Creeping Along
Posted on November 7th, 2023
by Rab Bruce’s Spider
Mastodon: @RabBrucesSpider1@Mastodon.Scot
Twitter: @RabBrucesSpider
In my last blog post, I pointed out that the UK Government is behaving just like a fascist Government. I suppose that now makes me an extremists. According to media reports, the UK Government now plans to introduce legislation to expand the definition of extremist so that anyone who criticises the UK or its institutions and values can be termed as an extremist.
The conclusion we must draw from this is that anyone who supports Scottish or Welsh independence, or who would like to see a united Ireland, will be classified as an extremist.
Many people on social media seem to be of the opinion that nothing will come of this because the Tories will be voted out of power at the next General Election, but I would not put it past them to push this through using their much-vaunted Henry VII powers via a Statutory Instrument. Failing that, they will rely on Keir Starmer’s Labour Party adopting this policy, just as he has adopted most other Tory policies. And if you think that is far-fetched, consider just how much of a British Nationalist Starmer is. He has declared this many times, and he loves to be seen surrounded by union flags. Why would he not want to reinforce the strength of the union by clamping down on any dissent? He’s already doing that within his own Party.
If this sort of thing was happening elsewhere, we would see media stories about how other countries are controlled by authoritarian Governments, yet the UK’s march towards fascism goes mostly unremarked.
I made a comment on Mastodon that I fear this proposed legislation is only one step away from declaring political Parties who seek the breakup of the UK as illegal organisations. Whether the UK Government would actually go that far is debatable, and many will be of the opinion that my fear is completely unfounded. I really hope it is, and it would certainly be a massive step for the UK Government to take. For one thing, it would completely demolish any claims that the UK is a democracy. That reassures me that such overt action is probably unlikely, but then I look at some of the things the UK Government has done over the past few years. Ten years ago, most people would have thought it unthinkable that any form of protest would render people liable to arrest, or that all legal routes to immigration would be closed down, or that food banks would become a normal part of society. As I mentioned in my earlier post, the UK is creeping towards fascism rather than marching towards it, and I don’t think we should rule anything out when it comes to Westminster exerting its authority, especially if Nigel Farage becomes leader of the Tory Party.
Whether my fears are valid or not, this latest proposal shows that the lurch to the Right continues unabated. Humza Yousaf had better get his finger out with his plans to release us from the autocratic UK.