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In 1935, Sinclair Lewis wrote a satirical book, It Can’t Happen Here, about a lying demagogue, Buzz Windrip, who rises to power and transforms the American scene for the worse within months.
There were fears of parallels with the plot of the book when Trump first became president. This time, the fears are far more serious, as Trump’s barrage of executive orders challenges the constitutional checks and balances designed by the founding fathers to inhibit the autocratic desires of a future wrong’un becoming president.
Well, within days, the implications have become apparent. Trump meant what he said about disrupting both the US and “abroad”. I don’t know about you, dear reader, but when I heard the 47th president claim to have been sent by the almighty to restore law and order, I laughed heartily and repaired to the pub.
Now, the UK is an important part of the rest of the world, but when I hear members of our government, and their US ambassadorial candidate Peter Mandelson, kowtowing to Trump, I start counting the spoons. There is a difference between diplomacy and kowtowing. During the cold war, British governments did not like having to deal with the Soviet Union’s leaders, but they conducted themselves diplomatically; they never kowtowed.
The unfortunate thing is that our government is unlikely to get anywhere with Trump. Trump’s idea of a deal is akin to that of a card sharp’s. Our future continues to lie in, and with, Europe. And so does any hope of a serious growth strategy.
Which brings me to my (almost) friend the chancellor of the exchequer. I may have missed something, but I think Rachel Reeves managed to give an hour-long speech on economic growth last week without referring to Europe. There was a time when chancellorial speeches were confined largely to fiscal and monetary policy – that is, “tax and spend” and interest rates (which latter are even now not entirely the concern of the Bank of England, because the inflation target is still set by the chancellor). Last week, all the attention was on long-term infrastructure projects, many of which are worthy, but which are unlikely to do much for the animal spirits of the entrepreneurs I meet. These are very concerned about the here and now, and the threat of recession.
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I know you are waiting for this, but the potential – and, I trust, prospective – spur to a revival of economic growth lies with re-establishing our former links with our obvious trading partner, namely continental Europe. Peace overtures on this front were made a few weeks ago by the European Commission, and at first dismissed. However, warmer words have emerged from Downing Street recently. And on a separate occasion from last week’s “growth” speech, the chancellor even acknowledged the damage that had been wreaked by Brexit.
Labour needs to get its European act together. Time is running out. When they won the election amid a fund of goodwill, ministers were claiming that they needed two terms to “fix the foundations”. However, recent opinion polls are terrifying them, and with the appalling Reform party capitalising on the electorate’s frustrations, a second term for Labour can no longer be assumed.
Moreover, it (almost) goes without saying that neither the Conservatives nor Reform would even dream of re-entering the EU in any form. We are told that Labour’s pusillanimity over Europe is due to fear of Reform claiming that the public would regard this as a “betrayal” of Brexit. Hang on a minute! The word “betrayal” is more pertinent to the gang of Brexiters who campaigned on a false prospectus. Far from regaining sovereignty, we have lost it. Brexit has made the country poorer. It is time for Labour to cease being scared of Nigel Farage and his gang and attack them for what they are: snake-oil salesmen!
By the way: on a lighter note, I cannot surely have been the only listener to one of the radio interviews with the chancellor last week to have been surprised that the distant prospect of a third runway at Heathrow airport seemed to be regarded as a key aspect of economic policy. It is a safe bet that a character in some new play in 2040 will ask: have they built the third runway yet?
Finally, can’t Keir Starmer and Reeves desist from offending their natural supporters? After their soi-disant “tough decisions” with cuts to the winter fuel allowance, and the refusal to relax the two-child limit on benefits, we now find that the prime minister is invoking the spirit of Margaret Thatcher with a “bonfire of red tape”. Perhaps he could start with all the Brexit red tape?
