The Abolition of Britain: From Winston Churchill to Princess Diana by Peter Hitchens

encounter books ^ | 2005 | Peter Hitchens

[kalee]

Thanks for posting this very interesting assessment.

[Mr Ramsbotham]

To partake of the pop culture is one thing, but when you define your political existence by it, your country's doomed.

[Mr Ramsbotham]

Just an afterthought: the author looks upon superficial aspects of British life such as language, dress and sexuality (things bound to metamorphose with time) as causes of what he views as Britain's decline, when in effect they are the merest symptoms of the true cause, which is, in a word, socialism.

[nopardons]

bttt

[libs_kma]

bookmark for later

[rcocean]

Good article, even though the British have been writing about the decline of Britain since 1902.

My guess, based on nothing, is that the average Britain is wealthier, happier, and has more freedom than ever.

Society as a whole may have its problems but Brittan has never been more wealthy or secure.

The Tories have the same problem that Repubs in NY have.
Once the social conservatives leave, or change to social liberals, you become a permanent minority.

There aren't enough country club conservatives to win elections. Get rid of the "horrible religious right" and you're left with Christie Todd Whtiman and 35% of the electorate. And supporting massive and cheap immigration doesn't help.

[rcocean]

Good article, even though the British have been writing about the decline of Britain since 1902.

My guess, based on nothing, is that the average Britain is wealthier, happier, and has more freedom than ever.

Society as a whole may have its problems but Brittan has never been more wealthy or secure.

The Tories have the same problem that Repubs in NY have.
Once the social conservatives leave, or change to social liberals, you become a permanent minority.

There aren't enough country club conservatives to win elections. Get rid of the "horrible religious right" and you're left with Christie Todd Whtiman and 35% of the electorate. And supporting massive and cheap immigration doesn't help.

[MoralSense]

b

[Godebert]

" My guess, based on nothing, is that the average Britain is wealthier, happier, and has more freedom than ever."

Wealthier? Perhaps.

Happier? Doubtful.

More freedom than ever? Not true. Take for instance the right to keep and bear arms....which for the British has been all but completely eliminated.

The British have become more "subjects" to the socialist state than they ever were to any monarch.

[Godebert]

The two Britains which faced each other in April 1997 were utterly alien to one another and unfairly matched. One was old and dying, treasuring values and ideas which stretched back into a misty past. One was new and hardly born, clinging just as fiercely to its own values of classlessness, anti-racism, sexual inclusiveness and licence, contempt for the nation state, dislike of deference, scorn for restraint and incomprehension for the web of traditions and prejudices which were revered by the other side. Culturally, Labour had been in power for years and, as a result, its leaders and supporters always seemed enraged that they were not also in control of the government. The final years of the Tories were marked by an almost fanatical fury among Leftists against the rather pitiful figures of the Tory leadership. Cartoons in left-wing papers portrayed John Major as a decomposing corpse. One particular Labour election broadcast, which would have warmed the heart of Josef Goebbels, showed speeded-up footage of some of the uglier Tory leaders, cruelly edited and set to mocking music. The broadcast, which also contained a blatant lie about Tory pension plans, was filled with the righteous hatred which revolutionaries feel towards those they plan to overthrow. If anybody had been in doubt that the new government viewed the Tories as enemies rather than as opponents, that broadcast would have warned them of what was coming.

I remember when Diana died and the sickening popular and leftist reference to her as "The People's Princess". Much of what has transpired with the schizm between the Tories and Labour is applicable to our own country's politics.

[toadthesecond]

Take for instance the right to keep and bear arms....which for the British has been all but completely eliminated.

To be honest, the vast majority of the British population don't care. In my own case, in my 45 years as a resident of the UK I have met one person who has shown the slightest interest in firearms.

[leprechaun9]

Let's see elections in the United States were influenced by whether or not the candidate wore boxers (not the senator) or briefs; whether or not he placed Astroturf in the back of his pick up; whether or not he played the saxophone; how charasmatic he looked on TV.

When these life threatening decisions become factors in elections, what does that say about the gullibility of the voters?

[ken5050]

Excellent essay. About the only minor disagreement I'd have with the author, is rather than starting his thesis at the time of Churchill's funeral, I'd move it back a decade, to when the Brits threw Winnie out of office right after the war, when he had just saved the country and their collective rears..

[leprechaun9]

I believe Peter Hitchens is the brother of Christopher Hitchens. About a year ago, C-Spam carried a broadcast of a debate between the two of them. It was one of the best debates I have seen broadcast.

[celebrate88]

The Brits maybe wealthier due to the "exchange rate" but they are not happier. Here in central Florida just in my area 25% of the population are Brits who moved here to become "American". They come to Central Florida buy a house, buy a business from an American, hire only Americans and then send their children to universities in America. They move here because of the American Dream of owning property and developing a business. They state it is impossible to do this in the UK and with the exchange rate the pound makes it possible to escape. Somedays it is odd to come home and see teens playing cricket instead of flag football at the park. The negative has been the inflation of real estate prices in our area because they know the Brits will buy it because to them everything is half off. If the pound crashes then the real estate in Florida will also drop.

[UltraKonservativen]

in my 45 years as a resident of the UK I have met one person who has shown the slightest interest in firearms....

The issue with the second amendment of the Constitution is not wether you want to own a fireman BUT THAT YOUR RIGHT TO DO SO CANNOT, MUST NOT BE IMPEDED. Not all supporters of the right to bear arms own guns.
The day may come (consider the ever growing islamofacist threat in various European countries including Britain) when having a firearm might save your life. On that particular day you will show "an interest in firearms."
It is hard to believe that a "benevolent Government" could turn evil but history clearly shows it has happened many times before.

It may sound a bit corny or simplistic but "The second amendment is the reset button on the Constitution".

[Huber]

ping

[lainde]

Very thoughtful assessment. I hadn't realized the magnitude of the change. They don't seem to have a young, aggressive conservative class that is willing to challenge the assault on the family, deal with the rising crime rate, capitulation to the EU, lousy medical system etc. Of course we're struggling with many of the the same issues here. After reading this article, as an American, I'm feeling vaguely "guilty" (LOL).

[Jim Noble]

In my own case, in my 45 years as a resident of the UK I have met one person who has shown the slightest interest in firearms.

You will meet the second someday.

At the worst possible time, in the worst possible way.