As I get older, I have become very aware that those in government (of any hue) are becoming more distant from the thinking of the people who elected them.
They seem to exist in an impenetrable bubble that isolates them from the everyday concerns and commonsense opinions of the ‘silent majority’ of the British public.
The only people who seem to have any influence seem now to be those belonging to small aggressive minorities and pressure groups who pursue their own agendas. And government seems to react directly to this pressure in developing their policies without reference to the public.
There have been some signs, recently, that this may be changing.
The Post Office Horizon scandal festered beneath the surface for years until a television programme — Mr Bates — ignited both public opinion and government action which overrode years of scandalous inaction.
The NHS has now decided to ban the routine prescription of puberty blockers to children which is more consistent with the thought of ordinary people than that that of
those in thrall to woke ideology.
The Competitions and Markets Authority have grudgingly launched a formal investigation of the veterinary market because of complaints from pet owners about the exorbitant prices charged by this group.
There are signs that the Net Zero policy adopted by our government is coming under scrutiny because of its unreality. Shell has been reported to be watering down its green targets but will continue to invest in oil and gas for decades to come.
Could it be that in a year of elections both in this country and in many other countries, those elections might bring to the surface the real
opinions of the ‘common’ people? — R. SHEPPARD, Beckingham.
