While the Tories stagger from pillar to post, incapable of leading as the Omicron variant becomes dominant, and Labour’s leaders continue to tail-end the government, you may well ask where the system is heading in 2022.
The prospects are not good. Despite their internal civil war, the Tories are building the framework of an authoritarian state.
Over 100 of the party’s MPs voted against “covid passports” – actually a digital confirmation that you are vaccinated – in the name of “freedom”. But the same MPs are without dissent voting through draconian laws that take away fundamental freedoms and lead to an authoritarian state.
The Police and Crime Bill contains a major assault on the right to protest. Sponsored by the ultra-reactionary Priti Patel, the bill hands police unfettered powers to restrict demonstrations. So-called static protests can be declared unlawful, for example, even though judges have ruled them lawful. The human rights campaign Liberty says:
“Not only does this Bill hand police the choice on where, when and how people can protest, it also threatens to criminalise the entire way of life of nomadic Gypsy and Traveller communities and creates new stop and search powers that will exacerbate discriminatory over-policing of people of colour, subjecting people to profiling and state harassment.”
The Bill sailed through the Commons and now the Tories in the House of Lords have drafted even harsher clampdown measures to add to the Bill. A new criminal offence of obstructing major transport works and a power for police to ban named people from demonstrations are among the new clauses.
The right to vote is under attack from the Elections Bill. This brings in voter ID, which could strip millions of their right to vote. Voter fraud is the excuse trotted out by the Tories but there is absolutely no evidence of this in the UK, just as there wasn’t in the United States. A case of fake news.
The Electoral Commission is losing its independence and the definition of “campaigning” being rewritten in a way that could prevent trade unions and others from taking an active part in elections. Campaigner Naomi Smith adds: “To that end, the bill means ministers can designate booking a meeting room as a criminal offence.”
Meanwhile, the Nationality and Borders Bill severely reduces the rights of asylum seekers and refugees who despite the odds make the hazardous journey to the UK. Patel wants them “offshored” to be processed. One lone Tory dissident said the UK was on the way to creating its very own Guantanamo Bay.
Finally, justice secretary Dominic Raab is sharpening his axe over the Human Rights Act. His proposals for “reform” reduce the scope of people to make claims under the legislation. It’s the first step towards scrapping the Act altogether.
What of the official opposition party, Labour? Under Keir Starmer, it has drifted steadily to the right. The shadow cabinet now resembles a Blairite tribute-band and Starmer has set out to make Labour the party of business, in place of the Tories. It didn’t go down too well in the North Shropshire by-election, where Labour’s share of the vote halved even though the Tories were in meltdown.
The party itself is losing thousands of members who joined to support Jeremy Corbyn and many others are being expelled in what amounts to virtual show trials. Their membership is being terminated electronically for alleged indiscretions like supporting or being associated with someone who has already been expelled! Several Jewish activists have been thrown out after being accused of anti-Semitism.
The moral of this story is that if you want to live in a truly democratic society, where self-determination rather than alienated capitalist state power underlies economic and political processes, we need a new way forward. The old system is dying before our eyes but its decay is proving highly dangerous.
To examine what’s is wrong with the system and discuss how we can make the transition to real democracy, why not register for our Rethinking the Future course, which starts in mid-January. It’d be a positive way to start 2022.