Failing state

Grayling has managed to live up to his reputation again. He has failed to secure the lead of the Intelligence and Security Committee. At least this time he managed to fail before being given the job instead of during it. Instead, another Conservative MP, Julian Lewis has won the position.

This is not the real story however. Apparently Downing Street was said to be furious, so put out in fact that the party has removed the whip from Lewis, who has been an MP since 1997. This reduces the government’s majority to 79 and so I doubt they will be too worried by the overall effect.

His crime was to work with ‘Labour and other opposition MPs to his own advantage.’ This is a statement dripping with irony as this government and the cabinet in particular has repeatedly worked to further their own advantage. It also blows a hole in the myth of One-Nation Conservatism. 

The point of a committee is surely to work together to form a consensus. If the aim of the chair is to decide in advance what the position of the committee is, then there is no need to meet and instead it becomes yet another tool of an increasingly plutocratic government. 

The job of an MP is to represent all of their constituents, not just the interests of those who voted for them. To do this they must work with those who have opposing or different views, or at least take those views into consideration. Working with the opposition is not a crime to be punished, it is instead the very essence of how a democtrctaic political system should work.

Once again, this government has shown its true colours. Johnson was trailed as the leader that would unite the country yet here we are again being shown that there is only one way and that any dissent or deviation from the true path will not be tolerated. He certainly won’t be able to unite the nation with his divisive policies.

I for one am glad that Grayling was not successful. I am also happy that a Conservative MP was successful as there was a vote to secure the position. I guess that Lewis has his work cut out though.

Item number one on the agenda of the reconstituted group? To release the Russian Report.