The Reform Party

The “manifesto”, in terms of transport, only mentions stopping HS2, but there’s plenty on the usual right wing obsessions: Brexit, immigration, veterans and climate change.   I had a look because I worry about the ongoing decline of the two main political parties. 

If the Cons stay wedded to Brexit, then we will go into the next GE with all the widespread impoverishment Brexit has ushered in - not helped by Covid, not helped by Putin.  People vote according to their pockets.  I don’t get Labour’s current position either, but let’s see how that evolves, and even the Cons may also evolve with their Swiss-style relationship with Europe, but time is already running out for them. 

Several roads now lead to the horrors of a further lurch to the right in this country. 

 A cycling angle?

Facebook Steve and Nextdoor Dave, attain real political influence. It’s not spelt out in the manifesto, but you can see where this is probably heading and what it is likely to mean for cycling.  As you all know, Dave’s going to “sort the traffic” and no doubt show them lazy planners a thing or two: Steve thinks the Council are corrupt, the police blinkered, etc. 

All this stuff works by allowing/enabling significant privileged groups to to think of themselves as the downtrodden underdog and here is a way to fight back.  The pro Brexit campaign played on people’s ignorance, fears and prejudices exactly as this does. 

It’s all about freedom, innit, less regulation, less tax burden, and damn the climate.  There’s more polar bears now, so it’s fine.  Let’s have open-cast coal mining, lithium mining and fracking.  In places, the mask really slips: “We must keep divisive woke ideologies such as Critical Race Theory (CRT) and gender ideology out of the classroom.” - to be honest, I don’t even know what those two are.

The standard enemies are put up - the civil service, the BBC.  Amid all the thrust and parry, there’s nothing here about making a better, more inclusive and cohesive world to live in; arts, sports and culture don’t feature in this barstool view of the world: a dullard’s grim vision.

Don’t be a member of the wrong sort of minority would be my advice, should any of this come to pass.