The Ragged Trousered Prophets Of Jackboot Britain

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Well didn't read on Thursday. Was a bit stressed out by the house move situation. Three separate issues seem to have converged on us at the same time. Those that say this is one of the most traumatic times of your lives are right. However things at the end of that day seem to have resolved themselves...thankfully.

What this all means is that I didn't exactly start reading The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists by Robert Tressel until yesterday. Perhaps this was meant to be. Because on that morning the news greeted me of widespread conservative gains throughout Britain in the local elections, what has turned out to be the supporting act for the general election. I've spoken about this election before and will only mention a few things about it before I go on. But clearly what it shows is the Conservatives will win an overall majority and the synchronised march of jackboot Britain will continue.

I do need to mention a few things about the local election. Plaid Cymru have made gains. It is perhaps at a slow pace, but clearly more and more people are realising that in Wales they are the party Labour used to be. Labour knows this, especially now as inroads have been made into places that they've never had success before......such as Bridgend.

Bridgend is at no overall control at time of writing. Labour having lost its majority. Regular readers will know that along with Arsenal football club and D H Lawrence Bridgend Labour Council are one of the regular villains of this blog. They deserve it having run the borough with arrogant incompetence. What will be interesting is to see exactly what type of government takes over and whether they'll still be involved. We'll have to wait and see.

Anyway back to Jackboot Britain and to The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists. there am I yesterday afternoon starting to read this novel and I'm stunned. For although this was written in 1911 the similarities with the Britain of today are striking.

I won't go into detail of the plot. I would never spoil it for another reader. But Chapter one is a perfect case in point. To set the scene it's lunchtime and workmen are discussing various issues.

Firstly a government "fiscal policy" is mentioned. Some of these workmen vote Conservative, despite the damage the party does to them because they believe that they are the only party with an economic plan. This rings true today. It doesn't matter that the plan gives more to the rich and punishes the poor. It's a plan and it's put out as the only one that makes any sense. As I've said before with regard to people I know who are in debt but don't show it. Image is everything.....until reality bites.

Then comes the fact that the majority of these men are not interested in politics. This is the case now. People are not interested in the subject that will dominate their lives. "Don't be interested in politics,politics is dull, come here and watch Britains Got The X Factor Voice Dancing Instead. Oh and the decline in your living standards? That's the fault of the foreigners".

And what's the newspaper some of these men are reading? It's The Obscurer. A Tory paper that bellows news from a Tory bias? Sounds familiar? After all Britain has now become a country where to disagree with the government party line you are called an enemy of the people or a saboteur deserving to be crushed. Britain was a country that was a proud democracy where people of non violent but different views to the government of the day were not treated as traitors. Let me make myself clear. On the basis of current British tabloid mentality I am a traitor. There I've said it.

Let's get back to "the foreigners". That's right it's mentioned here too in a book written in 1911. In this chapter a charcter says that they should be "driven into the bloody sea" for taking "the bread out of English people's mouths". Even then what you do is to create an enemy where the real enemy are the rich who seek to keep all their money whilst letting the rest of us live on a pittance. Nowadays it appears to be mainly the Poles who are subjected to this racism. It's a trick, and not the only one the Conservatives use either. Really the Tories must have been founder members of the Magic Circle.

Another issue is the increasing use of foodbanks in jackboot Britain because of poverty. An issue that Theresa May finds "complex". In the book a workman states that "Drink is the cause of the poverty". The impression is given that self restraint will stop poverty. I heard similar argument on TV being stated in that some of the people going to foodbanks had cigarettes and drink.

Again this is Tory trick, for although such people exist, the slight of hand is to imply that they are in the majority. Most are decent people who have fallen on hard times and find that the state would rather turn its back on them  or punish them further than help out.

And that is on Chapter One. I could have gone further but that would have spoilt things for you.  Let's just say that it gives us an idea of things to come in Jackboot Britain as well as what's currently happening. I've not finished it yet but it seems to be the most important book I'm going to read this year.

Until the next time.