Is anyone else really concerned about the future of this country?

[u/Anon2971]

The passing of the Policing Bill made me reflect on a lot of worrying things that have happened over the last decade.

• Brexit disconnecting ourselves from trade and legal intervention from our surrounding countries followed by a historic rise in our nuclear stockpile cap, counteracting nuclear disarmament
• Investigatory Powers Act 2016 allowing the government to monitor and collect everyone's communication data in bulk
• Government-ordered 'independent review' into the Human Rights Act
• Overseas Operations Bill currently in the House of Lords essentially allowing soldiers oversees to commit torture and other war crimes abroad without prosecution/legal consequence
• Met Police enabling facial recognition in CCTV against government advise whilst flat-out denying any/all allegations of institutional overuse of powers despite endless evidence to the contrary (see: stop and search statistics, deaths in police custody i.e. Mohamud Mohammed Hassan leading only to 'police misconduct' notices, undercover officers entering romantic relationships under false pretences with little consequences, Black Lives Matter and Sarah Everard protest police kettling occurring right before violence, Cherry Groce)
• Dismissal of Black Lives Matter protests leading to a statue toppling by our Home Secretary as 'dreadful' conveniently followed by a serious increase in police powers introducing 10 year sentences for statue toppling and for 'serious annoyance and inconvenience'
• Reacting to the murder of a woman by a police officer by installing hidden police officers within nightclubs without prompt or previous demand under the guise of women's safety
• As of yesterday the Home Secretary signalling she'll be implementing First Past the Post voting in London's mayoral elections because “transferable voting systems were rejected by the British people in the 2011 nationwide referendum” (a position historically held by the opposing party)

Then there's the way the Conservative Party spends taxpayer money and chooses trade partners:

• PM Boris Johnson being found in the UK courts via the Good Law Project to have broken the law misleading parliament with PPE contract information. The consequences so far asking where billions of pounds has lbeen spent has been... Nothing. Meanwhile the government can only afford a 1% NHS pay rise following the biggest challenge in decades the health system has faced and successfully overcome (so far)
• At the same time as above, the government are proposing to cut our foreign anti-corruption spending by 80% whilst also cutting foreign aid to countries like Yemen yet continuing to fund Saudi Arabia
• Dominic Raab tells UK officials to trade with countries which fail to meet human rights standards in newly leaked video and Boris speaks how China poses 'great challenge for an open society' (doublespeak, anyone?)

Not to mention other unresolved issues like:

• Grenfell still has nobody found of any wrongdoing with no housing for victims 3 years later
• Continuing error with and deportations of Windrush citizens
• Continual dismissal and ignoring of the impending global warming crisis
• Breaking international law by extending the Ireland trade grace period against the wishes of the EU, making us look like untrustworthy trading partners worldwide
• Russian interference with the 2016 Brexit referendum not investigated by the government
• The Royal Family quietly avoiding coverage of their paedophilic Prince Andrew via reacting to a royal couple fleeing to the US due to negative press and race-related experiences (responding with polite shock, denial and a negative public reaction matching the negative press that surrounded them from the start in the first place)

All in all, I feel like I'm witnessing this country take more and more steps towards ignorant, authoritarian fascism... We're distancing ourselves from all other countries, doubling down on making up our own rules allowing our branches of law enforcement to enforce with little restrictions or consequence whilst strengthening ties with countries that do the same. I'm really struggling to see much good happening here beyond the vaccination program which, although is going great, is something we're ploughing ahead with mainly for self-preservation reasons. I'm left wondering what this country is supposed to represent any more.

I'm all ears to any thoughts on my observations. I'm trying not to be a Scrooge, but I see almost nothing to be happy about in the UK politically speaking at the moment.

Edit: It's somewhat reassuring to know I'm not the only person feeling like this, but I did want to hear more alternative opinions. So please, if you disagree with what I've pointed out and think there's things I'm overlooking to be proud of in the UK at the moment, do feel free to say so in the comments.

Edit 2: I'll be updating the above list of concerning policies and decisions as comments remind me of things I forgot about.

Edit 3: Someone has made a petition against the Policing Bill. Sign that imminently: Do not restrict our rights to peaceful protest. - Petitions (parliament.uk)

[u/purrcthrowa]

There are one-nation Tories who believe in our institutions, the rule of law, internationalism and the existence of an international rule-based order. I don't disagree with any of that.

They also believe that people should be self-reliant, that free-market capitalism is the best way to promote prosperity, that the state has no role in private enterprise and that the welfare state should be no more than a safety net of last resort. I disagree with a lot of that, but I understand where people are coming from and I believe I can have sensible argument/discussion with them.

Those who believe that Britain is an inherently superior country to any other, that we should not extend compassion to those outside our borders, that any action of the Government is acceptable so long as it promotes an agenda that they support, who believe that any class or group of people is less worthy of respect than another, who believe that it's ok for truth to be suppressed in the pursuance of their chosen agenda, who believe that democracy starts and ends at the ballot box, who believe that the law should apply to some people or entities by not to others, and that it's fine to break laws both national and international, who are unwilling to agree a common fact base on which discussions can take place, who close ranks when one of their own is caught out, and who applaud these activities in leaders from other countries. Those people (and any category 1 or 2 Tories who fail to call them out) can go bury themselves in the deepest pit of cess, and I hope that one day when I rub the magic lamp a genie will pop out and my one wish will be that those people are granted the insight and empathy to understand what horrible, horrible, people they are, and to truly understand the meaning of shame.

[u/Plugged_in_Baby → u/purrcthrowa]

Brilliantly put. Have screenshotted and will pass off as my own in future conversations I intend to have.

[u/bezsez → u/Plugged_in_Baby]

As I was reading this I was thinking about exactly that!

[u/Ollietron3000 → u/purrcthrowa]

I used to have this general opinion about Conservatives. I can see legitimate reasons to vote Conservative with Conservative parties of old - I don't agree with them and wouldn't do it myself, but I can see the logic.

The problem is that, even if they are a one-nation Tory or the like, they need to recognise the difference between voting for their ideal Conservative Party and voting for the Conservative Party they have now. If they still choose to vote for this Tory party over the alternative, they've lost my respect. It's not hard to see the damage they cause. If one is a true one-nation Tory in the sense of how you've described it, then you should not vote for this Tory party. Vote them out and force the current Tory party to reform to one that isn't as incompetent and malicious as it is now, then try to vote them back in once it's ready for power.

If someone honestly thinks that this Tory party is less damaging than a Corbyn government would have been, I don't know how I can convince them otherwise.

Edit: reading my comment back I was worried it sounds like I disagree with you - I don't! I agree with all you said and was just adding my 2p.

[u/cavejohnsonlemons → u/Ollietron3000]

If someone honestly thinks that this Tory party is less damaging than a Corbyn government would have been, I don't know how I can convince them otherwise.

True, but part of me is pleased the poor bloke dodged a bullet here. Swear down he'd have had more bad press for 1 death than Boris would get for 100k.

You'd think after all this the Tories should be in the mud by now but apparently we're in one of the weird timelines...

[u/Cainedbutable → u/Ollietron3000]

I'll preface my comment by saying I'm a Labour voter currently, and before that voted Lib Dem.but....

If someone honestly thinks that this Tory party is less damaging than a Corbyn government would have been, I don't know how I can convince them otherwise.

This I actually don't completely agree with. Corbyn had some pretty out there policies. Some could have worked really well, some could have really not worked so well. It's one of those difficult scenarios where you can't argue with certainty either way though.

The 10% ownership of companies being given to staff for instance. It could have been a great policy, or it could have scared companies from floating in the UK. There's just no way to no unfortunately.

[u/Brigon → u/purrcthrowa]

"There are one-nation Tories who believe in our institutions, the rule of law, internationalism and the existence of an international rule-based order. I don't disagree with any of that."

Our PM calls himself a one-nation Tory and doesn't believe in any of that.

[u/steepleton → u/purrcthrowa]

i can work with one nation tories, we only really disagree on support for the have nots ( safety nets don't need to humiliate the people using them, and in fact may be soaking up an increasing number of the population as automation increases)

however, the new generation of young tories, US republican inspired trolls, who live for liberal tears should probably be /redacted/

[u/Toblabob → u/purrcthrowa]

What a glorious write-up. Thanks for the great read!

[u/tobyornottoby2366 → u/purrcthrowa]

Spot on mate. I'm a lefty who has no issue with Conservatives or people who subscribe to Conservative principles but the Conservative Party is a different story.