"What have we done to ourselves?" asks Lord Hennessy the constitutional historian. We allowed democracy to inflict this on us. #MarrShow
— Claire Khaw (@ntfem) May 3, 2015
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b05twflg/the-andrew-marr-show-03052015 From 40th minute
Andrew Marr:
Do you think there are circumstances now in which English voters - particularly English Conservative voters - would think "We were robbed - this is not fair"?
Lord Hennessy:
Because of the northerly wind coming from Scotland, which is a great weather-maker in this country - it is quite extraordinary, we haven't really caught up with the degree to which that northerly wind is one of the weather-makers or one the big weather-makers - it could produce a lot of resentment on the part of the English. who will feel that we are 80% of the country, we have 80% of economic activity and we have this endless drizzle of complaint from north of the Cheviots.
Andrew Marr:
Really, what is going on in this election is that Ed Miliband and David Cameron are competing to see which of them could be the last Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
Lord Hennessy:
I find that very difficult to contemplate, but you could be right. We didn't have any of this in the early post war years. We knew what Brits were, and Brits did things together and Brits stood firm. It's not like that any more and I do regret it, and I hadn't foreseen it, you know. I hadn't foreseen the degree to which this most stable of political societies ... well, you have the occasional domestic row really where liberal capitalism jostled with social democracy as the basis of the electoral contest would be so complicated that we would even be contemplating the last Prime Minister of the UK. What have we done to ourselves?"
Like the Catholic Church selling indulgences, New Labour sold the idea of devolution to the Scots and Welsh in return for a few miserable terms of government, that was what happened.
When Lord Macmillan was telling Margaret Thatcher off for selling the family silver, he hadn't even seen the half of it.
Listen to Paddy O'Donnell talking about "war-gaming". This is not a game, unless you get your kicks playing Russian Roulette.
But that is what democracy is - playing Russian Roulette.
How the operation of democracy lost the British their empire
Ah well, and you've managed to blow your brains out too.
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xnedpq_russian-roulette-from-the-deer-hunter-1978_shortfilms
This is quite a change of tune from what he was saying on 29 April 2015. Perhaps the quick word I had with him helped made him change his mind, when I told him that all the little people want is to feel well-governed. That really is the first and most important principle of good government, not any of this democracy shit.
38th minute
Hennessy talks about how the money markets will get very jumpy.
Can one change a leader of a party in order to get a leader who would command the confidence of the House?
1:10th minute
Catherine Haddon says it is possible in theory, though not politically possible. Hennessy says getting a leader within 14 days would be "an act of assassination". It is possible that some Tories may find the idea of shooting David Cameron in the head irresistibly attractive.
1:13th minute
Hennessy expounds on his "good chap" theory of government.
At 1:31st minute Hennessy says:
"We have a great conceit in this country that we think is justified: that we are 59th minute and 11th hour people and somehow at the last minute, we'll find a cunning plan of Baldrickian proportions to resolve these problems and the good chap theory will hold."
An example of Baldrick's cunning plans:
Happy voting everyone!
Lord Hennessy gives a lecture on some of the closest election results of the late 20th century. http://t.co/HlawUFvgvu #GE2015 #ElectionDay
— British Academy (@britac_news) May 7, 2015
