Month: May 2024

Why we need a Good Dictator, and our phoney democracy should take a rest

In the immediate run up to the December 2019 General Election, I wrote and published The Makeshift Manifesto, here online and as an e-book that’s available on Amazon.

Even though the political terrain was different, from the point of view that the British Electorate were days away from trusting Boris Johnson with an Election Result that very few saw coming because the Conservatives promised to get Brexit done, the truth of the matter was that many areas of the UKs public policy had already gone massively wrong.

Regrettably, it had been doing so for a time that has spanned many different governments, led by different political parties, before.

Within months, we were all subjected to the stupidity and poor leadership that manifested itself in the form of both the Government and the wider political response to Covid 19 and the Covid Pandemic.

We are unlikely to have experienced all the fall-out and consequences of such levels of incompetence and political delinquency that were set in motion, even now.

However, back in early December 2019, I decided to commit all the things a ‘good’ government would actually do to paper. I then shared it with the world.

Since then, The Makeshift Manifesto seems to have been a popular read. So, earlier this year, as I contemplated the run up to the coming General Election, I began to question whether I should revisit the book and update it to reflect what has changed and where the further problems with Public Policy have developed over the 4+ years of time since the first edition was published.

With the original work set up on a screen and being sat ready to dive straight in, it didn’t take many moments for me to realise that if ‘good’ policy was no more than a wish list at the time of the last General Election, because of the quality  of the politicians we had back then, the uncomfortable fact is that with the political options we have available today, such suggestions would be pretty much impossible to deliver through the current structure of government, in any meaningful way.

I’d written about the concept of and asked the question ‘Is it possible to have a Good Dictator’ before.

But at this point I realised, that without people being open to the change that is possible now and which I covered in the book Officially None Of The Above, or there being some kind of Black Swan event that has the power to change everyone’s minds, the only way that meaningful change could be delivered throughout government, the public sector and within every area of Public Policy itself, would be with pure single-mindedness. The kind that could only be achieved if it was driven and directed by one person with the power necessary to command and dictate that massive scale of change.

I worked this thorough as briefly as it was possible to do so.

Leaning on different books that I have written and published over the past two years that included A Community Route and The Grassroots Manifesto, I also added a policy wish list that would be good for everyone, but that in today’s reality, it would only be possible for Good Dictator to deliver and achieve.

There remains a very big question about whether the individual exists who:

  1. Would have the knowledge and experience necessary to change such a massively broken system for the better
  2. Has the desire, drive, motivation and public spiritedness to see it through
  3. Possesses the ethics, morality and principles to stay true to the public cause, when there would be so much temptation to cast what’s in the best interests of others aside

After completing and publishing the book, I concluded that in times as we face today, where politicians and those who aspire to be politicians don’t see any route other than their own, and the public itself has surrendered to the idea that all ‘public’ problems are the responsibility of someone, somewhere else, if nothing else should change in the way we view the importance of the things that are common to us all, the solution of having a Good Dictator, might end up being the only way forward for us all.

I’m a fan of Clarkson’s Farm. It’s doing a lot for farmers and consumers. But it could do even more

Like most people whose comments I’ve seen, I am a big fan of Clarkson’s Farm. I don’t think there’s one episode of the 22 I’ve already watched that hasn’t ticked all of the boxes for good, all-round entertainment in a field which isn’t exactly full of other big beasts.

In case it’s important, I’ve watched 6 of the 8 episodes of series 3 and the final 2 will probably work their way into the weekend schedule as some kind of diversionary treat.

Just as I’ve previously tweeted in responses to comments and thoughts by the Farming Press and some of the Farmers I follow, my view as someone who has maintained links with Farming whilst I’ve worked for charities, run my own businesses and was an elected local councillor for 12 years, is that the series has done a massive amount in breaching the gap between farmers and the food chain, and the public or consumers. Something that’s very important bearing in mind that it’s where the strongest and most meaningful relationship in the UKs food chain really should be.

Whether we consider Clarkson’s ‘Let’s test everything I can think of’ approach to farming 1000 acres in the Cotswolds as contrived or planned, or quite literally as anyone new to farming with enough money to experiment in every direction might behave, the fact remains that there is real public benefit to this show and what it shares.  

The money spent and the honesty, transparency or insight being provided hasn’t failed to demonstrate just how complex and bureaucratic UK Farming has become, and how difficult being a Farmer in the UK really now is.

What is more and perhaps most importantly, Clarkson’s Farm openly demonstrates that UK Agriculture is at massive risk.

British Farming simply doesn’t generate the income for landowners and agricultural workers that an industry providing one of the most essential and non-negotiable parts of our daily lives really should.

Meanwhile, the shops that sell everything ‘on their behalf’ are achieving billions in profits as a return.

Whilst I’m not sure the leaps in thinking made by Amazon Prime subscribers will have yet reached a point where everyone recognises that there’s probably an equivalent to Diddly Squat in the form of a farm gate farm shop that’s much closer to home, Clarkson’s Farm is shining a light on real-World or rather real-UK Food Security issues that no other rural-life programme has or could.

If there’s anything annoying about the programme at all, it’s the attitude and approach on the part of so many involved, who have probably stood in the way of this very popular series doing a whole lot more for us all.

The reality that not only Jeremy Clarkson, but all UK farmers have to face is that whatever the level of government, whether it’s a local council in Oxfordshire, DEFRA or any department in Whitehall, the whole of the public sector system works in its own particular way.

There is a way of working with everyone who sits within the processes where decisions are made and few Civil Servants and Government Officers will value anyone telling them how anything they have control over or responsibility for, should work. No matter who those telling them are or who they might be.

Wrong as it may be, its just the way that things work.

The problem is made significantly worse because so much of the legislation and directives set at the centre or in London are left ‘open to translation’ at local level. And interpretation can go either way, depending upon many things under consideration which often fall way outside how any logical explanation or understanding would suggest everything works.

Like it or not, Clarkson was pretty much on a date with destiny from the start. It was inevitable that there would be a clash of cultures when it came to working with any formal body.

As a councillor, I experienced and at least tried to console the distress that the feeling of unfairness and injustice of the government system visits on people who are morally correct in their position, but nonetheless feel very let down by the way the technical legality of the system works.

I really do wish that Clarkson might have taken a different approach. He almost certainly could have demonstrated that for both Diddly Squat and an entire Industry that’s now in deep trouble, real success and long-term benefits are achievable, just by stepping back, counting to ten and approaching ‘the game’ in a very different way.

Blogging and Vlogging about the thorny issues around Gaza

Hi Everyone,

As I’ve been working my way through a short list of topics to talk about on my new YouTube channel, one that has kept popping up, as I have been wading through social media has been Gaza, or more accurately the protests that we are hearing about at Universities, and the potential impact of voting for candidates in UK Elections who are telling us that they are going to champion Gaza as a cause.

Considering just how important the subject of politics and the politicians we have representing us really is, it is very concerning to learn that candidates were elected on a platform of promising to pursue peace in Gaza and whatever troubling suggestions that go with that as a cause. Not least of all because Local Elections have absolutely zero influence on Foreign Policy (Which itself doesn’t EVER give the London government the right to dictate policy in other countries anyway).

One-issue activism of any kind completely overlooks the public service delivery and policy areas like Council Tax, Bin Collections, Schools, Roads, Planning, Licensing and a whole range of other LOCAL issues that these elections are really all about.

One step on, and many will be surprised to learn that voting for the Westminster Parliament and the Constituency MPs who sit there in a General Election is also about much, much more than Foreign Policy itself.

Foreign Policy is actually a lot more about our relationships across the world and using real leadership to influence other countries to behave and act in ways that are good for us all.

We have a growing list of problems around the world, because we haven’t been electing politicians who:

  1. Put our needs first and
  2. Don’t understand the consequences for us all of not building responsible relationships with other countries that genuinely put the interests of the people and the businesses in those countries before those of private interests and companies in our own.

Whilst the passion, anger and frustration of young people at University is understandable, the truth that they could easily damage their career paths, at a time when changes in tech and AI are already unnecessarily limiting the opportunities for everyone, is hard to fathom.

Real change can only come about by electing people who get the solutions to ALL of the issues that effect all of us right, each and every day.

These will be the same people and politicians who know and understand what real leadership is. Leaders who will be able to see how important it is that we don’t have relationships with other countries where the only consideration is the headlines and what potential voters are going to think when they see the next days offerings from the mainstream media.

Poor politics in the UK and across the West for far too long has aided and abetted many of the problems that are being manifested across the world today.

If we really want to change them, the best way we can start that process is to think more carefully and deliberately about the people we are electing to represent us in each and every election that we have, across the UK and in particular, when those votes are going to decide who makes the decisions about everything that happens in our communities and closer to home.

The step from written blogs to filming videos and publishing online…

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for following if you are a subscriber to my Blog and a very big welcome if you are a guest and have found me as you have been having a look on the net.

I’ve been writing blogs and publishing books for around 12 years now, since I was still sitting as a local councillor in Gloucestershire and started off writing about some of the issues that were important for my constituents near Tewkesbury. You can find these on their own Blog HERE.

Stepping away from frontline politics in 2015, after choosing to put the people who elected me first over a massive planning issue decision in 2013 that has affected the whole area ever since, I’ve been on a bit of a journey that made the first leap into books in 2018, when I wrote and published ‘How to Get Elected’ for independent candidates thinking about running in elections, and then found myself with a growing focus on future policy when I wrote and published ‘Levelling Level’ at the end of March 2022, then going on to write a whole series of books about how everything could be changed and the part that we all have the opportunity to play.

As technology has moved on, anyone who writes regularly will have become increasingly aware that beyond the people who are already attuned and looking for whatever it may be that we have to offer, our potential audience is increasingly likely to prefer watching a video that shares our messages, rather than reading through our missives, no matter if it were easy for them to be found.

About 2 years ago, I picked up a DJI Mini camera to see if I could make the transition or rather expand my online offering to YouTube and video platforms beyond.

To be honest, it didn’t feel that easy and although I published a few films on another channel, it just seemed easier to keep writing – especially as my focus seemed to be driven by creating and publishing what has now become a long list of books.

Reaching the point where it felt like I have covered all the things that I didn’t originally realise that I had set out to say, I recently found myself going back and beginning to review my books.

Now any of you who self-publish and don’t have the luxury of editorial help or that second pair of eyes when you first publish will understand what a traumatic experience this can actually be! I am however comforted by the reality that anyone who is genuinely interested in the content will not be looking at grammar and long sentences – no matter how unforgiving the general inhabitants of the online universe can be!

Going through this process made me appreciate that the books are all well and good and once people want to understand the topics better – as I remain confident that in time they will, it might be time to dig out that rather cool DJI and see what a refocus of my creative and publishing efforts might make of it all now.

About a fortnight ago, I set up @TugsRamblings as a new YouTube channel and quickly got to work.

The idea being that as a rule, I will film a talk as I walk or ‘ramble’ in potentially more ways than one, and that the film will hopefully come across as if the viewer is walking alongside.

Not the easiest thing to imagine for me, when the best angle from the camera is looking down and I am 6’5”!!!

All the same grumbles quickly came back to the surface, ranging from ‘I ummmm too much’, to ‘What the hell do I do if people keep appearing and I have to stop and can’t edit the film?’ and of course, ‘Will I be able to remember all the things that I need to say?’

As I write this blog to share what I have been doing so far, I’ve just uploaded video number 14 and am hopeful that they are improving all the time.

The good thing about all of this is that video creation is a learning experience at every step of the way. I’ve already learned a lot more than I knew two weeks ago and I feel sure that my knowledge can only improve!

Please drop by and take a look. Your support with likes and subscribes would be greatly appreciated, as would any questions you might have where answers could help you or might help others in respect of the topics and issues that I generally cover.

Best wishes,

Adam ‘Tugs’ Tugwell

PS. Please find a link to my first video on @TugsRamblings below!