, steeped in the culture wars, tries to divide British society for her own political gain. Like Trump, she appears to be willing to send coded messages to the far right. Like Trump, when pushed, she may prove not to be a democrat.
Should Braverman succeed Sunak as leader of the Conservative Party, British politics could move into a very dark place. Despite what Braverman thinks, there is not a silent majority in the UK that supports what she is saying, but that will not stop her from stoking more division, anger and bitterness.
What is more, you do not need majority support to win power in the UK. Just like in the US where a majority voted for Clinton, but got Trump as President, here the majority could vote against the Conservatives, only for Braverman to waltz into Number 10 thanks to the backing of an angry minority.
Were this to happen, the sound you would hear from across the Irish Sea would no longer be a collective groan, but a stunned and terrified silence.
Sydney Nash is a former civil servant and UK/EU negotiator, and a former advisor to the automotive sector on Brexit and international trade. He writes in a personal capacity.
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As funny as it is to watch, people should remember we had a FF circus act that tried bringing bbbbbbbertie no bank account ahern back into the fold. Seems like established political parties have completely lost touch with reality in some countries and then their support and media wonder why hard view or far leaning parties and candidates are suddenly more appealing to voters…..
@Tom Newell: Of course you are incorrect , Bertie Ahern is totally justified in applying for readmitting th the Party if he so wishes . That’s all he did,– rejoin a political party . He is just an ordinary lowly member of his local Cumann .
Pippa Hackett Minister for Land Use and Biodiversity at the Department of Agriculture.
Trying to put farmers out of business never elected a TD
@John Conforms: Technically, she us a Minister of State and has no vote in government.
Things are really falling apart on so many levels over there.
@Frank C: The whole world seems to be falling apart of late.
@Maire Hicks:
True enough Maire.
A lot of clown shows around the world at the moment to be fair.
They’re sure of one thing, they’re about to spend time in opposition and in true Conservative fashion they are fighting amongst themselves with renewed vigour, not to try and undo the damage they’ve caused but to position themselves to maximise their chances of filling their boots in the time left in control of the purse and post election.
James Dooge was Minister for Foreign Affairs but never elected a TD
@John Conforms: He was nominated to the Seanad at the start of a new term as provided for under the Constitution. Sunak was able to add someone to the Houses of Parliament because he wanted to and could. There is one extra Lord now in Parliament, forever.
I don’t like the Tories, especially the Irish Tories Fine Gael but I thought it was a genius move. Cameron is still a very influential person. He is a true democrat who gave the British public a democratic vote on whether to remain in Europe or not yet paid a heavy price for that.
Keith Starmer”s Labour is haemorrhaging MPs and Labour will implode before the next election
@Tommy Haze: he believed that the vote would keep the UK in the EU, he didn’t do it for democracy, he done it believing it would end the conversation on the EU.
@Tommy Haze: He did it to try to avoid a split in the Tory party: not for the British people. It never occurred to him that they might vote ‘yes’ to leaving.
Labour will certainly form the next government.
And Mícheál Martin was shocked to the negativity to his visit to Israel.
@Peter Murray: Why are comments closed on this. Is the Journal under direction from the government as to what articles should be open to Comments?
@Peter Murray: The photo opp of Martin pointing at a damaged ceiling in Israel…is a long way from Martin trying to find a ceiling in Gaza after the terrorist attacks by Israel…. Martin can add this photo opp to his photo opp in Ukraine…Ironically Martin and Varadkar called for Russia to be charged with war crimes…The War crimes of Israel against the people of Palestine are no different…As usual Hypocrisy and Martin go hand in hand.
Good article. More of this please.
@TheGood Feign: would have liked more on hague? Where’s that info from?
@Alan: yeah, I hadn’t heard that before. Interesting.
The right wing rags have the peasants completely pulverised with propaganda. It’s tragic that they manage to pull the same trick over and over again. They pick a few issues and spam outrage articles at such a rate that the message invariably gets through. Look over there while we hoard all the resources!
The little people who are at the bottom of the ladder end up convinced that the people at the top of the feudal pyramid are on their side. Unhinged patriotism and glorification of war are always in there. The same wars barely any of the kids of the Sir’s Lords and Ladies end up in. But to be fair it’s a genius distraction tool. You have people frothing about ‘defending’ lumps of concrete all the while ignoring the lies, corruption and sleaze at the top. The rigged system and unbridgeable wealth and opportunity gap too. The privileged journalists working for The Sun and the likes are more like agents than reporters. Embedded to keep the people in line by riling them up over ‘common sense’ issues that are nothing but hot air and in reality will barely affect the lives of the readers.
Anger and outrage uses up a lot of energy though. Tired angry people don’t look too hard at the facts and the wider picture. A perfect recipe for maintaining the status quo.
@Peter Murray: He’s not wrong. If you ask me, James Connolly would have broadly agreed with him. Sure none of this is in the interests of the people of Britain. And so many of them do believe in “what it says in the papers”. From what I can tell, they rely far too much on what they’re told by the popular press. They pretty much elected politicians and MEPs to do the thinking for them.
@SerotoninWars: In my view the people of the UK were correct to vote for leaving the EU.
The view of those who believe otherwise seems largely concerned with purely economic matters, rather than overall quality of life.
When the ordinary guy (unisex) finds it harder and harder to just keep going then there is something seriously wrong, and there is little point in continuing on the same path.
The biggest single problem, in my view, with the EU is the free movement of people with no concern for the ability of the target country to absorb the number than might move.
Larger countries like Germany, France or Italy might be able to absorb large numbers without too much difficulty, but smaller nations cannot.
This has had a huge impact on a country like Ireland that has seen its population increase to the extent that we cannot house the number of people here without great stress and even suffering.
The same thing happened in the UK, where it was becoming more and more difficult for that ordinary guy to get onto the housing ladder.
So they – or enough of them – took matters into their own hands.
This is a failure of both major UK political parties.
And the EU.
@ItWasLikeThatWhenIGotHere: I get where you’re coming from. It has become too hard for many to keep their heads above water. I’m not sure if the EU (faults and all) can fully take the blame for this though. The UK left in 2016 and they are still tearing each other apart over it. They’ve run into some brick walls in the form of international laws and protocols, not just EU ones.
There are multiple layers to it as ever. It’s about what kind of societies and values we want. At what point do you pull the ladder up? This is especially important for a country like ours that has only functioned in several eras due to high emigration.
The crux of it is that there are enough resources for all. They just aren’t shared or managed in a fair way. Helpless refugees aren’t the core of the issue imo.
It’s cringeworthy stuff over there.
Pigs at the trough.
Nice, brief piece.
But we have the same system here with government positions. Cameron may not be an elected member of the Commons but as he had been elevated to the peerage he is a member of the Lords.
In Ireland government ministers can be from either the Dail or the Seanad.
And the Taoiseach get to appoint members to the Seadan too.
@ItWasLikeThatWhenIGotHere: Different functions though, in fairness. Cameron’s clearly being rewarded; I’d disagree that he’s done the British any favours. He was previously reelected on the promise of calling a referendum. The best I can say for him is that he did call a referendum. It was too close to call for such a massive backward step to act on an advisory result in my view. The EU warned them of exactly this. Indeed, had the proposal been sounding out voters on Scottish independence, it certainly would have been deemed to close to call, too divisive and dismissed. Yet the boosters of Brexit got their result and acted accordingly. This, presumably, is his reward. I don’t envy his role now.
@F Fitzgerald: Democracy – the exercise of the power of the people – is never a mistake.
You might not like the result, but that is of no matter,
A little bit off topic, but as the UK provides such support to Israel, I think it is justified. Just saw a headline fro the Times of Israel which reads “Outrage in coalition after Israel says it will allow 2 fuel trucks a day into Gaza. National Security Adviser: Fuel vital to prevent collapse of sewage system, spread of disease would stop war.” If this doesn’t show the utter inhumanity of the Israeli government, I don’t know what will.
Well said Sydney
Yes, good article.
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