Oh Dear! Political Reality appears to be outstripping Political Fiction! Back in the 1980s, “Yes Minister” was the hit political satire sitcom on BBC2 between 1980 to 1984 with the sequel, “Yes, Prime Minister” between 1986 to 1988 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yes_Minister). Some of the antics our political class are indulging in (on BOTH sides of the pond) would have been regarded with incredulity back then.
The Right Honourable Jonathan Michael Graham Ashworth, Shadow Paymaster General, a Member of His Majesty’s Privy Council and Member for Leicester South (above) has a particular talent for pumped up pompous posturing. This is the one thing that by character, experience, nature and training, life has equipped him particularity well for. In fact, it can verily be said that this is a task, in the performing of, the Right Honourable Gentlemen excels!
You see, the Right Honourable Gentlemen has seen fit to devote some of his incredibly valuable time and effort to pen a missive to the Prime Minister regarding the conduct of two members of the PM’s party.
We thus re-publish the Right Honourable Gentlemen’s letter as today’s blog-post, plus a link to the Labour supporting tabloid (https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/rishi-sunak-faces-call-kick-32200665) that is running with this story:
Dear Prime Minister,
I am writing to you today about the egregious remarks made by Liz Truss while in the United States and by Lee Anderson here in the United Kingdom.
The former Prime Minister has embarked on a re-writing of history while attending the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). Your predecessor is spreading disinformation and conspiracy theories about a ‘deep state’ that is to blame for the downfall of her premiership and suggests is in control of the United Kingdom government, economy and civil society at large.
As you know as well as anyone, it was not a cabal of secretive actors in the civil service working against Liz Truss’ £45 billion pounds of unfounded tax cuts that sent financial markets into turmoil and ended her premiership, but the opposite. It was Liz Truss sidelining advice from respected institutions such as the Treasury and Office of Budget Responsibility that caused her to make such a terrible error that resulted in her government ending after just 49 days.
For a senior politician to engage in spreading such blatant conspiracy theories is incredibly damaging to our democracy, our institutions and social cohesion.
The former Prime Minister has also today appeared with Steve Bannon who referred to convicted criminal and far-right agitator known as Tommy Robinson as a “hero” and Liz Truss didn’t disagree. I note that Sir Sajid Javid MP has rightly pointed out that every MP should confront statements such as this head on.
Tommy Robinson and other far-right demonstrators clashing with police at the Cenotaph on of our nation’s most sacred days – Armistice Day – is still a sore recent memory and one that, in part, would have informed your decision to sack your former Home Secretary.
For a former Prime Minister to make such remarks, while on an international visit to a country with whom the UK shares a special relationship which upholds liberal values is an unforgivable lowering of the office of Prime Minister which lessens the United Kingdom’s standing in the world and needs to be acted upon.
As if the above wasn’t enough, the man you appointed deputy chairman of your party, Lee Anderson, today said on television said that the elected Mayor of London had “given our capital city away to his mates” and “I don’t actually believe that the Islamists have got control of our country, but what I do believe is they’ve got control of Khan, and they’ve got control of London.” This is appalling racism and Islamophobia.
I write to request that you urgently remove the whip from Liz Truss and Lee Anderson who clearly have demonstrated that they longer represent the best of British values nor, I would hope, those of the Conservative Party. It is my view, that if you do not take this action you will be allowing the divisive, deluded and dangerous views of the far-right into mainstream British politics and continue to give credibility to such a degradation of British institutions and cultural life on the international stage.
It’s time to show some leadership and take on the extremists in your party. Liz Truss and Lee Anderson must no longer sit as Conservative MPs. Their words cannot go unchecked or unchallenged.
Regards,
Jonathan Ashworth
For the record, herewith a YouTube video of Liz Truss’s speech (published by one of her many critics – as can be seen by the video’s title and the comments):
British Gazette comment: The wokerati are clearly having a meltdown!!!!! Liz is clearly aiming at a Labour, post Tory government where the Tories have a very small number of MPs after the next general election. Perversely, the fewer the number of Tory MPs, the stronger will be her position in that party – subject to the proviso that she holds her South West Norfolk constituency of course.