Sally Allen: Political farce straight from Yes Minister

Yet another colossus leaves the international stage, namely Henry Kissinger. Love him or hate him, he was a man of huge intellect, which he turned into power and influence around the globe.
His array of talents meant that he was feared and admired, usually both, by the leaders around the world. He was a negotiator with unprecedented diplomatic skills and unlimited strategic talents which all made him an extraordinary statesman.
As anyone with such power and talent, he also had his enemies too. But, it cannot be denied that he was largely responsible for developing relationships across the globe that had not existed before, and even Putin recognised him as a “wise and visionary statesman”.
So unlike politicians today, he actually made change for the good and generations have, by and large, benefited from his influence.
Sadly, this type of politician now seems to be an extinct species. Actually, it is a tragedy and also very worrying for all of us. The dynamic leaders of the past are now a distant memory. Just consider the current leader of the free world. Do you have confidence in his abilities to lead the democratic world through the extremely tricky times we are going through? If you do, you clearly have more faith than I do.
Meanwhile, the pantomime season has started early at Westminster. Oh yes it has! Last week, we reached an all-time low in British politics. In short, the unforgettable sight and sound of the two muppets from the Home Office, namely, the newly knighted (why?), Sir Matthew Rycroft and his sidekick, Simon Ridley, who are the Home Office’s permanent secretary and second permanent secretary respectively. No wonder our immigration system is in such a God awful mess.
If their performance hadn’t been so tragic and embarrassing for our country, it could have drawn a massive audience as an episode of the wonderfully written sit-com “Yes Minister” and “Yes Prime Minister” with the peerless performances of Paul Eddington as Jim Hacker and Nigel Hawthorne as Sir Humphrey Appleton. The writers Sir Anthony Jay and Jonathan Lynn wouldn’t have had to change a word, as it would have been difficult to make up a worse disaster than what was unveiled on live television.
I think we all had an inkling that things were not going exactly to plan at the Home Office, but I feel sure that none of us could have ever imagined just how dramatically incompetent the handling of the immigration crisis was. You would think that anyone called before a Home Affairs Select Committee, would probably imagine that the chances of questions being asked about the current situation on immigration would be a more than likely. So, a little mugging-up prior to the meeting, you would imagine, would be essential. Being on top of your brief is why you are there after all. Not these two!
The members of the committee were asking for, and expected to find out, figures on the asylum seekers. So, nothing outside the actual job description of the two caught in the headlights. When they clearly had no idea of how to answer any of the questions, not surprisingly the committee at first appeared dumbstruck, but managed a few comments along the lines of “unacceptable” “staggering” (not in a good way)! and “really disrespectful to the committee”. I would have thought the last comment should have been expanded to the whole country! It is incredibly disrespectful to everyone in the UK. We are paying the huge salaries and pensions of these incompetents and frankly we deserve better and should expect more. It shouldn’t be too much for anyone employed to do a job, to actually have some conception of what they are there for, and what they are supposed to be doing. Otherwise, if they are not up to the job, they should go - and quickly.
This truly was shocking to watch and a terrible indictment of the state of the country and the incompetents running it. I have long thought that we needed a big change to our political system, but surely now the cracks have turned into huge, cavernous holes that can no longer be papered over. Both sides of the House leave me unimpressed and hugely concerned by their lack of ability and add to that, the totally anonymous leader of the Lib Dems, and I certainly don’t feel that I want to vote for any of the current incumbents.
So, with all this in mind, personally I am going to go for a complete change next time I am required to put my cross on a political voting form. I am going to vote for the Reform Party and hope that there will actually be some reform and new thinking. I can’t imagine how it could possibly be any worse than the political pygmies who currently run our country and sit in judgement of how we should live our lives. Frankly the current situation is frightening.