The UK is once again looking for a new Prime Minister. It only seems a matter of days since Teressa May was hoofed out of Downing Street to be replaced by a jovial scarecrow.
It was actually in 2019 that she was asked to remove her belongings from Number 10, which is 3 years ago, but still a shorter timeframe than the usual 4-5 year stint that Prime ministers usually get to sit in office between General Elections.
So Boris did not last the course and is the latest Prime Minister to be evicted by his own party. This does make you wonder if any of our MP’s are good at making decisions when, by their own admission, they cannot even select the right person to lead their own party.
For our next Prime Minister, we are left with a choice between ‘undishy Rishy’ Sunak or ‘The Human Hand Grenade’ Liz Truss, who is apparently the 23rd most famous Tory politician at the moment. Exciting times!
It is interesting that despite the UK having a democracy, virtually none of us will have any input into our next Prime Minister. Again!
The only people who get to vote are those who are Conservative Party members. You too can join for only £25 per year, but who in their right mind would want to announce at a dinner party that you are a ‘club member’ with this bunch of loons?
The bigger problem facing Rishi and Liz is that these two are so far removed from daily life, they have nothing in common with ‘the common person’. This is highlighted by Mr Sunak and his wife being the 222nd richest people in Britain, with a combined fortune of £730m as of 2022. He studied at Oxford University before gaining a MBA from Stanford University in California. That’s not something that most of us can relate to.
Liz Truss is not much better. She too attended Oxford as a student. She was also President of the Oxford University Liberal Democrats. Whoops. During her time as a Liberal Democrat, Truss supported the legislation of cannabis and the abolition of the monarchy. That could be an interesting conversation if she wins the leadership battle and then has to visit the Queen.
But who in their right mind would want to be a politician, let alone the Prime Minister? It has become a bit of a sport for press and public alike – digging for dirt, analysing mistakes and constantly criticising everything they do. Perhaps some of it is deserved, based on current performances – or lack of.
It was whilst I was cleaning the fish tank at home the other day that got me thinking about life as a politician in these modern times. Although it is a small tank, it used to hold about 15 fish – until they all died. Apart from one. The last remaining googly-eyed housemate refuses to depart this world and just sits there looking out, waiting for food. I can’t bring myself to get rid of it, so I am stuck with the little fishy.
Frustratingly, it takes just as long to clean the fish tank each week no matter how many fish are in it. Changing the water, wiping the glass, cleaning the pump etc.. He is on the inside staring out, looking at me like I am his master. But there I am on the outside watching it and looking after its every need on a daily basis. So now I feel like a slave to this one little fish. It does make me wonder who is actually in charge in this relationship, the fish or me?
Which is probably a bit like how MP’s feel. They sit inside their little goldfish bowl-like palace at Westminster and look out at the rest of us. Like they are the ones in control of everything, making decisions for us. But there we all are, on the outside looking in at them, observing their every move, judging them on a daily basis and making them accountable for every decision they make.
So who really is in charge these days?
