From the outside, the most painful part of UK politics to watch is this instinctual reaction of "well, that didn't work, so let's do anything else." It takes a lot of luck to do that and land on a good idea.
Again, from the outside, the UK looks like a country that has a lot to lose but it's acting quite desperate and it's hard to see why.
> What worries me is that, if tomorrow our country came to its senses and asked genuinely competent people to take the helm, it would already be far, far too late.
I agree with much of the post, but it's this kind of statement that worries me. I think there is a lot of room for incremental improvement in the UK, the dull work of growing in competence, but the appetite seems to be for sweeping measures.
> worries me... the appetite seems to be for sweeping measures.
Yes that is concerning. Desperate voters will follow any crazy with
bold promises.
> I think there is a lot of room for incremental improvement in the UK
Way I see it, I've lived through about 30-40 years of decremental
decline, so if we started "incremental improvement" tomorrow, we'd be
back where I started in the 1970s just by the time I die. I suppose
that's better than watching ones country decline through all your
life, like for Russians. Or disintegrate, as for ex-Yugoslavians for
example.
However, in the era of climate crisis, and myriad other threats, a
sense of urgency is in the air which we cannot ignore. Unless rational
and courageous minds take the lead someone else will.
> the dull work of growing in competence.
Knowing where to even start... how to counter the conditions that are
causing us to lose competence... we need to plug the holes in the ship
before charting a new course.
Again, from the outside, the UK looks like a country that has a lot to lose but it's acting quite desperate and it's hard to see why.
> What worries me is that, if tomorrow our country came to its senses and asked genuinely competent people to take the helm, it would already be far, far too late.
I agree with much of the post, but it's this kind of statement that worries me. I think there is a lot of room for incremental improvement in the UK, the dull work of growing in competence, but the appetite seems to be for sweeping measures.