THE UK is close to an elected dictatorship under Boris Johnson, according to former Father of the House Ken Clarke.
Clarke, who was the Conservative MP for Rushcliffe for nearly 50 years and served as chancellor under John Major, lost the Tory whip in September 2019 when he and a number of other Tory rebels voted with the opposition in an effort to stop Boris Johnson’s government from going ahead with a No-Deal Brexit.
The old-style “One Nation” Tory has been publicly critical of Johnson’s hard Brexit, and spoke out against the Prime Minister in the New European this week.
Clarke recalled working in the party at the same time as the likes of Enoch Powell – and said things are worse now than back then.
“My most implacable opponents were Michael Foot and Enoch Powell. We won the day because the likes of Enoch were then in the minority,” he explained.
READ MORE: Jacob Rees-Mogg claims MPs have spoken 'quite enough' about sleaze scandal
“Now that position is reversed. Immigration was, of course, the issue that his modern followers exploited during the referendum campaign. I considered myself to be in the mainstream of the party, and am not pleased that people who think like me – internationalist, outward-looking, progressive – have been marginalised. The party is now more right wing and nationalist than at any time in my lifetime.”
Clarke went on to attack Johnson’s dislike for “constitutional constraints” – saying he gets “angry” when institutions interfere with his plans.
READ MORE: Second jobs: MPs back 'watered down' plan on curbing extra work
“As the elected prime minister, he thinks he should not be impeded in these ways,” he said.
“We are now getting dangerously close to the ‘elected dictatorship’ that Lord Hailsham, the former Lord Chancellor, warned us about half a century ago.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel