Democracy

Newspapers and journalists  often seem to require news that is likely to catch their readers or listeners' eyes, perhaps persuading them to buy or subscribe to their publications.

For example the BBC this morning has been wittering on about the Prime Minister's so called delay in dealing with the KC's report about his Deputy. The report took months to compile and print and copies were sent only yesterday afternoon to Number 10. Is an unacceptable delay really only an afternoon? He has since resigned in any event.

In the real world, demoting staff, or not,  usually takes  more than a few hours  but the BBC seems to adopt a couldn't care less attitude,  or maybe aligns politically with the left. 

Perhaps more significantly though  probably exaggerated, are comments in the new book by Douglas Murray, The War on the West, suggesting that many in the USA are becoming wastrels and crazy druggies, because of failures by the state police; also apparently because   some  American state governors  are more concerned about politics and less about law and order. The author points out that the UK may not be far behind, with for example, Extinction Rebellion and Just Stop Oil supporters of which   moan and stop  ordinary people going about their business, maybe even disrupting The forthcoming London Marathon, London Marathon. 

Why such disrupters cannot instead in this democratic country, form their own political parties in support of   for example, their campaigns to reduce oil consumption, and endeavour to persuade people to vote for them, I do not understand. Or maybe they know that most  ordinary men and women would not support them at the ballot box.

Looking at historical issues though, few protestors succeed in the UK. Emily Pankhurst and the right of women to vote, is one of the very few exceptions that I can find. Mrs Thatcher's  community charge known as poll tax, which was due to replace rates,  is probably the most recent.