Rhymes and Routes: "How They Broke Britain" by James O'Brien

Well, it's getting a bit late to buy any presents for Christmas Day, but if you have time, or, if reading this after Christmas, you might consider buying James O'Brien's latest book: "How They Broke Britain". If you don't know of James, he is a talk show presenter on LBC to whom I listen regularly (if not always all the way through the programme). He has been called "The conscience of liberal Britain" by the New Statesman and I agree with that verdict. Through the rancour of the Brexit debate, the national disgrace of the Johnson years, the insanity of the Liz Truss visit to Downing Street and the present incessant wrangling of the Sunak government, his voice has rung out as a clear, impassioned voice of opposition in this country. In fact, at times it has felt like he is the only voice of opposition in this country. As he is openly detested by a number of Tory politicians, especially Nadine Dorries and Suella Braverman, it testifies to his effectiveness.

His latest book sets out how ten key figures from our political past and present have created the political culture that permeates most of the media, the upper echelons of the Conservative Party and blights the lives of the rest of us. This a culture not simply "right-wing", but has celebrated rule-breaking, endorsed social divisiveness and tolerated outrageous lapses in public behaviour by leading public figures. O'Brien describes his book as "...an attempt to record and explain the creation of an ecosystem in which dishonesty could flourish and facts wither...what was once unthinkable has become almost unremarkable."

The creation of this ecosystem, which, to me, is an accurate description, is related by the stories of ten key individuals, nine of the Right and one of the Left: Rupert Murdoch, Paul Dacre, Andrew Neil, Matthew Eliot, Nigel Farage, David Cameron, Jeremy Corbyn, Dominic Cummings, Boris Johnson and Liz Truss. O'Brien has said of his decision to include Corbyn because : "...he is not in any way responsible for creating the ecosystem in which the awful stuff happened. But the unelectable has to bear some responsibility for the triumph of the unconscionable.” As someone who criticised JC for not making a stronger stand against Brexit, I concur in that verdict. Interestingly, none of the ten accused have yet passed comment or attempted to refute O'Brien's attacks.

As well they might not, as James backs up his attacks with formidable research. He has been criticised, most notably in The Guardian, for not coming up with anything new, but I believe this to be wrong. I have learned, for instance, in the Matthew Eliot chapter, of how widespread is the influence of so-called "think-tanks" (aka right-wing lobby groups) in successive Tory governments. Theresa May, a Remainer, had two advisers who were senior members of Vote Leave. They also have an abiding presence in the press - specifically the Murdoch press. As Hasan Akram comments: "...O’Brien’s revelations about the Murdoch-owned media and the Daily Mail under Paul Dacre certainly deserve to be public knowledge. He demonstrates several links, some of which date back to the Thatcher era, between the interests of the Murdoch press and Conservative Party policy. The way in which ideological and commercial agendas are set above the truth is frankly disgusting."

Perhaps the most entertaining chapter is that about dear old Nigel Farage. NF is shown as a more polished version of Nick Griffin, who tried to make the policies of the British National Party (BNP) more acceptable by toning down their presentation. James sees Nigel Farage as Griffin's successor - "...favouring the same tunes but with subtly different words". During Farage’s schooldays, one of his teachers wrote, in 1981, that a colleague had said that: "...Farage was a fascist, but that was no reason why he would not make a good prefect". In 2016, he played the martyr with a fictional “assassination attempt” in France, foreshadowing his publicity/sympathy seeking antics following the closure of his bank account years later. O'Brien highlights NF's contrived eyewitness accounts of how eastern Europeans were swarming over Britain, and numerous examples are given of his mendacity, as well as his disgusting statement that Brexit had been achieved without a shot being fired, shortly after the murder by shooting of Jo Cox, M.P. This excellent chapter leaves us bewildered at the fact that this man was allowed to appear so often on Question Time and able to exert so much influence over our politics. Farage is responsible for what O’Brien calls the “Faragification” of the Tory Party and its perceptible shift to the far Right.

Another outstanding chapter for me, and I'll bet for all of us, is the chapter on Boris Johnson. O'Brien says of our last but one PM: "He (Johnson) has shown us all exactly what can happen when newspaper editors and proprietors abnegate any responsibility to hold politicians to account." Johnson's promiscuity, as well as his lying, is well known, but O'Brien mentions it in detail as he should. What I did not know about Boris is what an obnoxious snob he was - well into his 20s (and I bet now). The writer, Damian Furniss, was at Oxford with both Bojo and David Cameron. He recalled his first encounter with Boris, in a Facebook post quoted by O'Brien. Furniss was a working class lad with a stammer. On his first visit to Oxford, he encountered Bojo in the college bar: "...his piss-taking was brutal...he mocked my speech impediment, my accent, my school, my dress sense, my haircut, my background, my father's work as farm hand and garage proprietor and my prospects..." Johnson did all this, says Furniss, "...to amuse his posh boy mates". From this utterly believable story, we begin to see the makings of the lying journalist, the indifference to the feelings of others and the overweening sense of privilege that Bojo brought to his political career. Perhaps, though, the most telling points that O'Brien makes is how so many influential figures in the Tory party and the media were ready to forgive his misdemeanours. O'Brien says: "The hypocrisy of Paul Dacre, Charles Moore, Tony Gallagher or any Conservative MP demonising "single mothers" while cheering a politician who made a hobby of creating them is clear".

Now, as I said above, Rachel Cooke, of The Guardian, has written a friendly/critical review of the book which I think needs to be answered. Ms Cooke says: "... I often bridled as I read. In part, this had to do with the book’s material, which mostly isn’t new. Yes, its author has done a lot of reading. But he relies almost entirely for his text on the hard labour – the investigations, and the thinking – of others..."

I think this to be a misplaced criticism, although Ms Cooke is accurate in her comments. Where I part company is to point out that James O'Brien has provided us with an invaluable potted history of all that has gone wrong in our political life. Our memories fade, but, in happier times to come (please!) this excellent book will always refresh our memories of what it was like under the Tories. For the moment, though, we need to eject them from power, and this book will help to spur us on (well, at least me).

Anyone wanting to buy the book now has about six hours of Christmas Eve left to do it. Still, if you are given a voucher, it will make an excellent present for yourself or, if you can get away with it, and you have right-wing Brexiteer relatives, you could give a copy of the book to them and watch their reaction. From a safe distance, of course!