There is a byelection in Batley and Spen because its
MP Tracy Brabin has become Steward and Bailiff of the Chiltern Hundreds, which
is an area in Buckinghamshire. What this means in ordinary English is that she became
Mayor of West Yorkshire and had to resign her seat. Quite why Britain still
indulges in this sort of medievalism is rather beyond me, but perhaps its
quaintness attracts tourists.
Byelections usually don’t interest me at all. I don’t
believe I have ever been to Batley and I had to look up that Spen is a river.
But this byelection does interest me for a number of reasons.
I am a Conservative, but I try not to be tribal about
it. I usually vote Conservative, but I don’t always. At a General Election I
will hope for a Conservative Government, but I have supported the Lib Dems in
the past and also Labour. I supported Brexit while recognising that there were
some good arguments for Remain. But above all I support British democracy. I
don’t want there to be permanent Conservative Government. I want Labour or an
alternative opposition party to eventually form a government. I want this
because democracy requires change of government otherwise it becomes corrupt.
The biggest problem for democracy in Scotland is partly
our obsession with the constitution, which means that the Scottish Government
is never judged on its record, but rather on its desire for independence. But
more important than this is that there is at present zero chance of another
party or parties becoming the Government. This has led to mediocrity and
corruption, which can only be eliminated of by kicking the SNP out. But because
we cannot kick them out, we are stuck with mediocrity and corruption.
Labour needs to change and another defeat like the one
in Hartlepool might hasten that change. It is for this reason that I would
suggest the voters in Batley and Spen might vote for George Galloway and his
Workers Party of Britain.
It is odd for a Conservative to be recommending a
party like this, but on the two key issues of the past few years I agree with the
WPB. It supports both British unity and Brexit.
I disagree with George Galloway about many things. I
support free markets, low taxes and small government. In foreign affairs I
support the United States and Israel. I dislike singling out Israel for criticism
that would not be applied to other countries acting in a similar way.
But reasonable people can disagree about these issues.
I put forward my views as clearly, forcibly and as reasonably as I can. But
others can legitimately disagree, not least because I may be wrong.
There is a problem with free markets and capitalism in
general. Corporations have become monopolies, which have an unhealthy control over
our lives. Amazon, Facebook, Google and Twitter have crushed competition. Central
Banks around the world have been printing money to the extent that money has become
something of a confidence trick with nothing concrete to back it. The world of
work is going to change radically over the coming decades and many jobs will
become obsolete.
Just as previous revolutions made the jobs of Smith
and Cooper archaic so too the Internet revolution is making shop workers
unneeded and shops unnecessary. If workers can work from home, how long before
those jobs are replaced by cheaper workers from other countries? We need new
jobs and new thinking to deal with unemployment.
If we are not careful, we will end up with mass unemployment
with most of the money belonging to international corporations. How then do we
determine wages? Free market doctrines of supply and demand may struggle if few
of us are employed and we are unable therefore to supply anything. Free markets
only work when each of us has a reasonable chance of trading our skills and
work for wages. But if the market is in the hands of corporations who produce
everything then it would be rigged against the majority who could no longer
take part.
At this point we may need ideas from the Left in order
to find a way to divide fairly the wealth of a society which we would be as
excluded from as during the era of barons and serfs.
If Labour wins the Batley and Spen byelection it will
continue as it is. Keir Starmer is not going to be Prime Minister, so Labour
must find someone who could be. It will only do so if it keeps getting
defeated.
It will hardly matter if the Conservatives win another
seat. Boris already has a huge majority.
The best chance of getting some real change and some
new ideas is if George Galloway is elected. If Mr Galloway were an MP, he would
be an ally of Pro UK Scots even if some of us disagreed with him about some of
his policies. It is unlikely that one MP would be able to create socialism in
Britain, but he might just bring some useful new thinking about the problems of
capitalism. Even free marketeers like me would like to hear these ideas.
Mr Galloway will not take any votes from the
Conservatives. His appeal is to Labour voters. His continual and long-term
support of Asian people may prove attractive to people of Pakistani and Indian
origin in Batley. An articulate Galloway is more likely to bring their concerns
to the attention of the Government than anyone else they might elect.
George Galloway was right about both wars in Iraq,
while I was wrong as was Tony Blair and much of the British establishment. He
is not afraid to speak his mind, which is the aspect of his character that appeals
to me most, even when I disagree. Too many MPs are dull drones who haven’t got
an original thought in their minds. Galloway is not that and never has been.
From a Conservative perspective the more votes the Workers
Party of Britain gains, the more likely either it will win or the Conservatives
will. The last thing Labour wants is someone who can attract Left-wing votes
with an appeal to core Labour values rather than muddle and mush.
I have supported Alliance for Unity (All for Unity) for
the past year. It didn’t do as well as we hoped, but allies should still support
each other. So, I wish Mr Galloway well in Batley and Spen and will follow the
result closely. It would be a great result for all Pro UK Scots if Mr Galloway
were elected. It would help our argument far more than if either the Labour or
Conservative candidate wins.
