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Popping The Westminster Bubble

It's been a while since I last posted here for which, I apologise. Unfortunately, chronic health problems have sapped all of my energy (and will to live) recently and it's been difficult to concentrate upon anything other than the things necessary to get through the day.

What to talk about? Given that my brain is particularly dull, maybe I should focus upon that old chestnut Brexit. Oh God! Really? Again? Well, yes; this is the topic that just won't lie down. It is the obsession of the country and certainly the chattering classes du jour and it's likely to be until we finally leave in June 2019.

The major issue that I've got with it is that it's taking up the entire effort of the UK Parliament to the exclusion of all else. This includes actually running the country. What's staggeringly obvious is that we came into this process gloriously unprepared. The whole Brexit negotiation is rediculously under-rescourced and it seems that the entire Civil Service has now been redirected to managing the Brexit process and this will inevitably result in them taking their 'eye off the ball' when it comes to administering and running the rest of the country. This will be to the detriment of UK citizens, as services that we all depend upon fail due to neglect.

The Westminster Bubble


Practically every news bulletin you're likely to watch these days is constantly going on about the pronouncements of this or that politician upon Brexit: What we should or shouldn't accept; whether we should be in or out of the Single Market and Customs Union. Blah, blah, blah.

This is the Westminster Bubble in full effect. Politicians obsessing about a subject that;


  • a) occupies their minds
  • b) is what they think is important to the voting public
  • c) is what they think matters for the state.


I'm here to tell them that they're sadly wrong.

The Bubble does nothing but obsess about it and the media does nothing but duly report upon it. This does nothing to advance the debate and the Bubble needs to be burst.

What Matters to the People


It's all well and good having Parliament occupied with the technical aspects of Brexit, but your average 'Joe' just really wants the country to work on a day-to-day basis. If this isn't happening then people are going to get angry. If I had any advice to the current crop of politicians it would be; Stop obsessing about Brexit and concentrate on the things that need to happen to keep the country running! You risk your majority if you fail to do this. Get out of the Bubble and focus upon the things that matter to your constituents. Make sure the country is running well. Concentrate upon making sure that the average person can see an A&E consultant when they break their ankle and that there's a care home place for their Mum when they need it. Better still, make sure the care home place is one where their Mum isn't thrown in a chair by a care worker who's on minimum wage. That's what matters, not the customs union.

Ignore this at your peril.

That's it for now. I'll try to post on a more frequent basis in the future, subject to health.

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