THE HEREDITARY PRINCIPLE and cronyism, which for
much of its history has been despised by the Labour Party, is now bedding down
well within the party's culture. The House of Lords, have always cherished the
hereditary principle of course, but the principle has now been put into reverse
by the politicians; and all peerages are now for life only - yet the irony is, Labour
politicians now see some merit in the hereditary principle.
New
Labour, under its architect, Tony Blair, continued Labour's historical antipathy
to all forms of heredity apart from within its natural confines of family
genealogy. He attacked the Tories, and their hereditary peers, and did so with
right on his side. After all the hereditary principle is a monarchical and
aristocratic construct; one which has outlived its purpose (whatever that may
have been regarding the ordinary citizen).
Apart
from, that is, it's place in any modern constitution; and that is in ours. We
have a constitutional monarch whose many powers, such as they are, pose no
threat. Our Queen is trusted far more by the people than are our
politicians…she is certainly more knowledgeable than any of them about our post-war
political history, partly because of her Tuesday meetings with 12 prime
ministers from Churchill to Cameron. She has no doubt been told things during
that period that would only be disclosed to a very close confidant by her prime
ministers in the full knowledge that such disclosures would be kept safe.
THIS REVIVAL OF THE hereditary principle has been
left unheralded for obvious reasons and left to the media to expose; and the Guido website is doing so.
The
Labour Party has moved on from Tony Bair. But the Blair seed has not. Neither
has the Kinnock and Straw seed. The Benn seed has already spread its roots into
parliament with Hillary's presence. Now we have Jack's son, Will Straw[1],
insinuating himself upon the wretched people of Rossendale and Darwen in order
for them to help fire up his political
career.
While
in Coventry, Geoffrey Robinson's seat is up for grabs despite the patron of the
New Statesman's denial. He has apparently been contacted by the Blair's on
behalf of their son Euan, who wishes to pursue his father's political
ambitions, at the expense of whatever is left of Geoffrey Robinson's - perhaps
a peerage may tempt him?
Stephen
Kinnock is of course Neil's son and is married to Helle Thorning-Schmidt, the
Danish PM who was photographed sandwiched between David Cameron and President
Obama at Mandela's elegy. Stephen however, has his own political ambition
centred upon the constituency of Aberavon. The Kinnock name still carries much
kudos in Wales and he is likely to be the most successful of the hereditary
appointees; and Stephen, if successful, will follow the family tradition of
living off the public tit, having never worked in the private sector.
THE LABOUR PARTY is creating their own hereditary
structure, by putting family members and
friends in constituency seats that would vote for a chimpanzee with a red
rosette rather than a human Tory. It is in these seats, that are the most advantageous
for Labour in the North, and are therefore cherished by the sons and daughters
of influential Labour fathers and mothers who have retired from politics, and,
in financial terms, retired generously from the political fray: but who nevertheless
wish to adorn their seedlings with the power they once enjoyed and create a
kind of Kennedy dynasty.
Hypocrisy
is a word so well used in reference to politicians, that it longer hurts when hurled
at any one of them. It has become like water off a duck's back; and when they
use it against each other at every opportunity, the word, like the politician,
is debased.
Of
course the Blair's, Straw's and Kinnock's are only doing what their social democratic
colleagues do throughout the rest of Europe, and we are only starting to catch
up. Throughout the EU, such nepotism barely causes a Gallic shrug from among
the continent's people. On the continent political preferment is part of the
culture: the political class, like the old aristocratic ones that preceded them,
have even adopted their lofty arrogance.
The
British public (and Guido) had better acclimatise themselves to this new
European settlement, for it is set to continue and flower among the political
class as a whole.
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