Politicians : Long-held views reversed to win votes, then back to ‘business as usual’ when in power?

Do we ever know what we’re voting for? Final part in our Parliamentary Democracy series

Montage © Facts4EU.Org 2024

Examples : Winter fuel, 2-tier policing and sentencing, new ‘offences’, prison policies, small boats, the EU

In this final part of our ‘parliamentary democracy’ series today we review some examples showing why the public increasingly distrusts its politicians. We have kept this current, so our report involves Sir Keir Starmer’s new Labour government in its first 50 days in power.

What follows may go some way to explaining the latest adverse findings of the IPSOS-MORI poll on the public’s opinion of the new Government after only seven weeks in power.

A Brexit Facts4EU.Org Series

Part I - Is Keir Starmer’s Government the most unrepresentative since women got the vote?
Part II - “What democratic legitimacy does Keir Starmer really have?”
Part III – It takes months or even years to form EU national coalition governments and they frequently fall apart
Part IV– this report - Do we ever know what we’re voting for? Politicians: Long-held views, reversed to win votes, then back to ‘business as usual’ when in power?

Today’s report looks at the following questions

Is this problem getting worse?
Are we now seeing more policy decisions being made, which were never agreed with party members and never mentioned in party manifestos?
What does the PM really think about freedom of speech?
Are more policy decisions being passed to quangos which are not accountable to the electorate?

Brexit Facts4EU.Org Summary

Some examples of announcements from the Government

Winter fuel allowances for millions of pensioners to be scrapped this winter
Strikes only stopped/paused by throwing billions at every union that asks
2-tier policing and sentencing : New directions given to police and guidance to judiciary
New proposed ‘offences’ : Announced in relation to curtailing freedom of speech
None of these are in law, on the statute book
Prison policies : Mass early release of serious offenders authorised
Immigration : Previous government’s clampdown on legal migrants’ dependents - Overturned
An effective ‘amnesty’ for up to 90,000 illegal migrants
The EU : New Defence Treaty with EU now being discussed
'EU alignment' talks on free movement for youth, and proposed participation in EU’s ‘Horizon’ project
Free speech : New law guaranteeing freedom of speech on university campuses – Cancelled
Gender ideology : Guidance for schools banning lessons on gender ideology - Cancelled

All of the above has been revealed within the first 50 days of the new Government taking power.

Sir Keir Starmer on Freedom of Speech – then and now

Millions of insulting posts have been made each year on social media, for many years. This is NOT a new phenomenon

In 2012 when Director of Public Prosecutions, Keir Starmer QC’s views seem remarkably different to those he now holds as Prime Minister. In drawing up guidelines for prosecutors and the judiciary, he was advocating caution in responding in legal terms to online posts which were merely one-offs which might be deemed “distasteful” or “painful” to those on the receiving end.

Sir Keir Starmer in 2012

“In some cases it is clear that a criminal prosecution is the appropriate response to conduct which is complained about, for example where there is a sustained campaign of harassment of an individual, where court orders are flouted or where grossly offensive or threatening remarks are made and maintained. But in many other cases a criminal prosecution will not be the appropriate response.
If the fundamental right to free speech is to be respected, the threshold for criminal prosecution has to be a high one and a prosecution has to be required in the public interest.”

Above : Keir Starmer taking the knee to Black Lives Matter, 2020.

"These interim guidelines are intended to strike the right balance between freedom of expression and the need to uphold the criminal law. The interim guidelines thus protect the individual from threats or targeted harassment while protecting the expression of unpopular or unfashionable opinion about serious or trivial matters, or banter or humour, even if distasteful to some and painful to those subjected to it."
- Keir Starmer QC, DPP, BBC Radio 4's Today programme, 19 Dec 2012

All change in 2024

Suddenly Keir Starmer’s view as Prime Minister is that the heavy hand of the law must be brought down on the most unlikely suspects. This will involve so many prosecutions and prison sentences, he was been forced to say that hundreds of existing prisoners - some of whom have committed serious and violent crimes - will be released early in order to make room for the ‘keyboard warriors’.

Are more policy decisions being passed to quangos which are not accountable to the electorate?

The UK already has circa 300 government agencies or Quangos, running or influencing large parts of our daily lives. This, it seems, is not enough. In recent weeks the new Government has regularly been announcing the setting up of many more. Here is just a selection from what has already been announced.

GB Energy (Budget : £8.5bn)
Border Security Command
Skills England
Industrial Strategy Council
National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority
Passenger Standards Authority
Regulatory Innovation Office
National Jobs and Careers Service
Fair Work Agency
Ethics and Integrity Commission
House of Commons Modernisation Committee
School Support Staff Negotiating Body
Independent Football Regulator

INVITATION : Talk to Sir John Redwood LIVE this Sunday morning! FREE!

Live-streamed and uncut, on YouTube and Zoom, from London, Sydney and the South of France, this is your opportunity to speak to the big man direct. Co-produced by Facts4EU and not to be missed, Sir John will talk about “How to get western economies growing again” and he will also answer questions on many other topics. For your special link to attend, email our partners CIBUK here.

Observations

It’s not news, that politicians are capable of holding long-established and entrenched views on a topic, then doing a U-turn ahead of an election. Nor is it anything new to see them U-turning back again once in power and returning to their long-held beliefs. And nor is it news when they announce policies once in power which did not appear in their manifesto only weeks previously.

Against this historical background the public have grown cynical and weary.

What is concerning many people this time is the sheer volume of announcements made which have not gone down well – even amongst those who voted for a Labour government. There is also growing alarm about spiralling government debt which is inevitable if very expensive union pay deals continue to be struck at the current rate. Not only will this increase the interest we are all paying on this debt mountain, but it seriously risks increasing inflation again, and thereby mortgage payments.

This all has to be added to other areas of public concern, such as the abolition of winter fuel payments for millions of pensioners. The alleged saving of some £3bn will be dwarfed by the cost of the pay settlements with the unions, which the Government has rushed through.

Reports like this take time and money

We hope readers have found the four reports in our series on Parliamentary democracy to have been interesting and informative. If so, we very much hope you will help us to keep going by donating today.

For over eight years we have worked seven days-a-week. As far as we are aware we are the only organisation of our type to have done this. We are grateful to those of our readers who have made donations but sadly the level of our funding is now such that we must make it stretch for as long as we can. This means team members taking other paid work and reducing our output to five days-a-week.

Please, please help us to carry on our vital work in defence of independence, sovereignty, democracy and freedom at this critical time. Thank you.

[ Sources: UK Government | BBC Radio 4 ] Politicians and journalists can contact us for details, as ever.

Brexit Facts4EU.Org, Wed 28 Aug 2024

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Reader Comments 14

1. Sparky , Wednesday, August 28, 2024, 05:58:

I am not a natural Labour supporter but so far, although still in honeymoon period, I have been satisfied with how Kier Starmer and team have handled themselves, particularly with how the rioting was addressed including social media posts. A refreshing change from the chaos, uncertainty and behaviour seen over the last eight years.
.
IPSOS published their "Veracity Index 2023" in December last year. Trust in politicians is constantly low but dropped to its lowest point since 1983 over the last few years which is no surprise.
.
It will be interesting to see what comes forward regarding social media particularly with incidents such as the arrest in Pakistan of a man who is claimed to have been the origin of the fake social media post that sparked the rioting.

2. Old Albion , Wednesday, August 28, 2024, 06:24:

Carnival has to be mentioned here today. 250 arrests, several police assaulted, eight stabbings.
Surely all these thugs and criminals will be fast tracked to court today and tomorrow and all imprisoned by the weekend.
Or will two tier Keir and the Met. carry on only imprisoning white criminals.
If there’s no room in the prisons, they could release those stupidly incarcerated for putting hurty words on social media.

3. Gazzablack , Wednesday, August 28, 2024, 06:47:

David Brent from the office would be a more inspirational leader than Starmer.

4. terence patrick hewett , Wednesday, August 28, 2024, 08:44:

The Labour Party are digging their own graves: digging them even deeper than the Tory Party have dug theirs. Judging by the sources of the protagonists, I doubt that the transition, when it comes, will be in any way peaceful.

5. Gazzablack , Wednesday, August 28, 2024, 09:10:

An observation by Andrew Neil yesterday.
.
Keir Starmer's approval rating plummets to a record low of -16, according to a new poll.
He's about to leave for Berlin where he will meet Social Democratic German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, whose approval ratings are also in the dirt and who leads a coalition of the walking wounded.
.
.
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The most striking thing I took away from Starmer's diatribe was:
"The people with the broadest shoulders get other people to buy their suits and glasses"

6. Northern Muppet , Wednesday, August 28, 2024, 10:23:

Good Lord, sparkless!!
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"although still in honeymoon period, I have been satisfied with how Kier Starmer and team have handled themselves"
.
Honeymoon period?? Satisfied??
.
In my view, the first few weeks (certainly no honeymoon period) of this liebour administration have been one unmitigated disaster after another - hence their approval rating dropping through the floor!
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I can only imagine that your europhilia has you getting all excited that he's off to meet the equally unpopular German chancellor; but if TwoTier makes ANY moves to 'slide' us back in to the eu (as I feel certain he'll try) I'll guarantee that his approval ratings will go even further negative. Don't forget that he was voted in by about 20% of the electorate.

7. LuxuryBalloon , Wednesday, August 28, 2024, 11:45:

It is a disgrace that pensioners like Sir Paul McCarthy and Mick Jagger lose their winter fuel allowance.

8. Gazzablack , Wednesday, August 28, 2024, 12:17:

7, LB
.
Aw bless, you think that Britain's elderley population consists entirely of Rock stars.

9. Have You Wondered. , Wednesday, August 28, 2024, 17:28:

.
"It’s not news, that politicians are capable of holding long-established and entrenched views on a topic, then doing a U-turn ahead of an election."
.
How does Farage compare?
.

10. LuxuryBalloon , Wednesday, August 28, 2024, 18:11:

8 Gaza. At the moment 11.4 million pensioners receive the winter fuel allowance benefit! This winter it will go to 1.5 million people. Those 1.5 million are the poorest pensioners and people who are in a receipt of pension credit or other means-tested benefits. Makes sense to me.

14 comments, page 1 of 2

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