Meeting held on Monday 20th November 2023
11 people were present. Two gave their apologies.
A number of recent events and changes has made us aware that democracy is under threat: a judge issuing instructions that defendants in court for civil disobedience must not state their reasons for their actions; Home Secretary Braverman accusing police of being ‘soft on the left’; the PM deciding to enact legislation to override the High Court decision that Rwanda is unsafe for sending asylum seekers; the high chance that Trump will be next US president who plans to dismantle many features of democracy; the recent election of far right president of Argentina; possibility that Braverman may become next PM after Starmer.
Much of the meeting was spent puzzling over why it is that with rising inequality (which might be ameliorated by politics of the ‘left’) people are attracted by right wing politicians who are much more likely to exacerbate inequality.
Corruption in democracy seems to be one reason. With all media controlled by financial interests which shape public opinions and politicians’ policies, and weak trades unions, people are not aware of progressive policies which always seem more complicated to explain than the simplistic slogans of the right. The extent of inequality is evident in all spheres of life. For example, over 60% of carbon emissions are caused by just the richest 1% of the population, according to a recent study.
What can be done to counter the trend for increased inequality? Changes to company law so that workers’ and others’ interests might be served rather than just shareholders as at present; worker representation on company boards. Would Starmer pursue such changes? It was suggested that his current 20% lead in the polls is not because the public were particularly attracted to him/his policies but because of the total incompetence of the Tories.
A final rather short discussion of the Israel/Palestine conflict considered the way that ‘antisemitism’ has been weaponised deliberately by Israeli identification of antisemitism with any critical view of Israel or its policies. (See Asa Winstanley Weaponising Anti-Semitism published by OR Books 2023.)In UK one is free to say anything critical about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but any criticism of Israel’s policies in Gaza risks being deemed a ‘hate crime’. Regarding the future of Gaza, the prominent view in the West is that a 2 state solution between Israel and Palestine was dominant, but perhaps a single one state solution that guaranteed equal rights for Jews and Palestinians was the only sustainable option.
The next meeting of Whats Left will be on 20th November.