Neo-Feudalism

Having been sidetracked by Jimmy Savile last week, I feel I should now address some of the issues raised by the Tory bastards at their conference.  I think Cameron's speech summed up their intent: to get Britain back to where it was. Whilst many commentators take that to mean getting the UK back to its economic position pre-recession, the actual policies they are advocating make it clear that they really mean that they want to take Britain back to pre-World War One times.  Those were the days when the lower orders knew their place, had minimal employment rights, no benefits safety net, only the most rudimentary of pensions and certainly nothing in the way of civil rights.  Oh, and the rich paid less tax and could shoot peasants/burglars at will.  Frances Maude's leaked assault on public sector pay and conditions makes this obvious - and if they succeed in imposing more draconian working conditions on the public sector, you can be sure that the private sector will be quick to follow.  Indeed, so savage are the Tory bastards' continued attacks on workers' rights that I'm convinced that they really want to take us back to feudalism.  Certainly, the likes of Maude and Cameron seem to find the very notion that workers should have rights utterly offensive.

Their law and order 'policies', (if one can dignify the kind of hysteria they promote with such a term), are also fascinating, effectively constituting a 'back door' privatisation of both policing and criminal justice.  After all, who needs the police if you are going to be allowed to kill or maim alleged burglars?  I've no doubt this is a concept the likes of Chris Grayling will happily expand to include alleged muggers, car thieves, fly-tippers and gypsies.  And if, by some chance, the alleged offender doesn't die, why go to all the expense, bother and general inconvenience of a trial?  After all, not only the court system insist upon such trivialities as evidence, fairness and balance, they often return the 'wrong' verdict or impose the 'wrong' sentence.  So why not get the victims involved in sentencing?  Cut out all that justice nonsense and just go for good old fashioned retribution.  There's no doubt that vigilantism is a damn sight cheaper than maintaining police forces and a criminal justice system when the government is fixated on slashing public spending.

On a final note, Cameron's speech contained some extraordinary lapses in logic.  Leaving aside his claim of wanting to spread privileges, (it wouldn't be a privilege if it were universal, obviously), I was fascinated by his continuing attempts to demonise benefit claimants.  According to him it was unfair on people who got up early to go to work, to have to see the still drawn curtains of their benefit claiming neighbours - it devalued the whole concept of work.  Which, of course, implies that claiming benefits is a lifestyle choice, (which, for a tiny minority, it might be), whereas, in reality, many of those claiming benefits are doing so because they are unemployed and unable to find work.  The reason for this is largely down to the global economic crisis precipitated by the Tories' friends the bankers and exacerbated by the policies pursued by their chancellor George Osborne, which are pushing the UK further into recession.  What people on benefits need are jobs, but Cameron's policies are destroying jobs rather than creating them.  Tory bastards.