I would agree that Government has been malfunctioning since the Conservative approach was upended by their loss of the Brexit referendum, and Tony Blaire’s approach became no longer sustainable with the Labour heartlands.
While one could start with remedies in this department, I would start by taking seriously the concerns of the populists. Their leader – Nigel Fage – is socially conservative and anti-immigration. The speed of social change has been great, and I would accept a period of consolidation while, for example, we get the social media influences under control, ensure that everyone can use these new tools, and work out how best to make female equality function for all.
As to immigration, that wise liberal philosopher John Rawls claimed that a fair society has to look after the interests of its least advantaged members. I don’t think the present level of immigration is in the interests of the least advantaged, because (a) employers are reaching for already-trained foreign workers rather than paying to train probably less trainable British ones (and there is a market failure in that an employer does not capture the full benefit of their training effort if a worker is poached by another employer) (b) the net increase in the population is increasing the competition for scarce resources such as housing and medical care and (c) the cultural impact is unsettling to the socially conservative.
Yes we do need to take the concerns of populist supporters seriously - especially on the subjects to immigration/integration and crime. I'm not so worried about the effect of immigration on job prospects for natives, but I am worried about its affect on property and rental princes - and illegal immigration in particular is linked to a black economy that is becoming more conspicuous and this breeds demoralisation and disorder. However, I think that part of the problem is the over-centralisation and ineffectiveness of government. Police forces don't look well managed at all, for example.
I would agree that Government has been malfunctioning since the Conservative approach was upended by their loss of the Brexit referendum, and Tony Blaire’s approach became no longer sustainable with the Labour heartlands.
While one could start with remedies in this department, I would start by taking seriously the concerns of the populists. Their leader – Nigel Fage – is socially conservative and anti-immigration. The speed of social change has been great, and I would accept a period of consolidation while, for example, we get the social media influences under control, ensure that everyone can use these new tools, and work out how best to make female equality function for all.
As to immigration, that wise liberal philosopher John Rawls claimed that a fair society has to look after the interests of its least advantaged members. I don’t think the present level of immigration is in the interests of the least advantaged, because (a) employers are reaching for already-trained foreign workers rather than paying to train probably less trainable British ones (and there is a market failure in that an employer does not capture the full benefit of their training effort if a worker is poached by another employer) (b) the net increase in the population is increasing the competition for scarce resources such as housing and medical care and (c) the cultural impact is unsettling to the socially conservative.
Yes we do need to take the concerns of populist supporters seriously - especially on the subjects to immigration/integration and crime. I'm not so worried about the effect of immigration on job prospects for natives, but I am worried about its affect on property and rental princes - and illegal immigration in particular is linked to a black economy that is becoming more conspicuous and this breeds demoralisation and disorder. However, I think that part of the problem is the over-centralisation and ineffectiveness of government. Police forces don't look well managed at all, for example.