That political parties (and individual entities within those loose confederations of bandits, narcissists and self-servers) make mistakes is a given. Hardly a week goes by without some gathering of our moral superiors getting egg on their collective faces, or some hapless person in their closed ranks being exposed or hung out to dry for the sake of 'political expediency.'
As I like to say, so it goes. What else did I expect? Wisdom, care, public service, intelligence? If I did I would be disappointed. It hasn't happened so far and the sensible money would be on it not happening again. Oh, the words will be fine enough. Stirring speeches will be made, earnest looks given, rough sort of promises made though as a court ruled while ago a political party manifesto does not in any way constitute a promise or imply a contract. It is a lovely 'pie in there sky' document and other than fine example of the writer's skill and printer's craft, it's not much else.
Now, I might vote at the next election -- I did at the last one though mostly in the hope of stopping a sock puppet of a disgusting cult getting into parliament, which happily didn't happen -- but if I do it will be in the full knowledge that voting will not make one iota of difference to me. All I might expect in return for giving someone a leg up to the promised land of gravy trains and well-filled troughs is more taxes and ways to make me feel bad about myself.
I think we should be clear on this. While we know that governments seemingly give with one hand while eagerly taking away with the other three or four, they and their agents (aka the media) will work even harder to make us feel bad in some way. There will be subtle and not so subtle hints that being British is one of the worst things ever and we must make generous recompense to the rest of the world. As it happens, your money and your freedom of speech and action within the law is as good a thing to sacrifice as any.
But if I had to pick out one error that successive gub'mints make these days (yes, I know, so hard to choose between so many) it is the mistaken belief that immigration will boost their share of the vote.
Our great and good leaders, preening themselves at the top of the pile, do need votes to keep them preening in the manner to which they have grown accustomed. As the native British tend to see through the thin camouflage that our political parties throw up it follows that our political parties like the idea of having more voters who don't yet know what's going on.
Lowering the age of voting would be one way, because da yoof has been known to be seduced by shiny things and flashy trainers so promises to provide more free shiny and flashy goes down well. Some of our young are passionately idealistic and want world peace among other laudable ambitions, and if you get their vote you can carry on doing whatever.
(What! You mean... democracy is only voting once every so often and then not having any say in what those in power do thereafter? But surely, when we voted we were going to have a say in it all, right? Are you telling me that democracy lasts all of three seconds while you make your cross on the ballot paper? For heaven's sake, some might say that this democracy thing is a bit of a sham.)
Giving votes to truculent though passionate young teens may be temporarily good for some parties, but takes time. The swiftest solution is to open the doors to anyone who wants to be here and promise them (if they speak English) a lot of what they want. You get them in and among it all offer them ballot papers. Postal ballots too, if that helps someone fill them in on their behalf.
Hey presto, we have all those people already here and voting and those coming in being helped to vote too. Politics is back with a bang. What could go wrong?
Trouble is, a lot. It isn't hard to see those who come in gradually begin to want their own way of life rather than adopt ours and with that preference would be their own parties and policies to further their own interests even more. This way the votes dry up in the traditional way. The book where making newcomers feel part of British life may have had the appendix that they have to like British democracy and established parties, but it soon becomes apparent that wasn't much of an enticement. Perhaps they stopped reading long before then. For example, we have people in some places wanting, because they occupy most of one street, to rename their street after their own hero in their language. The current street name of, say, a former local mill owner means little to them when they have heroes of their own champing at the bit.
If newcomers can push to rename streets and demand local shops do not sell certain things and have areas where normal police intervention is diminished then they can just as easily form their own political parties. No one at Westminster will be happy but equally as they don't have the courage to say 'no' to anything it all goes ahead.
But this goes further than people recently arrived here. The established voting base begins to feel valueless because clearly their chosen established political parties don't think much of them, so their reaction is why vote at all? If you feel betrayed by someone you tend not to keep them on your Christmas card list.
Let's say you live on a street that many of your neighbours are anxious to rename to celebrate a man in a distant land who may, or may not, have cut heads off various unworthies. You wonder what the hell is going on, and why the party you voted for every time without question could allow this situation to come about. I am not sure you would vote for the hated 'other side' in traditional Brit politics because the 'other side' turned out to be just a complicit. So, no votes there then for anyone.
Gradually the weakening of the British identity (which may or may not be a good thing in the eyes of some) results in a decline in the British political system. No bad thing, considering what our great and good get up to, but equally it lets in smaller groups with radical agendas that quite probably will divide and fracture society even more.
The structure of British politics was based on the limited influence of two parties with the occasional mumblings of a significant third party. It was one or the other most of the time though if you really felt the need there was the temptation of going with the minor third party as a protest vote.
In future these two-and-a-half parties will be smaller and faced with more 'opposition' than they'd like, they would have less ability to enjoy themselves at our expense. The seeds of this have already been liberally sown, and now we await the weed-strangled harvest.
It should be fun. Of sorts.
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