[Peace-discuss] Fwd: Party Season
David Green
davidgreen50 at gmail.com
Thu Feb 10 22:54:38 UTC 2022
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Red Star Radio from Red Star Radio <red519 at substack.com>
Date: Thu, Feb 10, 2022, 12:42 PM
Subject: Party Season
To: <davidgreen50 at gmail.com>
The End of the Covid Regime In Britain Reveals Much About Our Political
System
Party Season
<https://email.mg2.substack.com/c/eJxVkkuPmzAUhX9N2BXhF5CFF20eU2YGKtoknXSDjH1DPAFDwYQhv77OZFXp2kc69r1H8mcpLFRtP_OuHax33wo7d8ANTEMN1kLvjQP0hVYcM8QIjZGnOFUoZrGnh-LUAzRC19z2I3jdWNZaCqtbc-8gOKIs8M48iiFcgsKlYHEMSpYSo3gJMZGSkQBHj2AxKg1GAocr9HNrwKv52dpuWJCvC7x11YNiaOkPYzlYIS--bBvndvclejt_GUAMrVmQrW0v4HQN8zOS-DC_4fqSvLdzttug9JbT9Nek5dPyprbL7s8qCbN1hbL1nqS7fEia-qycl-6OgfM-fqz3c7aatHjLbm6Glt8P-nWXztktR-kqGRKToaNOwsR8u0qSW9kczkfysysx1afcp09jM77GhGz_9i_i_QXSIj-M_eZ5fzyfPqb9MdhuGLn8vuatpzkOsCsUoJg69bEfRZiWOBRBKTClMvLDaTl1jF4WNGgq_N9beD1X4qpV5aAYFrgb1Z3N55FDUzhtRqPtXIARZQ3qQc0-4H9yLCow0LtPoQphOQopZQ61Syb0AclhpTGjLELUc9mqdV2GP8D8Awftw74>The
End of the Covid Regime In Britain Reveals Much About Our Political System
<https://email.mg2.substack.com/c/eJxNkEGOwyAMRU9Tdo3AgUAWLGYz14gIOClqAhEhrXL7cZvNSJaxxbe-_vOu4pzLabe8V_ZpQz03tAnf-4K1YmHHjmWIwYISqpVGsGBlEEYZFvdhKoiri4ut5UC2HeMSvasxp89FC1oqzh52nLifRKfbfgJ0wngUOGqllOlNQFCXsTtCxOTR4gvLmROyxT5q3fZb-3ODX6r9GPfq_LPxeaV1K3mKC9IEikvgur0XDHeSlHtxIWYWLXCgElwYEkADjdYgR-gcHx1I6XXTvfv3puTzJvk6Q_PfgxUb3CuGmVImxUkxf8J-vyjrQO96pFjPAZMbFwwXhnrR_IIZZkxYiHIYXLWik1IRO3Ju5ZWaOEmjpNJCMvIOma6SpRxK9H8UKoit>
Red Star Radio
<https://email.mg2.substack.com/c/eJxNkEGOwyAMRU9Tdo3AgUAWLGYz14gIOClqAhEhrXL7cZvNSJaxxbe-_vOu4pzLabe8V_ZpQz03tAnf-4K1YmHHjmWIwYISqpVGsGBlEEYZFvdhKoiri4ut5UC2HeMSvasxp89FC1oqzh52nLifRKfbfgJ0wngUOGqllOlNQFCXsTtCxOTR4gvLmROyxT5q3fZb-3ODX6r9GPfq_LPxeaV1K3mKC9IEikvgur0XDHeSlHtxIWYWLXCgElwYEkADjdYgR-gcHx1I6XXTvfv3puTzJvk6Q_PfgxUb3CuGmVImxUkxf8J-vyjrQO96pFjPAZMbFwwXhnrR_IIZZkxYiHIYXLWik1IRO3Ju5ZWaOEmjpNJCMvIOma6SpRxK9H8UKoit>
Feb 10
<https://email.mg2.substack.com/c/eJxVUktzmzAQ_jXmFkYS4uGDDm0cMtCA48a161wYIa2xbF4DwgT_-gq7PXRGszu72m-fn-AaiqabWNv02ppFpqcWWA1jX4LW0FlDD12mJCMudh0aYEsyKnHgBpbqs2MHUHFVMt0NYLVDXirBtWrqGeEQn7rIOjGCBZJ-QCXhCPkeEfgY4NyYwnelT_1HYT5IBbUABlfopqYGq2Qnrdt-4XxbkNC8DqSLl3Y_5L3m4mKLpjJe3iojr9iIOY9R95aeOuBibmXhhLq5gNErmGIsyG76TcpLdG6mdPuCk9uGJh-jEq_LmwyX7edz5KWrAqerX06y3fRRHZeHfYr4fjkYjKItuURqVHwfImN_pecNMnlouo3Q23PcCidRaxWPch_p5BY5Js84xwtnp2a8qHang_OzzQlVx419XZ6e0vC22gXF-kfyfX0onNeXbnjHb_Gqic4f7yHE8FntcZAsiDfoKuuboRNgpvm3h7_-CqQaqnnKeXxLMYKIeRjhgBptE9v3Cc2Jx1HOCaXCt71xObYuvSwoqgry32Ktjkl-VbIwF65dZCKKOe39y9w5M7oaaqWnDGqelyAfFNAPJt1byAqooTMMkxnXDHuUuoY3prJDHxc3HKGBS10fU8vUlo1B1exx5T-z-Nze>
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<https://email.mg2.substack.com/c/eJxVUstymzAU_RqzqwcJ8fBCi9aOU5JAh9Z2424YIV1jxSCokEzw11fE7aIzeozO1X2ew5mButMT7bvBePNRmqkHqmAcGjAGtGcH0KUUFIcoDEiCPEGJQEmYeHIoTxqgZbKhRlvwels1kjMjOzV7BDgmoe-d6YkzlkSMMAZRhQM_4cKHJBLEB5TEXNwTMyskKA4UrqCnToHX0LMx_bAIPi_w1i0NIkSr5WCrwTB-WfKudWg_b6bN9GkANnTKPZ2hBWWc59Z0F1CLYAPTE-L4ML3i5pK-dVO-e0DZrSDZj1Hyx9VNbFf9r3Ua5Zsa5Zt9kO2KIW2bs3BYtjv6Dnv_ttlP-XqU7DW_uRiSfz3Il1025bcCZet0SFWOjjKNUvXlyoPC8PZwPgbf-woTeSqW5NG29iUJgu1v_czeniEri4PVD0_74_n0Pu6P_vYhDC4_r0W3wJE1bTl0VnNw1f9r-S_egpC2nbuah-9Jin3sFvJRQty9xMs4xqTCEfMrhgnh8TIaV2MfksuC-G2N_5uhp6lgVylqR6YKffejnsN-mByl5TxNq6SZSlCsakDc2TZ30XyUUNagQDsxiZIZiiJCQicRlzkgd3KdHEgSkjBGxHO5Ree8FL0T-gf2vtht>
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<https://email.mg2.substack.com/c/eJxVUtmumzAQ_ZrwVoS3LA9-qJKbKDSL0rvkqi_I2AMxAUONCSVfX5O0UiuNbfn4jMZzzkjhIK_twJu6dcG4JW5ogBvo2xKcAxt0LdhEK44ZYoTOUaA4VWjO5oFuk8wCVEKX3NkOgqZLSy2F07UZMwieURYFF46RwEJlEYI0o6lE2TRFlGSIMcwwoehZWHRKg5HA4QZ2qA0EJb8417QT8nWC1z4sKIYWYdulrRPyGsq68mgzLmHd8KUF0dZmQtadq5K27qyECVn9pU_wdMQrULqrPP74-B9Q1saBcSP7Iix4VMixjX8AV19hvMMQI4k_hk9cXrdFPRzeXtD-fqL7116L8zry2K9DcYo8Tg9v22i3jBtJ9vqo416dt25_35LD6r3f6l5L8qE9X8vN4q6WaPhxXhdqU95SHS_Co_s0mbwQ-T0u2817wWK3v53zbkd-Ft92p_5YrNrXa66Wq5dAcxxhHyhCc-rPEIezGaap7yNKBaZUzsJpv-gbRq8TGlU5_k_FwHIlblrl3k7DIs_IR3EeT95UL09VdUa7IQEj0hLU02_3HJuHkEkOBqwfJ5UIx9GUUuaHxFcm9GmvHwg6Z5TNEA18bVX7LMOflv4GN1vZjA>
The removal of most of the remaining Covid 19 control measures by the
Westminster government has brought almost two years of lockdowns and other
restrictions to what now feels like a final halt. It ends amidst a
farcical scandal and splits within the ruling Conservative Party that only
serves to underline how much Covid policy was driven by political, and not
health, concerns from the very beginning even if this was always denied.
The entire episode proves that “the science” was actually the last thing to
be considered.
The ending of all restrictions across Britain follows a series of political
struggles within the cabinet and parliament towards the end of last year.
Boris Johnson was under pressure from much of the establishment media to
enact another “circuit breaker” lockdown to deal with the new Omicron
variant that had first been reported by South African doctors. The fact
that the head of the South African medical association had repeatedly
stressed that this was a more contagious but much milder variant was never
explained by the major media outlets and the government modellers duly got
to work constructing worse case scenarios which were then reported with large
headlines and zero context in the press
<https://email.mg2.substack.com/c/eJwtUd2utCAMfJr1DiMIul5w8d18r2EqdF2yCgaqxrc_9exJSIeftkNnHBDOKV92S4WqO4x0bWgjnmVBIszVXjCPwVtlpGn1U1beai-f5lmFMr4y4gphsZR3rLZ9WoIDCineFa3qtWmqt4VGqU5K13e-dfI1OfBSg3PDMMhXJ_WXGHYfMDq0eGC-UsRqsW-irTzafw_1nxesW01vnHfIPkCsXVr59kx58YxLOJBBNUoyxHTch4GDS0fw4n4W91wircHlFMUBmbuQ8EjoCL0IUTiI4EFAES_YXRAn5FgEnUmciJ_CDdBzJiVRaPfX3ZB3GUKsgmXqm72RT81Yq7rvlZ5UB80ESmvX1905nJvRn4du1lnVZZ8Kgfvck1TZeuCPzixpNA1nzLeyv08s7Mi47jHQNWKEaUH_1Zy-1v26MM4YMbOlfgSystPasFHM3P5JzKbop9GmZ82Z2yeuijajN3L4AUISsJk>.
The same closed media-political class circle that had generated the
atmosphere of panic that produced the first lockdown and then the second
one during the 2020 Christmas snapped back into aciton. It was at this
time (November 2021) that moves began to be made against Johnson
<https://email.mg2.substack.com/c/eJwlUUuu4yAQPE3YYRkMtrNgMZu5htVAx2YSgwXtF-X2036RUKH-UU1VAMK11I87SiNxwUKfA13Gd3shEVZxNqxLik5bZQczKxGdiWq2s0hteVTEHdLLUT1RHKd_pQCUSr4mBj0Z24vNWTOCwsmPwU8z9l6pu1Im6LkHPYEPX2I4Y8Ic0OEP1k_JKF5uIzrabfhz03_5wH50tOF6Qo0JchfKzlnGHTOldi3Dse614qsEYuwHhkepcktNNniihBylr4kg5SZzeUsu8KOS0o7y6vSlcupf2XIrWVKRNUWU5fGQKXN09bYzNySRHHNddL2aDd-d7qZJG69H6D1oY8LUje_7-7DmeTP9vuqunb4RhOe1u6guwk-KK--dbc8d66Xlb4mlXK6PnTnRZ8EM_oXxqzJ9zfrVfVkxY2UT4wLk1GiMZWuYeTBfUdkGM1tjJ2UEc8fCU9lVjFbd_wMJbqs0>
himself with leaks going out to the press regarding his staff attending a
series of parties
<https://email.mg2.substack.com/c/eJwlkcGOhCAMhp9muGEAi-KBw172NQxCddhRMIBjfPvFmYS0DW352w9rCi4xXXqPuZDbjOXaUQc884qlYCJHxjR6p4XksgXFidPguJKK-DzOCXEzftUlHUj2Y1q9NcXHcHe0ogfJyFPbiXXDzGY-o1Kqx0FNvIcOhenEgK39CpvDeQwWNb4xXTEgWfWzlD0_2p-H-K3HbHszJ1NrBDQ2bvUKw22OFHesgWBCMC46erzoblK5lrofNbT4DVcfkMaZTjH5TP_iM-QYaKZrtC8XzxpaE5xZM_H6847gjCuovhFN3wuYRGfYZASA7ZvuHM5dwusBbFtEk48pF2Nf91QkaWfe3i2VTZCsViw3ok-qEhqr347gyzViMNOK7guvfP_gg3NcMGCqs7vRFM07AFmJV-UWvqwqXVASZM-BVG0Xa1fQCZ3kwz9FPZwd>
in violation of the government's own policies during the first lockdown in
May of 2020.
In response, Johnson appeared to try and enact the traditional “dead cat”
tactic
<https://email.mg2.substack.com/c/eJwlkU2OwyAMhU9TdkSBQH4WLGYz14gMuCnTBCIg7eT240wlC2PB07M_O6i4pHyaPZXKrmOu544m4rusWCtmdhTMc_BGaqE7NQrmjfJi1CMLZb5nxA3Camo-kO2HXYODGlK8FJ0clG7Zw1iEu7WTENILvHsncRrv4Hw3Idjeth9jOHzA6NDgC_OZIrLVPGrdy637uslvinC11bjUHE-qroLSntZQg7uuHsFz8uel5muwk28IMcSF4---Ask9JxV36RU8z8eKhcfERcvdI4dSNyh8h1xPbhPV_Cc9YkmRi06Jrh_IAbadBSNbSSFaMSrKjWyGQSore2gtSKXc0PTv6b1r9bypdltkUw5bKrgn9b6xbDyQ_0Loom7px3IR_H8igDPl7YihnjNGsCv6D9v6WdE_7XnBiNeEfoZqRK-UpoWQc6c-KAm-GrXSg1CMvH0iVTQZvRbTHzTfqWk>
and put a host of measures before parliament in such a manner as to arouse
even his own cabinet to suspicion of his motives. The cabinet was too
split to agree to further lockdown measures, with many ministers against
them and the finance minister (and potential leadership rival) Rishi Sunak
being prominent amongst them. The vote in parliament over some toned down
restrictions
<https://email.mg2.substack.com/c/eJwlkc2OhSAMhZ_mssMogj8LFrOZ1zAI1SFXigG8xrefek2anja0Oc2HNQXWmC69x1zYnaZy7aARzrxBKZDYkSFN3mmhGtXKoWFOS9cMamA-T0sCCMZvuqQD2H7Mm7em-Ij3Rit6qWr2p2GRFkYneju3vRkH4QbbQSdGqMWyGPMYm8N5QAsaPpCuiMA2_VfKnl_tz0v8UpznWa3xUx1vaqiAhAGwUHPfS7InH4AHjz7T6dxGXHwKmQea5SXyfTPIZ-6RA65UO-a1qAVFUzeDJK1E1fdCzqIz9WyElLavunM8dyXfL1mHVVT5mHMx9l3ZGFjSzny8W4kDqpom1hvH94loTKThQF-uCdDMG7gHVHl4f9FNKyAk-gc3maKbTkpFdMm5lQ8XIikHJVXfSEbeLtIW6gRONeM_tZGXkA>(including
vaccine passes) and a vaccine mandate for health workers caused a record
rebellion amongst the Conservative Parliamentary Party
<https://email.mg2.substack.com/c/eJwlkMGOhCAMhp9muGkEizgHDnvZ1zAI1WGHAQM4xrffzpg0tClt__azpuKa8qm3VCr7PFM9N9QRjxKwVsxsL5gn77SQXPYwcuY0OD7KkfkyLRnxZXzQNe_Itn0O3prqU_x09EKB7NhDqwGUtLIXHKWSCwKXQw8GO9XLZbgvl7DZncdoUeMb85kisqAftW7l1v_cxC_ZcRztloKv3qYWd8qYTHFAiuaUfWn-0iOWFEtT6agm44wh0DaNTTlF8_Z5L1TLvBadIOMdH4F8K1qlBMxiMN1sBIBV7XDcj03C8wbdaxVt2edSjX22Nr1Y1o6GuZWuj7KjivUD4ftFDCbyrz36ek4YzRzQXXjqRfkLbFoxYib6bjJV8wFAElNS7uGiQfxglCAVB0baLlFX1Bmd5Pd_FcWS6A>
with over 100 MP’s breaking the party whip and Johnson only getting the
measures through with the near unanimous support of the Labour Party.
Johnson was now in serious political trouble with both the libertarian and
more statist wings of his party rapidly turning on him (the latter over the
party revelations); he needed to try and restore backbench support.
He has attempted to do so by essentially declaring Covid to be over and the
messaging has changed rapidly ever since the narrow vote in favour of the
“plan B” restrictions by parliament. Not only has Johnson declared an end
to all of the measures
<https://email.mg2.substack.com/c/eJwlkUuO7CAMRVdTzBIBMfkMGPTkbSMi4ErRnZgISEe1--d0SchXwvY1HHtXcU35bY9UqrjDXN8HWsKrbFgrZnEWzHMMVhtlOhiVCBaCGs0oYpmfGXF3cbM1nyiOc9midzUmujs6PYCR4mXDEvRThQ4R-kVOoEZvnhK8VM9-kl3_GezOEJE8WvzF_E6EYrOvWo_y6L4e-h-f67ra-sL1dDlER61P-32b8hZYtdSa5dsRRzVxWFKOpflOLyqJGkeUTvYvDVJoamrctjVpjz5z0qffGJqMpebo7w-UJhIXrpujIKK9zaVWUo3A2up2GDQsundycRrAD21_Tddh4OcBcl91W86lVOd_7keKbINj_5VpkZFcsd7Q_lLMbGbdT4r1PSO5ZcPwwVk_W_kDPK9ImHlbYXbVqh7A8A54cgcfeswbRgNmUCB4dkjcRTZjMGr6D84fo1w>
but the vaccine mandate for NHS workers appears to have been dropped
<https://email.mg2.substack.com/c/eJwtkU2O5CAMhU9T7IiAmPwsWIxammtEBFwpuhKIgHSU248z1ZKFhWXre352tuKS8mX2VCq7n6leO5qIZ1mxVszsKJin4I3SUrcwSOYNeDnogYUyPTPiZsNqaj6Q7ce8BmdrSPGeaFUPWrCXUSg73_WtFQNi58TwtChGC6hm554jfMD28AGjQ4M_mK8Uka3mVeteHu2fh_pLcZ5n44l23cjGpeZ4U_XWSsnmGtyKXArQ49hrKn3ZjPyVNizck8zo-Vf6CZ5_25nfX1qeF3tyEG_uqDcXvqaC_DvNhedbRkHfvOq2smCUUBRSyAEoN6rpewWz6qyYrQJwfdOd47lreD9AbItqyjGXat2bhG4sG28JvZBfUQvqWH532G7XJsrbEUO9Jox2XtF_DK2fu_y3eFowYibJfrLVyA5A0xWI3P76R47DoEH3EhixfaKpaDJ6Lcd_FLWjsQ>.
It should be noted that the Scottish and Welsh regional assemblies are
moving slower and attempting to keep in place more restrictions such as
masking in all public places and their versions of vaccine passes. These
are rendered somewhat impotent however when you take into account the small
size of Britain and that there are no borders between the three constituent
regions of it.
The rapid collapse of the covid regulatory regime proves demonstrates two
realities about British politics. Firstly, despite years of erosion of
their functionality as instruments and venues for democratic debate and
oversight over the executive branch, both cabinet and parliamentary
sovereignty are still able to exert limits on executive power. Secondly
(and more importantly) is that the covid regulatory regime was put in place
due to a series of political problems but that these, whilst generated
ultimately by the contradictions of British capitalism, did not involve the
ruling class having a material stake in either the construction or
demolition of this regulatory regime.
The implementation of the Covid 19 regime was due to a political-media
caste melt down in early 2020. The main drivers of this were the fear
within the cabinet that the National Health Service would collapse under
the pressure they thought would be exerted on it. The Prime Minister's
chief adviser at the time, Dominic Cummings, stated in testimony before a
parliamentary committee that they were influenced heavily by the scenes
being shown from Italy at the time. Italy of course had also significantly
cut it’s health care capacity under the impact of austerity budgets over
the last decade. As figures from the OSCE clearly show
<https://email.mg2.substack.com/c/eJwlkN2KwyAQRp8mXgY1Y34uvFjaLV1Y2GV374PGaSpNNKhpm7df28LgwDjD4TuDSjj6sMnFx0QeT5-2BaXDW5wwJQxkjRh6ayQXTFTQMmIkGNaKltjYnwLirOwkU1iRLKue7KCS9e5xUfEGBCVnWVHKTwx0J5Brrdu6HgA4FR12WjUNvsBqNRbdgBKvGDbvkEzynNISi-qt4IdcMakUS4-DKX0Y8-DDGbyXKi73ojrsVVK_mHbeYFHtj-9vn3_H_vvna0es5JTnYpS1mctLXjYNB81rRbXiAENT1rfutgi4FEDnkZdx1Zk2XMrBzyRIo67WjDmsEzRvjI_Mz68cuc99Xp1NW49O6QnNy0Z6SX366Ud0GLJs06skWQ0gssJMruAVPuuCVoBoGJDMNj5fORnQCNb9A4bzirM>,
Britain has seen a dramatic fall in capacity since the early 2000’s under
successive administrations of both major parties. The Tory fear of being
exposed over NHS issues runs very deep and hence when Johnson was then
presented with this scenario he panicked and reached for a “solution” which
Neil Ferguson presented him with. Neil Ferguson has created a model
demonstrating that the only effective way to reduce the impact on
hospitalizations as due to Covid was through behavioural changes forced on
the population with lockdowns. It was assumed by many on the left that the
lockdowns would inhibit capital accumulation. Although economic activity
and growth rates slowed down, profits of the major companies were not
significantly damaged and massive government largesse actually increased
the wealth of the capitalist class in Britain over the course of 2020-2021
<https://email.mg2.substack.com/c/eJwlkUtuxCAMhk8z7BIBgTwWLLrpNSIDnoROQiIejeb2dToI2RbY_uGzg4LLkd7mPHJht5nL-0QT8cobloKJ1YxpDt5ILXSnRsG8UV6MemQhz8-EuEPYTEkV2VntFhyUcMS7opOD0pytZur50A9gpZ7kNFk_6h44DNg_R8el7T7CUH3A6NDgL6b3EZFtZi3lzI_u6yG_aV_X1ZYVlwrJB4itO3Y6tTWHiDlTKLkU5H7qRlZIMvXVXAhbWZsFzuYKHmNuQmxOiB734BrITQpuxVyaBUujOS3Ki_4J28aCoZZ3Vy5GRb6V7TBIZSV9wIJUyg1tf03XqdXrofi-yDZXmwu41_06loyH3-AXwhQ1p4zlpvV_RbBm8nuNobxnjGA39B-O5TOOf7LzghETjcnPUIzoldIEn5Q79cFGoNWolR6EYqTtD6qKJqHXYvoDTuSeyg>.
Crucial areas of commodity production in Britain such as the car industry
were flooded with government money and when it came to construction
projects there was only a small pause in projects which was (again)
cushioned by state funds being funnelled to the affected firms.
Since the first lockdown was the most restrictive, the most crucial areas
of production (such as the car industry) went back to fairly normal
activity towards the end of 2020 and this trend continued into 2022. Boris
Johnson was reportedly keen on winding down the restrictions further in
2020 after the initial lockdown but was faced with the same problem. He was
still afraid of the models showing the NHS being overwhelmed and still
easily cowed by the incessant demand for more restrictions that were being
made by sections of the media and civil society organisations.
The political contestation that has developed against the Covid measures
took a long time to work itself into a coherent challenge. The first
protests occurred in the summer of 2020 and immediately did find an echo in
parliament within the ranks of the libertarian end of the Conservative
Party. There was a growth of dissent within the population as the
government's line shifted all over the place into 2021, particularly from
some of the more organised sections of the small business layer of the
petite bourgeoisie, particularly those involved in hospitality. The level
of politicisation in British society amongst all the subaltern classes had
increased in the period immediately before the Covid period thanks to the
Brexit vote and subsequent contestation as well as the Corbyn leadership
and it’s ultimate defeat. This led to a wider layer of the petite
bourgeoisie being politicised and organized. This politicisation and
organisation carried over in the covid period, meaning that there existed
an organised opposition from very early on. That this was able to
successfully mobilise did exert growing pressure on Conservative MP’s or at
least gave them the confidence to start speaking out against the decisions
of Johnson, though in the manner of “Loyal Opposition”, frequently blaming
SAGE or the chief medical officers Whitty and Vallance rather than Johnson
directly.
That this opposition was able to manifest itself within the traditional
party of British capitalism reflected not only the growing opposition to
the covid regime but also the fact that the capitalist class’s position on
it was not one that was particularly fixed. They happily took the
government bailouts and used these to further inflate their asset prices
but they were split over whether the measures were either necessary or good
for their class. This was reflected in the bourgeois press that saw some
of the most aggressively pro-capitalist newspapers (Telegraph, Mail,
Express) carry a balance between pro and anti lockdown reporting throughout
with the Times and the Guardian being relentlessly pro-lockdown and
pro-vaccine mandates both of these newspapers are traditionally read
amongst policy makers, academics and senior government officials. It is
worth comparing this to the unanimity that existed with the printed press
when it came to Corbyn, all were agreed that he had to be destroyed. This
draws out a key point here. However compromised and inadequate the
politics of Corbyn were he was still a point of unification for the ruling
class in that they all agreed that disposing of him was a priority. No
such unanimity ever existed over Covid and hence an increasingly large
degree of contestation played out within the public sphere. If the ruling
class were unified on the Covid measures being a matter of great importance
to their interests then the degree in which contestation could have
occurred would have been far smaller and certainly it would not have found
such a degree of dissent within the Conservatve Party itself.
The collapse of the Covid regime in Britain is instructive because it shows
how bourgeois democracy has evolved and how much space is left for
contestation. On the fundamental issues regarding the interests of the
ruling class no contest can be allowed, as the treatment of Corbyn showed.
Where they are ambivalent or there is no clear stake for them a degree of
contestation and dissent is still possible. Of course this remains
inadequate for anyone who wishes to make fundamental challenges to areas
that are jealously guarded by the bourgeoisie but it should make us be very
careful when analysing the situation regarding the Covid regime.
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