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| The UK has become ungovernable – and no one wants to admit it | The UK has become ungovernable – and no one wants to admit it |
| (5 days later) | |
| The Tories may be in disrepair, but the issues that divide Britain – from globalisation to social disparity – run deeper than this useless government | The Tories may be in disrepair, but the issues that divide Britain – from globalisation to social disparity – run deeper than this useless government |
| Contact author | Contact author |
| Wed 8 Nov 2017 18.01 GMT | Wed 8 Nov 2017 18.01 GMT |
| Last modified on Wed 14 Feb 2018 15.30 GMT | |
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| As someone who once got a driving licence when they really shouldn’t have, I am looking forward to driverless cars. It’s a shame a lot of people will lose their livelihoods, but, hey ho, that’s the future. In fact, it feels a lot like the present. We currently have a driverless government. No one is in control – but nor is there a robotic system effective enough to govern us. | As someone who once got a driving licence when they really shouldn’t have, I am looking forward to driverless cars. It’s a shame a lot of people will lose their livelihoods, but, hey ho, that’s the future. In fact, it feels a lot like the present. We currently have a driverless government. No one is in control – but nor is there a robotic system effective enough to govern us. |
| It is not just that the waxwork of Theresa May unveiled in Madame Tussauds looks more strong and stable – indeed, more human – than she does; it is that her government is full of braggarts, sexual harassers and people who have decided to conduct freelance foreign policies. | It is not just that the waxwork of Theresa May unveiled in Madame Tussauds looks more strong and stable – indeed, more human – than she does; it is that her government is full of braggarts, sexual harassers and people who have decided to conduct freelance foreign policies. |
| As ever with May, it is hard to ascertain why she wants to cling on. Her leadership is now little more than a penance to her party for not being good enough to secure a decent majority. She is surrounded by those for whom cooperation is some kind of socialist conspiracy and loyalty is for wimps. Many of her ministers wear their ignorance with pride, feeling that they can make policy in a ridiculously atomised way. They appear to have no clue how the rest of the world sees them – largely irrelevant – nor any clue of how the world is changing. In their myopic pomp, they seem not to have noticed that the US is in decline and still yearn for Reaganite certainties. This is bizarre. | As ever with May, it is hard to ascertain why she wants to cling on. Her leadership is now little more than a penance to her party for not being good enough to secure a decent majority. She is surrounded by those for whom cooperation is some kind of socialist conspiracy and loyalty is for wimps. Many of her ministers wear their ignorance with pride, feeling that they can make policy in a ridiculously atomised way. They appear to have no clue how the rest of the world sees them – largely irrelevant – nor any clue of how the world is changing. In their myopic pomp, they seem not to have noticed that the US is in decline and still yearn for Reaganite certainties. This is bizarre. |
| Priti Patel goes to Israel on what she claims was a family holiday, which she paid for herself. | Priti Patel goes to Israel on what she claims was a family holiday, which she paid for herself. |
| Patel met the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. The meeting was not authorised in advance and no UK officials were present. She later claimed the Foreign Office was made aware of this meetings and others while her trip was under way. | Patel met the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. The meeting was not authorised in advance and no UK officials were present. She later claimed the Foreign Office was made aware of this meetings and others while her trip was under way. |
| Meanwhile, Patel’s deputy Alistair Burt and David Quarrey, the British ambassador to Israel, were meeting Michael Oren, a deputy minister at the Israeli prime minister’s office, according to the Jewish Chronicle. According to notes of the meeting, cited by the paper, Oren referred to Patel having had a successful meeting with Netanyahu earlier. | Meanwhile, Patel’s deputy Alistair Burt and David Quarrey, the British ambassador to Israel, were meeting Michael Oren, a deputy minister at the Israeli prime minister’s office, according to the Jewish Chronicle. According to notes of the meeting, cited by the paper, Oren referred to Patel having had a successful meeting with Netanyahu earlier. |
| Foreign Office officials became aware of Patel’s first meetings, according to a statement given to the Commons by Burt on 7 November. He did not mention his own visit to Israel. Hansard quotes Burt telling the Commons: “The Secretary of State [Patel] told Foreign Office officials on 24 August that she was on the visit. It seems likely that the meetings took place beforehand.” | Foreign Office officials became aware of Patel’s first meetings, according to a statement given to the Commons by Burt on 7 November. He did not mention his own visit to Israel. Hansard quotes Burt telling the Commons: “The Secretary of State [Patel] told Foreign Office officials on 24 August that she was on the visit. It seems likely that the meetings took place beforehand.” |
| On the same day Patel met Yair Lapid, the leader of Israel’s Yesh Atid party, who describes her as a “true friend of Israel”. | On the same day Patel met Yair Lapid, the leader of Israel’s Yesh Atid party, who describes her as a “true friend of Israel”. |
| On an undisclosed date during her trip, Patel visited an Israeli military field hospital in the occupied Golan Heights, according to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. If confirmed, this would be a breach of a protocol that British officials do not travel in the occupied Golan under the auspices of the Israeli government. | On an undisclosed date during her trip, Patel visited an Israeli military field hospital in the occupied Golan Heights, according to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. If confirmed, this would be a breach of a protocol that British officials do not travel in the occupied Golan under the auspices of the Israeli government. |
| Patel leaves Israel after 12 work meetings, during two days of a 13-day holiday. As well as meeting Netanyahu, she also held talks with the public security and strategic affairs minister, Gilad Erdan, and an Israeli foreign ministry official, Yuval Rotem. The meetings were organised by Lord Polak, a leading member of the Conservative Friends of Israel. He accompanied Patel on all but one one of the meetings. | Patel leaves Israel after 12 work meetings, during two days of a 13-day holiday. As well as meeting Netanyahu, she also held talks with the public security and strategic affairs minister, Gilad Erdan, and an Israeli foreign ministry official, Yuval Rotem. The meetings were organised by Lord Polak, a leading member of the Conservative Friends of Israel. He accompanied Patel on all but one one of the meetings. |
| On her return to the UK, Patel inquires about using the UK aid budget to help fund the Israeli army’s humanitarian work in the Golan Heights. The idea is rejected because the UK does not recognise Israel’s permanent presence in the Golan Heights, which were seized from Syria in the 1967 war. | On her return to the UK, Patel inquires about using the UK aid budget to help fund the Israeli army’s humanitarian work in the Golan Heights. The idea is rejected because the UK does not recognise Israel’s permanent presence in the Golan Heights, which were seized from Syria in the 1967 war. |
| Patel meets Gilad Erdan, the minister for public security, and is photographed with him on the House of Commons terrace. | Patel meets Gilad Erdan, the minister for public security, and is photographed with him on the House of Commons terrace. |
| While in New York for the UN general assembly, Patel has another meeting with Yuval Rotem, an official from the Israeli foreign ministry. | While in New York for the UN general assembly, Patel has another meeting with Yuval Rotem, an official from the Israeli foreign ministry. |
| Theresa May meets Netanyahu in Downing Street. | Theresa May meets Netanyahu in Downing Street. |
| Patel told the Guardian that the foreign secretary knew about her trip and suggested the Foreign Office had been briefing against her. “Boris knew about the visit. The point is that the Foreign Office did know about this, Boris knew about [the trip],” she admitted telling the paper. | Patel told the Guardian that the foreign secretary knew about her trip and suggested the Foreign Office had been briefing against her. “Boris knew about the visit. The point is that the Foreign Office did know about this, Boris knew about [the trip],” she admitted telling the paper. |
| The BBC’s diplomatic correspondent James Landale reported that Patel had undisclosed meetings in Israel without telling the Foreign Office. He quoted one official as saying that Patel had been “pushing to get her hands on the Palestinian Authority aid budget and we have been pushing back”. | The BBC’s diplomatic correspondent James Landale reported that Patel had undisclosed meetings in Israel without telling the Foreign Office. He quoted one official as saying that Patel had been “pushing to get her hands on the Palestinian Authority aid budget and we have been pushing back”. |
| Patel apologises after admitting she gave a misleading account to the Guardian of her trip to Israel. In a statement, she admits holding 12 meetings, including three with Israeli politicians – Netanyahu among them. | Patel apologises after admitting she gave a misleading account to the Guardian of her trip to Israel. In a statement, she admits holding 12 meetings, including three with Israeli politicians – Netanyahu among them. |
| She said: “This quote [to the Guardian] may have given the impression that the secretary of state had informed the foreign secretary about the visit in advance. The secretary of state would like to take this opportunity to clarify that this was not the case. The foreign secretary did become aware of the visit, but not in advance of it.” | She said: “This quote [to the Guardian] may have given the impression that the secretary of state had informed the foreign secretary about the visit in advance. The secretary of state would like to take this opportunity to clarify that this was not the case. The foreign secretary did become aware of the visit, but not in advance of it.” |
| She does not mention visiting the occupied Golan Heights or the two subsequent meetings in September. | She does not mention visiting the occupied Golan Heights or the two subsequent meetings in September. |
| A No 10 spokesman confirms that Patel was rebuked for breaching the ministerial code. | A No 10 spokesman confirms that Patel was rebuked for breaching the ministerial code. |
| Patel avoids answering an urgent Commons question about her meetings in Israel because of a “longstanding commitment” to visit Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia. The international development minister Alistair Burt is put up in her place. Burt points out that Patel apologised for the undisclosed meetings. He adds: “The department’s view is that aid to the IDF [Israeli Defence Force] in the Golan Heights is not appropriate.” | Patel avoids answering an urgent Commons question about her meetings in Israel because of a “longstanding commitment” to visit Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia. The international development minister Alistair Burt is put up in her place. Burt points out that Patel apologised for the undisclosed meetings. He adds: “The department’s view is that aid to the IDF [Israeli Defence Force] in the Golan Heights is not appropriate.” |
| Downing Street initially backs Patel but later confirms that the prime minister was not informed about providing aid to Israel during her meeting the previous day. It is suggested Patel failed to disclose her two subsequent meetings in September with Israeli officials. A Whitehall source says: “There was an expectation of full disclosure at the meeting on Monday. It is now clear Priti did not do that. It will now have to be looked at again.” But according to the Jewish Chronicle, it was No 10 who told Patel not to include her meeting with Rotem in New York in her list of undisclosed meetings for fear of embarrassing the Foreign Office. | Downing Street initially backs Patel but later confirms that the prime minister was not informed about providing aid to Israel during her meeting the previous day. It is suggested Patel failed to disclose her two subsequent meetings in September with Israeli officials. A Whitehall source says: “There was an expectation of full disclosure at the meeting on Monday. It is now clear Priti did not do that. It will now have to be looked at again.” But according to the Jewish Chronicle, it was No 10 who told Patel not to include her meeting with Rotem in New York in her list of undisclosed meetings for fear of embarrassing the Foreign Office. |
| DfiD confirms previously undisclosed September meetings with Erhad and Rotem in September. | DfiD confirms previously undisclosed September meetings with Erhad and Rotem in September. |
| Patel resigns from the cabinet after being summoned back from a trip to Uganda and Ethiopia by Downing Street. In her resignation letter, released moments after she left No 10, Patel admitted her actions “fell below the high standards that are expected of a secretary of state”. | Patel resigns from the cabinet after being summoned back from a trip to Uganda and Ethiopia by Downing Street. In her resignation letter, released moments after she left No 10, Patel admitted her actions “fell below the high standards that are expected of a secretary of state”. |
| Trust in our institutions is collapsing before our eyes. The Paradise Papers reveal the monarchy to be tax-avoiding hypocrites. Really? Who knew? At a certain level of wealth, many simply opt out of the social contract – for that is how taxation functions – and operate according to a model that says there is no such thing as society. Huge corporations do it. Sitcom stars do it. | Trust in our institutions is collapsing before our eyes. The Paradise Papers reveal the monarchy to be tax-avoiding hypocrites. Really? Who knew? At a certain level of wealth, many simply opt out of the social contract – for that is how taxation functions – and operate according to a model that says there is no such thing as society. Huge corporations do it. Sitcom stars do it. |
| The idea that this government can regulate this seems far away, because it is in such disrepair itself. The promise is that a Labour government can. Certainly it is becoming hard to imagine anything more shambolic and, indeed, venal than the current shower. Yet it seems deeper than this. As a nation, we have become essentially ungovernable, in ways that no one wants to admit. | The idea that this government can regulate this seems far away, because it is in such disrepair itself. The promise is that a Labour government can. Certainly it is becoming hard to imagine anything more shambolic and, indeed, venal than the current shower. Yet it seems deeper than this. As a nation, we have become essentially ungovernable, in ways that no one wants to admit. |
| At a certain level of wealth, many simply opt out of the social contract | At a certain level of wealth, many simply opt out of the social contract |
| Anarchy in the UK has come about because Brexit has split the country. There is no definite will of the people, just different peoples who refuse to acknowledge each other’s reality. Each side accuses the other side of delusion. The delusions of grandeur of the leavers are taking us over a cliff edge that will impoverish those who voted to leave, even if they voted that way because they felt no part of the future or wealth of this country. The delusion of the remainers is that everyone who voted leave now regrets it (they clearly don’t); is old and will die soon (the politics of culling); and that somehow this can all be stopped with another referendum, ignoring the fact that article 50 has already been triggered. | Anarchy in the UK has come about because Brexit has split the country. There is no definite will of the people, just different peoples who refuse to acknowledge each other’s reality. Each side accuses the other side of delusion. The delusions of grandeur of the leavers are taking us over a cliff edge that will impoverish those who voted to leave, even if they voted that way because they felt no part of the future or wealth of this country. The delusion of the remainers is that everyone who voted leave now regrets it (they clearly don’t); is old and will die soon (the politics of culling); and that somehow this can all be stopped with another referendum, ignoring the fact that article 50 has already been triggered. |
| London remains free-floating, its own country with its own financial institutions. Scotland is remain, England is leave. Things are breaking up. The idea that Corbyn – said to be keen on a “socialism in one country” model – will sort everything out is another delusion. That country could be Islington, but it is certainly not the UK as it stands. | London remains free-floating, its own country with its own financial institutions. Scotland is remain, England is leave. Things are breaking up. The idea that Corbyn – said to be keen on a “socialism in one country” model – will sort everything out is another delusion. That country could be Islington, but it is certainly not the UK as it stands. |
| The centre cannot hold. Everything is pulling in directions that no longer reflect long-held right-versus-left positions, but rather reveal complex emotional and cultural reactions to globalisation and its handmaiden, austerity. The forces of which the referendum made us aware signified a desire for change, a critique of power as it exists today. They also represented a closing-down, an insularity – nasty racism in some cases – and a belief in the legacy of empire. | The centre cannot hold. Everything is pulling in directions that no longer reflect long-held right-versus-left positions, but rather reveal complex emotional and cultural reactions to globalisation and its handmaiden, austerity. The forces of which the referendum made us aware signified a desire for change, a critique of power as it exists today. They also represented a closing-down, an insularity – nasty racism in some cases – and a belief in the legacy of empire. |
| Leavers and remainers appear to inhabit different worlds and seem entirely resistant to compromise. Many remainers I know would happily sign up to border controls around the areas where they live and despise half their fellow citizens, yet they continue to see themselves as open-minded people. It is extraordinary. | Leavers and remainers appear to inhabit different worlds and seem entirely resistant to compromise. Many remainers I know would happily sign up to border controls around the areas where they live and despise half their fellow citizens, yet they continue to see themselves as open-minded people. It is extraordinary. |
| I seek not to minimise the uselessness of this government. It is monstrous and pitiful. But these problems will continue whoever is in government, for the issue is this: the way we are governed is no longer fit for purpose. The institutions do not work for the people. | I seek not to minimise the uselessness of this government. It is monstrous and pitiful. But these problems will continue whoever is in government, for the issue is this: the way we are governed is no longer fit for purpose. The institutions do not work for the people. |
| The instability at the heart of the government reflects the personal inadequacy of Tory ministers, but, politically, it runs deeper. When given a vote on something important, the majority of people voted against Westminster, against London, against the elites. Obviously, they have not taken back control, but what becomes clearer daily is that neither has the government. It is incapable of doing so. Its members are like children who shut their eyes and think no one else can see them. They lie, smear and dissemble as the UK falls apart. | The instability at the heart of the government reflects the personal inadequacy of Tory ministers, but, politically, it runs deeper. When given a vote on something important, the majority of people voted against Westminster, against London, against the elites. Obviously, they have not taken back control, but what becomes clearer daily is that neither has the government. It is incapable of doing so. Its members are like children who shut their eyes and think no one else can see them. They lie, smear and dissemble as the UK falls apart. |
| This may not be anarchy as we imagined it, but the chaos at the top of our system is the reckoning. We are crashing in the same car. | This may not be anarchy as we imagined it, but the chaos at the top of our system is the reckoning. We are crashing in the same car. |
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