Wednesday, December 03, 2008

Conformity ultimately leads to Death


Watching the continuing 'Police enter Parliament without a warrant' saga unfold i am struck that this was always going to be so.
Parliament is criticised for being a 'talking shop' when quite the opposite is true. For countless years now MP's have abdicated their responsibilities and failed to expose government lies, half truths and evasions. They have been unwilling to think originally about anything and increasing rely on 'evidence' from outside bodies which they simply rubber stamp. The evidence comes of course from vested interests who are unable to do what Parliament is meant to do - view things in the round.
Parliament has been failed by its Members. It should never have come to this, so why did it and what can be done to remedy it? The easy answer is to blame New Labour - and they have much to answer for, but the problems are deeper.
The farcical ceremony of today's Queens Speech does very little to set the tone of Parliament as a place of radical thinking, drawing, as it does, on tradition, order and conformity. New arrivals are absolutely overawed by its size and ever present display of history. What would Winston Churchill possibly have to offer the world in 2008? Nothing. So why does his statue dominate the entrance to the Commons chamber? The Commons begins every day with prayers and debate is rigidly controlled by an array of men in suits, men in wigs and men in tights. And we all know what these uniforms promote - conformity, don't rock the boat or challenge the system. The operations and procedures of Parliament are so archaic and so far removed from the reality of everyday life that it is little wonder that the laws that emanate from there effect little practical improvement in our lives.
It is time for Parliament to be moved into the 21st century. The events of recent days are only the beginning of the upheaval that old establishment is going to have to undergo if any semblance of democracy is to survive in the UK. The institution is severely crippled, and without radical surgery will surely die, to be replaced with government by decree. And if you think life's bad now...

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