Dear Reader, do NOT be mislead by the blog-post’s title. This is a serious post.
Choosing what clothes to wear is not always a free choice. For instance, the Irish Guards parading at the Trooping of the Colour on Saturday had no choice!
By contrast, the Unfortunate Sunak has (like all of us – within the bounds of practicality and social acceptability) a free choice. Mr Sunak seems to choose a particular colour and style of business suit for most non casual occasions. Those who think that he always wears the same suit and the same shirt will be (I am certain) mistaken. He will have several such garments – all exactly the same. This is not unusual. Many men are like this. To the great chagrin of the women in their lives!
I for instance, once ordered a dozen pale blue shirts with coat fronts and double cuffs. I also ordered the same number of white shirts but without the coat front. To the very great chagrin of a certain lady in my life!
This behaviour shows Mr Sunak to be a “creature of habit” – something that special lady says about me!
So what? I hear you ask.
Because human beings have set behaviour pattens. Not all humans are the same of course, but you can place people into groups in terms of these behaviour patterns.
One such group are those who possess the particular behaviour pattern that I call “winner choice”. People who make a decision based upon the chances of a particular person or group of persons winning a competitive event – such as an election or a sporting event.
This you see goes far beyond the world of politics. It is in fact an everyday occurrence in the world of business and commerce. A very common example is the “favourite” in horse racing. Betting on horse races is a long established gambling practice across continents. Bookmakers – aka “turf accountants” – always pick a particular horse that they conclude has the greatest chance of winning and price accordingly – short odds. They make a very great point by giving this choice a specific title, “Favourite”. This because they know that there are a vast number of punters who are occasional and others who are regular punters who always place their money on the favourite. It is not just the prospect of winning money that draws these punters to this course of action. It is also because they want to back the winner for the physiological satisfaction this yields. This is even more so the case with human only team sports.
It also explains the behaviour of football fans both when their team wins and when their team loses. Many such fans are working class white males who are not extremely wealthy but spend what they can on travelling great distances at great expense following their team. They also spend much money on purchasing branded items from their football clubs. These businesses exploit this by selling these branded goods with extraordinary mark ups.
It is not only we men are the subjects of this. This also applies to the ladies. Have you ever noticed with feminine products advertised on TV statements along the lines of, “73% of 423 women agree…..” This because most women unconsciously want to be part or identify with of the 73% and not the 27%!
You see, being on the winning side is gratifying. Being on the loosing side isn’t!
People who are particularly affected by “winner choice” do not want to be seen to be identified with “losers”. They want to be associated with “winners”.
The FACT is that human beings are herd and social creatures. A particular part in Handel’s oratorio the Messiah, “All we like sheep…..” is one that has always resonated with me.
This is why I believe and maintain that this constant reciting of opinion poll results in UK (and US) general election campaigns is so wrong. This because I believe and maintain that it to be election interference.
Now of course, those promoting opinion polls will state that I am wishing to deprive the electorate of valuable information. They will say that any attempt to restrict and prohibit the recording and publication of such polls will fail because such polls will take place and the public cannot be prevented from being told.
To this end, I would suggest that action can be taken to reduce this to a very significant degree and I am of the firm opinion that must be done.
Of course any such action will provoke US based journalists to defy such bans from their offices in the USA. Measures however can be taken by such as GCHQ to prevent or hinder this.
Were this to be done, be in NO doubt whatsoever that being part of the “5i” group the US administration (be it Democrat OR Republican) would react with incandescent rage!
But then to protect our democracy UK politicians should be prepared to “grow a pair” and stand up to such rage!
BTW, it should be of note that when He was on Earth, the Good Lord compared us to domesticated (farmed) sheep and not domesticated cats!