Turn of the tide

When I started this blog, I have to say I saw it as little more than a howl of rage against the dying of the light. I didn’t really see much hope that the inexorable tide of banning and restricting everyday activities and curbing people’s freedom of speech and action could be stemmed. All I could do was to enjoy a touch of Schadenfreude when someone managed to throw a spanner in the works.

However, slowly but surely, the tectonic plates have begun to move. The first serious sign was the rise of UKIP in the opinion polls during 2014, and the two spectacular by-election victories in the Autumn. Then came the Conservative victory in the 2015 General Election. Now, this ushered in a government that in most respects was scarcely better than the Coalition that preceded it, and the election result was desperately disappointing for UKIP in terms of seats, if not votes. But the result confounded the expectations of the pundits and opinion pollsters and, excluding Northern Ireland, the Conservatives and UKIP together won over 50% of the vote, giving the lie to the oft-heard notion that Britain is in some way a “progressive country”. The annihilation of the Liberal Democrats was particularly delicious.

And of course it opened the way for this year’s EU referendum. And what a glorious day that was when, again against all expectations and opinion polls, the people of Britain turned upon the political élite and told them where to stick it. The discomfiture of so many establishment figures and politically correct luvvies was a joy to behold. Yes, the political class are doing everything they can to dilute or block Brexit, but they know that something has been unleashed that cannot be put back into the bottle. There really is a new spirit of hope and optimism in the air.

And then came the US election result earlier this month. Yes, in many ways Donald Trump was a flawed candidate, but it probably needed someone with unconventional appeal to energise parts of the electorate that mainstream politicians could not reach. And it caused worldwide consternation on a scale far beyond Brexit. The wailing and gnashing of teeth was truly wonderful, although the widespread contempt shown for a democratic verdict was distinctly chilling.

And now it’s Europe’s turn. We have the Italian constitutional referendum next month, the Austrian presidential election, then Parliamentary elections in the Netherlands and Germany. Biggest of all is the French Presidential election in April and May. Had I been an American, I’m sure I would have held my nose and voted for Trump, but I’m not sure I could do the same for Marine Le Pen, given her party’s fascist antecedents. However, a victory for her, or even a close defeat, would send a message ringing around the world that ordinary people just weren’t prepared to take it any more. If the establishment politicians won’t listen, then who can blame them for taking their votes elsewhere? People are finding a voice and telling the ruling élites that they’ve had enough of being told how to think and how to live their lives.

The overriding priority has to be combating the global spread of Islamofascism, which poses a truly existential threat to Western civilisation, and about which most of our existing leaders seem to be in complete denial. If they won’t even name the enemy, how can they fight it effectively?

And, now that ordinary people are finding that they can really make a difference, hopefully we can look forward to a rolling back of the tide of lifestyle restrictions, politically correct curbs on freedom of expression, and pandering to minority agendas from cycling to transgenderism at the expense of the majority.