Nothing to worry about

Where exactly is the ‘centre’ in politics these days? And what does it mean to be in the centre? I feel sure that Nigel Fartage considers himself to be in the centre, which is where that oft-quoted but rarely heard ‘silent majority’ reside, i.e. in his mind the people who voted for Brexit. (Except they weren’t the silent majority. There was no silent majority, since on that issue roughly 33% voted yes, 33% voted no and 34% didn’t vote at all.) I’m minded to ask the question about the centre after reading an opinion piece in Canada’s Globe and Mail yesterday, which was perhaps a little bit tongue in cheek about who should be the next leader of the Liberal Party in Ontario, Canada’s most populous state:
 
‘The good news is that there’s a perfect candidate-in-waiting for the floundering party. This potential Ontario Liberal candidate similarly lacks an ethos, focus or intention. He has been both in favour of and against giving asylum-seekers work permits; for and against expanding the  Greenbelt; for and against  dissolving Peel Region; and for and against various spending cuts. Indeed, he has the malleability that’s necessary to lead a plasticine party: he’s a political weathervane in a “Canada is not for sale” hat. And best of all, his track record is already proven: his spending has outpaced those of previous Liberal premiers, and he has significantly grown the deficit ($14.6-billion) and piled on the debt ($461-billion). He won’t make the tough cuts necessary to get Ontario’s fiscal house in order, nor will he pursue any bold policy initiatives if they run the risk of being politically unpopular. That’s why  Doug Ford would be the ideal Ontario Liberal Leader. He just needs a red tie.’

(I hope readers are aware of Mr Ford's position and politics)

The confusion is evident. What is ‘left’ and what is ‘right?’ Here in the UK we are still capable of surprises, not least with an old fashioned Tory (I assume) like Sir Max Hastings talking on the radio about why he was joining an anti-Trump state visit demo. It has to be said that such opposition in that regard speaks more powerfully than if it had come from ‘the usual suspects.’
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Starmer of course is desperately clinging on to what he considers the centre ground, albeit with a catch-up approach to the right. With no vision of his own to speak of and a morbid fear of Fartage, he looks much less likely to feel threatened by the left which simply cannot get its act together. This morning I received an email inviting me to join Corbyn and Sultana’s ‘Your Party.’ As one might say these days seven hours in politics is a long time, so by teatime I had received another email telling me to ignore the first email which Jeremy hadn’t authorised. It seems there is a dysfunctional leadership at the top of ‘Your Party’ which is redolent of Corbyn’s time as leader of the Labour Party. He couldn’t give a dog a lead still less take it for walkies. This is a shame, but the situation is irredeemable. A younger generation may take over but in the meantime the rightward march of UK politics continues.