I've got friends across the political spectrum. I try and respect their views and agree to differ. I always take the view that they've walked a different path, met different people, seen things I haven't, that have lead them to form their point of view. Likewise, I expect them to afford me the same level of respect. So let me tell you of a few things that have informed why I hold the views that I do.
When we talk about immigrants and illegal immigration, I have illegal immigrants on both sides of my family. My Dad came to the UK in 1942 to fly Wellington bombers for the RAF in WW2. He was born and died an Australian citizens. He never sought leave to stay, work permits or anything else. He was informed on more than one occasion as he re-entered the UK from trips abroad that he was an illegal immigrant. Back in those days, you could have a conversation with the officer doing passport checks. Dad would inform them that that no one told him that when he arrived in 1942 and no one told him that he had to leave when his services were no longer needed. He also told them that if they didn't let him in, his business would close, his six kids would starve and the 10 blokes who worked for them would be unemployed. In the end, they let him in. Oddly, he'd actually had a British passport for a while, but he was a proud Aussie and I genuinely believed he liked a row. I suspect that he'd have enjoyed being deported. My mother was less happy with the situation. He was repeatedly told to "sort this out or we won't let you in next time". He just ignored them.
As for my mum's side. Her Dad was born in Dublin. At some point in the early years of the last century, he decided to move to England for work. He stowed away on board the ferry to Liverpool. I suspect he went to the pub first, and then hid in a lifeboat. After a day, the boat was still at sea. When he investigated, he found he'd boarded a ship bound for Argentina. He had to turn himself in. He was put to work stoking the boilers. When the boat got to Argentina, he got a job at a livery working with horses and earned the cash for his passage back. He entered and worked illegally in Argentina, but no one really seemed to care. Eventually, he made his way back to England, got a job in Oldham and married my Grandmother. Sadly, the first world war intervened and he was conscripted. He spent time in the cavalry, got gassed, which damaged his lungs and lead to an untimely death in his 60's. He died in 1948, so I never met him. He told my Mum that it was only by seeing Argentina, France and Belgium that he really understood the true nature of the world. He saw refugees leaving areas of France as British soldiers made their way to the battle front. He said that it was the look on the faces of women and children carrying what possessions they could muster, leaving ancestral homes, which made him a lifelong pacifist and socialist
I was always intrigued by my Grandfather. He came back a broken, bitter man. I once asked my Dad about him. Dad was respectful in his description (something my mum often wasn't). He told of when he went to ask for my mothers hand in marriage. My Grandfather was a difficult man. It was 1944 and Hendon and Mill Hill were full of soldiers. My Dad asked my Grandfather for a drink, I believe it was at the Midland Hotel. Dad was in his RAF Uniform. Dad was over 6' and an imposing figure. Grandad looked like a scruffy little Irish gnome with a big red nose. Grandad insisted on buying the first round. As he waited at the bar, two British Army officers pushed in front of him to get a beer. My Grandfather was fesity and told them, in his broad Dublin brogue to mind their manners. One of them told him to "F off back to Ireland with all his IRA mates". My Dad was about to clobber him, but my Grandfather put his hand up and said "Let me tell you about British Army Officers, I was in the Somme and Paschendal in the Cavalry, I saw thousands of fine young Britsih patriots slaughtered, because the British Army Officers had no care for their well being. And I can tell you one thing. If the IRA fight for another thousand years, they will never kill as many fine young British patriots, as the British Army Officer corps killed, with their incompetence, in the fields of France, now mind your manners and wait your turn". Dad told me that as he spoke, he seemed to grow and the officers seemed to shrink. As he finished speaking, Dad moved forward and said "Having some problems here Jim". The officers made a speedy retreat. My Grandfather said "Never forget, your brain is your finest weapon".
I have tried to always remember where our family came from. I consider myself to be blessed to live in London, England, the UK. I am proud of our country and its acheivements. I am proud that my Dad and my Grandfather served. I have no issue with the St George's flag. We often fly a Hadley FC banner based on a St George's flag when The False Dots play live. It is my flag, as much as anyone elses. It is not owned by a small group on the extremes. My pride in the UK is based on the good things we have done for the world. The Nuremberg trials were conducted under English law, as it was deemed by the USSR, USA and France as the best way to ensure fair and transparent trials. Stalin had suggested to Churchill, that when the allies won, 50,000 Nazi's be summarily shot as a lesson. Churchill stated that the best revenge would be to deal with them fairly under international law.
When people on the right appropriate Churchill's image, it is worth recalling this. Churchill believed that our most robust tools were international law and decency. We could try Nazi war butchers, as they had broken the Geneva convention. The United Nations convention on refugees, the European Court of Justice, etc have all been set up, so that we have recourse when governments go bad. It is no coincidence that nations such as Russia and Belarus refuse to sign up to these.
Which brings us to Nigel Farage. His 'plan' if you can call it that, is to withdraw from all manner of international treaties and conventions. He states that this will allow us to 'deport who we like'. Farage used the same logic when he promoted Brexit. He stated that we could leave Europe and still get exactly the same treatment, as they'd have no choice. Anyone who had villas in the EU soon learned that this meant that they couldn't live there anymore. I've just got back from France and now have to queue to get my passport stamped. This will get even more time consuming from October when new rules come in. As soon as we pulled out of the EU, the small boats started, as the French were no longer bound by EU rules in regards to stopping them. I've no idea what the law of unexpected consequences will mean, should Farage ever enact his plan. What leaving the EU has shown is that such things never work how the likes of Farage promise. With Brexit, Farage has simply blamed everyone else for not doing it the way he thinks it should be done. However, he has completely ignored the fact that issues like the Irish border is an almost intractable problem.
It is clear from the polls that nearly a third of voters are attracted by what Nigel Farage has to say. He may well become the next PM. His back of the fag packet plans may indeed become reality. We may well withdraw from all manner of treaties, start deporting people who have fled the Taliban back to Afghanistan etc. It may not be 'our problem' when they are taken to a football field and summarily executed. It may well be that illegal immigration is stopped in its tracks. I don't know and you don't know. But what I do know, is that without a guarantee of our human rights, the government of the day will have nothing to worry about when it decides it doesn't like us and locks us up. People are already serving months in prison for posting inflammatory tweets. Just think for a second what a government could do, if there were no laws to protect peoples rights. I am not stupid, there are many people who have abused human rights legislation in cases that clearly have nothing to do with human rights, but annoying though that is, it is better than a nation where the government can do as it pleases without checks and balances from the judiciary.
Just imagine a situatiom say in 2031, where Farage has been PM for a couple of years, all human rights legislation has been repealed. Thousands of Afghan refugees have been deported and mowed down on their return by a gleeful Taliban. Despite all of the hullabaloo,the economy is tanking, the EU and post Trump America have placed restrictions on UK trade to show their disdain for our government (which is their right as soveriegn nations). The economy is falling apart, hundreds of thousands of key workers, who have kept the UK afloat doing vital jobs are leaving as they no longer feel welcome. Interest rates are going through the roof and hospitals are routinely shutting A&E as there are no longer the staff to keep them running. Although it may seems churlish to point out, without porters, cleaners, nurses, etc, they simply can't run. Foreign companies have stopped investing in the UK because they do not feel it is a place where business can be done safely and effectively. Old folks are being moved to army syle barracks and involuntarily euthenised, as there simply aren't the carers to cater for them and, well they have no human rights. That could be our country. But look on the bright side. There will be a flag flying from every corner.
God Bless the King!
1 comment:
Well written, Rog.
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