Aristocracy
Jul. 15th, 2014 11:30 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
poliphiloButler-Sloss has stood down from the Abuse Inquiry and quite right too.
And her successor? Trouble is the establishment can't imagine employing anyone in a role like this who wasn't at school with them- or their sisters- or who doesn't attend their parties. This isn't a dig at the establishment we have at the moment- ghastly though it is- because all establishments are much the same- inward looking, defensive, nepotistic- held together by patronage, intermarriage and money. There are, no doubt, wonderfully capable public servants in places like Rotherham and Carlisle who could do the Sloss job admirably but they don't enter into the reckoning because May and Cameron and their Whitehall mandarins won't ever have heard of them.
We have a political system whereby high office runs in families and clans. Sloss, for example, is the daughter of a High Court Judge and the sister of a former Lord Chancellor. The name for this way of managing things- though we're shy of applying it to ourselves- is aristocracy.
And her successor? Trouble is the establishment can't imagine employing anyone in a role like this who wasn't at school with them- or their sisters- or who doesn't attend their parties. This isn't a dig at the establishment we have at the moment- ghastly though it is- because all establishments are much the same- inward looking, defensive, nepotistic- held together by patronage, intermarriage and money. There are, no doubt, wonderfully capable public servants in places like Rotherham and Carlisle who could do the Sloss job admirably but they don't enter into the reckoning because May and Cameron and their Whitehall mandarins won't ever have heard of them.
We have a political system whereby high office runs in families and clans. Sloss, for example, is the daughter of a High Court Judge and the sister of a former Lord Chancellor. The name for this way of managing things- though we're shy of applying it to ourselves- is aristocracy.
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no subject
Date: 2014-07-15 11:49 am (UTC)That's the way things have always been done here. And it's even more blatant. The problem is we got rid of our aristocracy and in its place installed a layer of builders, sniggerers, priesteens and chancers.
That said, looks as if your aristocracy are not doing a great job either. When I read about Savile, etc I kept thinking - but that's us, that's the stuff we do, British people don't do that. I still can't get my head around it.
no subject
Date: 2014-07-15 12:54 pm (UTC)Ditto Prince Philip.
Savile seems to have been on intimate terms with anyone in Britain who had any power or influence. I believe there's still a great deal to be revealed.
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Date: 2014-07-15 10:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-07-15 12:20 pm (UTC)Les aristos a la lanterne!
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Date: 2014-07-15 12:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-07-15 01:00 pm (UTC)The Tories really hate people like me! :o)
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Date: 2014-07-15 04:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-07-15 10:04 pm (UTC)