Who Is Running The Country?

The two moments we had to change the direction of this country passed under two Conservative administrations, the third, Brexit happened outside of the political area at Westminster the focus being centred on UKiP's twenty plus year campaign to resist the slide into European Superstate.

Two Revolutionary figures entered the political area; Steve Hilton served as political advisor to David Cameron, but ran into conflict with Sir Jeremy John Heywood, Baron Heywood of Whitehall, the most powerful man that you have never heard of, he combined so many roles , including being Head of the 400 000 strong Civil Service and Cabinet Secretary. Cameron was reputed to have once said to have said ‘who is running this country, Jeremy, you or me? This same Heywood left the civil service 2003 in the wake of the Hutton Inquiry, where it emerged that he said he had never minuted meetings in the Prime Ministerial offices about David Kelly - a job he was required to do. As an insider he was able to side back into power within five years.

Hilton was a radical thinker and populist. Cameron, when faced with the choice between Hilton and Heywood who had politicised the Civil Service, Cameron ‘let go‘ Hilton. Hilton has now moved to the US and become an American citizen, though he did return to support the Leave campaign, despite his personal relationship with Cameron.

The second moment was the inclusion of Dominic Cummings in Boris Johnson’s power structure. His role was to take on the Civil Service ‘the blob’.

Dominic Cummings, his reputation was made by the Brexit vote. There could be no greater example of how a reform which will change Britain for ever was achieved not by internal Whitehall or institutional pressure but by the opposite. It was only when a new, external tool – a referendum – was introduced that Brexit became possible.

Like Cameron before him, Johnson backed the blue rinsed establishment and Cummings was out. But anybody who sat through the six and half hour testimony to the select committee would not be surprised to know the utter scale and depth of the bumbling incompetence of the Johnson’s administration, and the utter condemnation of Hancock.

Douglas Carswell crossed the floor to become UKIP’s only elected MP, his personal following in his constituency guaranteed his election. His fraught relationship with Farage meant he has also left the country to live in the United States.

Can this country carry on having radical thinkers ousted by grey anonymous men who exercise great power, but have no constituency to answer to? This party believes not, and we stand for radical reform, a written Constitution that fetters Government and the entrenched Civil Servants.

Andrew Withers FRSA