https://nationalliberal.org/feed

Wednesday, 25 March 2026

Category » Articles

Some Climate Change Deniers Are Like The Flat Earth Brigade!
.
MANY PEOPLE BELIEVE that politics simply consists of making as much noise as possible via demonstrations, pickets and so on.  Whilst various forms of street activism are important, they’re not the be all & end all of politics.
.
In fact, it’s probably true to say that more than enough serious political work goes on behind the scenes, as opposed to on the streets.  Indeed,  well disciplined & orderly large-scale street activities simply wouldn’t take place if it wasn’t for backroom planning.
.
But working behind the scenes is not as exciting – or ‘glamourous’ – as taking part in demonstrations.  Therefore, many people are put off by what are viewed as boring & repetitive administrative tasks.
.
It could be argued that writing letters to the press – especially the local press – falls under this category.  Nevertheless, it remains a great way of getting National Liberal points of view across to the public and/or promoting constructive & respectful debate.
.
An example of this is reproduced below.
.
Here, Brent Cheetham, the NLPs well-known Councillor for Cuffley (in Hertfordshire) managed to get a letter published yesterday in the Hertfordshire Mercury under their banner headline of Some Climate Change Deniers Are Like The Flat Earth Brigade!  
.
Hopefully, this form of respectful public engagement will help promote the ongoing debate about climate change.
.

Dear Sirs,
 
In my humble view Mr Jeremy Hall asks some valid questions regarding some folks’ attitude to “climate change” and the environment.
 
At one time there was great opposition to having plumbed in hot and cold running water to our houses. Something taken nowadays for granted and something that the health of the country has greatly improved due to better sanitation.
 
There were protest meetings held across the country as to the imposition of this much needed improvement to the nation’s health and well-being.
 
And just like some of the so-called climate change deniers, such folk even refused to acknowledge that there was a problem even though such a problem was held in plain sight.
 
Most folk nowadays just laugh at the opposition to plumbed in water, and the most famous saying at the time against plumbed in water was “If you give baths to the working class, they will only use it to store coal.” 
 
Probably most folk of my generation will be pushing up daisies before climate change has a real impact on us?
 
This is beside the point, as what we should be thinking about is not ourselves but future generations and not the short-term benefits that fossil fuels can provide. We need to discuss our over reliance on such fuels.
 
Some of the more extreme climate change deniers remind me of that small group of individuals who still claim the earth is flat. My guess and hope is that future generations will just laugh at those folk today who refuse to move on and are just stuck in the rut of the past. Are they becoming just part of the cultural residue of a bygone age?  
Share:
  • Print
  • Digg
  • StumbleUpon
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Yahoo! Buzz
  • Twitter
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Add to favorites
  • blogmarks
  • Blogosphere
  • Google Buzz
  • PDF
  • email
  • Live
  • MSN Reporter
  • MyShare
  • MySpace
  • Technorati
  • Webnews.de

Date: February 9, 2026

Categories: Articles

Electoral Reform In Westminster
.
THE ELECTORAL Reform Society (ERS) describes itself as ‘an independent organisation leading the campaign for your democratic rights.’ 
 
It was formed way back in 1884 as the Proportional Representation Society.  Here, academics, parliamentarians and members of the legal profession discussed the inadequacies of – and sought solutions to – the voting system. 
 
Nearly 150 years later they are still leading the charge for electoral reform.  It’s clear to all fair-minded people that the current ‘First Past The Post’ (FPTP) is actually undemocratic.  But what should replace it?
 
To answer this, our attention was recently drawn to this interesting article – the original of which can be found here https://electoral-reform.org.uk/campaigns/electoral-reform/ – from the ERS.
 
It’s no secret that the National Liberal Party prefers the voting system known as Proportional Representation (PR).  However, we’re more than happy to look at other systems such as the Single Transferable Vote (STV) as advocated by the ERS.  In short, anything has to be better than FPTP!
 
It goes without saying that there are no links between the Electoral Reform Society & the National Liberal Party.  As usual, we’ve posted this article up to stimulate debate.  Readers can comment on the NLP Facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/NationalLiberalParty – or the National Liberals Facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/groups/52739504313
 
.

Electoral Reform In Westminster

The way we elect our MPs is not fit for purpose 

.
GENERAL ELECTIONS are supposed to be the big events that allow us all to influence the direction the country will take over the next few years. Everyone has an equal voice in their vote, and the ensuring government can pass laws in our name, on the basis that we elected it.
 
But that’s not what happens.
 
The way we elect MPs to Westminster means that our parliament doesn’t represent Britain.
.
The link between how popular a party is at the polling booth and how many seats they get in the House of Commons is weak and unpredictable – and only gets more chaotic the more parties there are. This means that the issues that are important in Westminster aren’t the same as the issues the public feels strongly about.
.
When Parliament doesn’t represent public opinion, it has a real impact on life in Britain – it’s time we made sure seats matched votes to put voters back in control.
.
GENERAL ELECTIONS
.
In 2024 Labour won 63% of the seats in parliament on just 33.7% of the vote
.
In 2019, the Conservative Party turned 43.6% of the vote into 56.2% of the seats in parliament.
.
In 2017, the Conservatives had a lead of 2.5% in the popular vote over Labour, yet nearly had enough MPs to govern alone.
.
In 2015, The Greens and UKIP won nearly five million votes but received just two seats between them.
.
MAJOR ISSUES CAN BE DISREGARDED
.
The way we elect MPs to Westminster means that politicians can ignore major issues.
.
People who vote for candidates who don’t get elected aren’t represented at all. In the 2024 General Election, 58% of voters in the UK (1) ended up with an MP they didn’t vote for. But votes that stack up for winning candidates don’t make a difference either. Once a candidate has enough votes to win, any extra doesn’t make them win more.
.
Millions of people voted yet had no influence on the outcome. The issues they care about can be easily tossed aside, to be only dealt with when they are too much to ignore.
.
This isn’t inevitable. Most parliaments around the world use systems that mean they have to work on the major issues the public care about – because voters are in charge. You can find out about different ways of choosing MPs in our Voting Systems (2) section.
.
AN ENGINE OF INSTABILITY
.
The foundation of political stability is popular support – something not needed under our winner takes all system that sees parties handed large unearned majorities, and the power that comes with them, on minority support.
.
No party has won a majority of the vote in a UK general election in almost a century, yet due to First Past the Post we have near-constant single-party governments setting the rules for everyone. Our parliaments never represent the views of the public, allowing small cliques to dominate the political agenda.
.
Governments in the UK are like castles built on sand.
.
FOSTERING DIVISION BETWEEN US
.
Westminster’s voting system artificially divides the country, polarising us rather than allowing us to come together. While the results map can only have one colour per constituency, in reality, you’ll never find a town where everyone is the same.
.
Westminster’s one-person-takes all system makes everything black and white, hiding the many areas of agreement. Every issue becomes a stick to defeat an opponent, rather than something to be solved to the advantage of all.
.
It’s impossible for one MP to represent everyone in their constituency – which is why in most countries around the world you get a group of MPs for each area (3), representing the mix of opinions in that area. That’s the core idea of proportional representation – opinions in society are represented in proportion to their numbers.
.
NO GUARANTEE OF THE RIGHT WINNER
. 
Westminster’s First Past the Post electoral system normally delivers governments the majority didn’t vote for, but it also sometimes puts parties in power, even if they came second in the popular vote.
.
In 1951 48.8% of voters wanted a Labour government and 48% wanted a Conservative government. Yet there was a Conservative majority (4). And in the February election of 1974, Labour won 301 seats to 297 for the Conservatives – despite the Conservatives beating Labour in votes by 0.7%.
.
First Past the Post is the worst possible system for electing our representatives. We want to see the Single Transferable Vote, a fairer, more proportional voting system (5) that makes seats match votes – and means no one’s voice is ignored.
. 
Share:
  • Print
  • Digg
  • StumbleUpon
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Yahoo! Buzz
  • Twitter
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Add to favorites
  • blogmarks
  • Blogosphere
  • Google Buzz
  • PDF
  • email
  • Live
  • MSN Reporter
  • MyShare
  • MySpace
  • Technorati
  • Webnews.de

Date: January 26, 2026

Categories: Articles

‘Might Is Right’ Is Wrong
.
WHAT SHOULD WE make of the latest headline grabbing adventure brought to us by the US military–industrial complex?   Here, the events of 3rd January in Venezuela will probably soon feature in the Guinness Book of Records as the quickest regime change in history.
 
With President Nicolás Moros & his wife behind bars, Delcy Rodríguez is acting president.  However, her hands are tied. She’ll have to do as she’s told by the US. 
 
We’ve maintained for a long time that US President Trump is a National Capitalist & everything is about making money.   Thus, his mentality leads him to believe that everyone and everything is seen as a ‘commodity’ to be bought and sold for a price.
 
Any form of capitalism requires three elements to function – cheap labour, an ever-expanding market & raw materials.  By a sheer co-incidence, Venezuela has the largest oil reserves in the world, the ninth-largest natural gas reserves, and vast untapped minerals including gold (1).
 
Trump has previously talked about taking the US down a non-interventionalist path. However, now he’s acting as a frontman for Washington-Wall Street internationalist interests.  (Why the change in direction – is there some sort of powerplay going on behind the scenes?)  For the moment, however, it seems that greed and the need to acquire yet more global power & wealth is winning.
 
To try and make more sense of what’s happening in Venezuela –we reproduce an article – the original of which can be found here https://www.paulembery.com/p/might-is-right-is-wrong – by Paul Embery, which appeared yesterday. 
 
Embery became a member of the Labour Party in the early 90s.  He’s also a trade union activist (with the Fire Brigades Union – FBU).  His views are probably best described as a form of patriotic & traditional working-class socialism.  We’ve also reproduced his article as part of our ongoing strategy of promoting debate, particularly between those who hold alternative & non-conformist points of view.
 
It goes without saying that there are no links between Paul Embery, the Labour Party, the FBU & the National Liberal Party.
.

‘Might Is Right’ Is Wrong   

 

Civilisation itself rests on the principle that the strong must not be given licence to attack the weak

.

Photo: Molly Riley, via Wikimedia Commons

.

I NEVER cease to be amazed at how members of our political elite doggedly refuse to learn the lessons of history. Worse, some of them appear to have no knowledge of the past beyond the previous fortnight.
.
How else might we explain the support shown by certain voices for the decision by President Trump to bomb Venezuela, seize its sitting president, Nicolás Maduro, and effectively turn the country into a US colony?
. 
Let me stress that, while I am on the left, I am not blind to the socialist Maduro’s misdeeds. There is strong evidence that he stole the 2024 presidential election, and that crime alone would be reason enough for Venezuelans to want rid of him.
.
But who decreed that the White House should act as the planet’s law enforcement agency? What gives Trump the right to launch a military assault on another sovereign nation – one that posed no clear and present threat to the US – without consulting the United Nations, fellow world leaders or even his own Congress?
 
We’ve seen this movie many times. US-led interventions in places such as Afghanistan and Iraq became wars of attrition before ending up as military and political catastrophes. Similarly, the 2011 US-backed Libyan escapade – almost entirely ignored by the political and media classes these days – sparked a seismic migration crisis which plagued Europe for years thereafter.
.
The pretext for such interventions is usually the liberation of an oppressed population and the promotion of democracy and human rights. The reality, however, is that the US has a grubby history of collaboration with despotic and corrupt regimes across the globe. It’s just that those regimes happen to serve its interests in a way that the Maduros of this world don’t. ‘Realpolitik’, they call it. Utter hypocrisy, I say.
 
We should, I suppose, at least commend Trump for not trying to fool us with guff about defending democracy and human rights in Venezuela. On the contrary, he was searingly honest in his admission that this intervention was all about oil and strategic advantage. He is plainly willing to use the mighty war machine at his disposal in the service of a new American imperialism, and he doesn’t care who knows it. Greenland, an autonomous territory of NATO-member Denmark, is next on the hit list – and that’s when the balloon will really go up.
.
(1) https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/1/8/what-resources-does-venezuela-have-apart-from-the-worlds-most
Share:
  • Print
  • Digg
  • StumbleUpon
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Yahoo! Buzz
  • Twitter
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Add to favorites
  • blogmarks
  • Blogosphere
  • Google Buzz
  • PDF
  • email
  • Live
  • MSN Reporter
  • MyShare
  • MySpace
  • Technorati
  • Webnews.de

Date: January 12, 2026

Categories: Articles

More About Mondragón

Left: José María Arizmendiarrieta (1915-1976) provided the vision for – and was the driving force behind – the Mondragón Corporation, which is situated in the Basque Country. Centre: A female worker employed at the Mondragón Corporation headquarters building. Right: A male production worker at one of the many co-operatives that make up the Mondragón Corporation. Picture credits can be found under our article

.

EARLY last month we looked at José María Arizmendiarrieta, who was the founder of the Mondragón Corporation (which is situated in the Basque Country).
 
He arrived in Mondragón in February 1941.  Just two years later he established a technical school (now part of Mondragón University) to train young workers in skills like engineering.  From here, in 1956, he encouraged five graduates to establish the first industrial co-operative in Mondragón.
.
HUMBLE BEGINNINGS
. 
From these humble beginnings the Mondragón Corporation grew to become the largest worker co-operative network in the world.
.
To this day, it’s still rooted in – and strictly adheres to – its core objectives.  They include worker ownership, democratic governance, solidarity, and social responsibility.  All this is done whilst competing globally in various sectors including industry, finance, retail & knowledge.
.
The latest available statistics that we’ve come across (from 2024) are very impressive:
.
  • Employment: Over 70,000 workers worldwide (approximately 30,660 in the Basque Country, 29,340 in the rest of Spain, and nearly 10,000 abroad). Around 85% in core co-operatives are member-owners.
.
  • Sales/Revenue:  €11.213 billion in 2024 (a 1.6% increase from 2023’s €11.056 billion).
.
  • Profitability:  Net profit of €632 million. Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortisation (EBITDA) up 11.8% to €1.661 billion.
.
  • Investments:  €377 million in 2024, contributing to €1.692 billion over the past five years.
.
  • Structure:  The Mondragón Corporation is comprised of approximately 81 core co-operatives.
.
The above statistics remind us of the well-known saying, ‘From little acorns, mighty oaks grow.’  As we’ve previously noted, the Mondragón Corporation grew from José María Arizmendiarrieta’s vision of a social economy based on co-operation.
.
LEADING FORCE
.
From very humble beginnings it’s grown to become Spain’s 10th-largest business group and a leading force in the Basque economy.
.
It generates wealth through competitive enterprises in manufacturing (producing the likes of appliances, vehicle components & machine tools), retail (Eroski supermarkets), finance (Laboral Kutxa bank), and education/research (Mondragon University).
.
Interestingly, the failure rate of co-operatives is very low (historically around 5%).  And when co-operatives do fail, the workers tend to get new jobs very quickly.
.
SOCIAL IMPACT
.
It’s also interesting to look at the social impact of these co-operatives:
.
  • Worker Democracy and Equity: One-person-one-vote governance.  Pay ratios are capped between 3:1 to 9:1 (with the average being 5-6:1). This is way below the typical corporate CEO-to-worker gaps. (Incredibly, this can be up to & over 300:1.)
.
  • Solidarity Mechanisms: Inter-cooperation funds support struggling co-ops. This minimises layoffs.  The fund also provides internal relocation/unemployment benefits.
.
  • Community Commitment: There is an intense focus on job creation, education, and local development within the Basque Country.  (It should also be noted that the Basque Country has lower than average unemployment than the rest of Spain.) Initiatives promote growth, talent attraction, and alliances for social transformation.
. 
  • Sustainability and Innovation:  Mondragón aligns with the UNs Sustainable Development Goals. This places emphasis on the circular economy, digitalisation, AI, and reducing any impact on the environment. Projects here include energy cooperatives, Research & Development in green tech, as well as commitments to health and local products. The Mondragón Corporation invests heavily in innovation (for instance, there are well over 2,000 R&D staff) and has launched initiatives like MONDRAGON Sostenible for sustainable transitions.
.
With the above in mind, it’s probably safe to say that both José María Arizmendiarrieta and the Mondragón Corporation remain an inspiration to many people around the world.
.
We National Liberals are deeply interested in alternative economic systems. And we’re fascinated by Mondragón in particular, as it’s a practical & visible example of where a co-operative benefits both the workforce & local community.
 
Picture Credits:
 
José María Arizmendiarrieta:  https://revistacentinela.es/el-cura-que-creo-un-imperio-cooperativo/
 
Female worker:  https://www.mondragon-corporation.com/en/headquarters/
 
Male production worker:  https://www.abc.es/economia/abci-corporacion-mondragon-tenemos-desigualdad-menor-finlandia-gracias-cooperativismo-201904280214_noticia.html?ref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.abc.es%2Feconomia%2Fabci-corporacion-mondragon-tenemos-desigualdad-menor-finlandia-gracias-cooperativismo-201904280214_noticia.html

 

Share:
  • Print
  • Digg
  • StumbleUpon
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Yahoo! Buzz
  • Twitter
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Add to favorites
  • blogmarks
  • Blogosphere
  • Google Buzz
  • PDF
  • email
  • Live
  • MSN Reporter
  • MyShare
  • MySpace
  • Technorati
  • Webnews.de

Date: January 5, 2026

Categories: Articles

Who Was José María Arizmendiarrie?

.

José María Arizmendiarrie (1915 – 1976) was the founder of the Mondragón Corporation. Based in the Basque Country, it is the world’s largest worker cooperative network.
Picture Credit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/José_María_Arizmendiarrieta#/media/File:José_María_Arizmendiarrieta.jpg Fair Use.

EARLY LAST MONTH we featured a brief article called Worker Co-Operatives & The Mondragón Corporation.  It noted, in passing, that this ‘federation of worker cooperatives, was founded in 1956 by a Catholic priest named José María Arizmendiarrieta.’

 
Arizmendiarrieta strongly believed in the values of solidarity, democracy, and education as fundamental pillars for building a more equitable society. Thanks to his vision and leadership, the Mondragón Group has become one of the largest cooperative groups in the world, demonstrating that it is possible to combine business efficiency with social responsibility.
 
So who was José María Arizmendiarrieta & what inspired him to create a series of co-operatives in this part of the Basque Country?
 
José María Arizmendiarrieta was born on 22nd April, 1915, in the Barinaga neighborhood of Markina-Xemein (Biscay province) in the Basque Country.  His surname is sometimes shortened to Arizmendi or spelt slightly differently (like Arizmendiarrie).
 
He was the eldest of four siblings.  As a child he lost the sight in one eye due to a accident. He entered the seminary at age 12 and was ordained in 1941.
.
During the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939), he worked as a journalist for Basque-language publications on the Republican side (but avoided direct combat).
 
POSTWAR POVERTY
 
Arizmendiarrieta came to Mondragón in 1941.  He was a parish curate and youth chaplain for Catholic Action.  In this role, he addressed postwar poverty and lack of opportunities by promoting technical education and community initiatives.
 
(Catholic Action itself was a worldwide lay movement in the Catholic Church.  It was particularly active in the early to mid-20th century.  Its purpose was to encourage ordinary Catholics to participate more actively in the Church’s mission and social teachings.  In Spain, Catholic Action focused on promoting education, charity, and social justice.  It often worked through parish groups and youth organisations to address the needs of local communities.  It also supported moral and spiritual development. The movement played a significant role in community rebuilding and social outreach, particularly in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War.)
.
As a priest and social thinker, he dedicated his life to promoting a social economy and cooperation.  He believed that community development would create social justice in the Basque Country.
 
His efforts led to the creation of numerous industrial, educational, and financial cooperatives.  This led to the Mondragón area becoming an internationally recognised model of cooperative success.
 
Indeed, in 1943 – just two years after he’d arrived – Arizmendiarrieta established a professional technical school (now part of Mondragón University) to train young workers in skills like engineering.
 
FIRST CO-OPERATIVE
 
In 1956, he encouraged five graduates – from the technical school he’d set up – to found first industrial co-operative in Mondragón.  It was called  ULGOR, and produced stoves & household appliances, such as cookers and heaters.
(ULGOR was an acronym formed from the surnames of its five founders: Usatorre, Larrañaga, Gorroñogoitia, Ormaetxea, and Ortubay.)
                                                            
Over time, the co-operative expanded its production to include a wider range of domestic appliances, including washing machines, refrigerators, and other kitchen equipment.
 
ULGOR grew into a major cooperative within the Mondragón Corporation. This pioneering co-operative marked the beginning of what would later become a vast network of worker-owned enterprises in the Basque Country.
 
This diversification also helped establish ULGOR – which later became part of Fagor – become one of the largest producers of home appliances in Spain and beyond.
.
In 1959, Arizmendiarrieta helped to create Caja Laboral Popular (a cooperative bank).  Its main objective was to provide economic support and banking services to the region’s emerging cooperatives.  Financing further cooperatives led to a rapid growth in manufacturing, finance, retail, and education.
 
SOLIDARITY & SOCIAL ECONOMY
 
Unlike traditional banks, its model was based on the democratic participation of its members and the reinvestment of profits into the local community.  Caja Laboral Popular therefore strengthen the values of solidarity and the social economy that existed – and still exists – in Mondragón.
.
All of his work was inspired by encyclicals like Rerum Novarum and Quadragesimo Anno.  In total contrast to both capitalism and state socialism, Arizmendiarrieta emphasised worker dignity, solidarity, democratic management, and co-operation.  His model prioritised human development, job creation, and equitable wealth distribution.
.
(Encyclicals are formal letters or teaching documents issued by the Pope, typically addressed to the bishops of the Catholic Church and, by extension, to the wider faithful. They are used to communicate important teachings, clarify doctrine, or address pressing social, moral, or theological issues. Encyclicals often serve as authoritative guidance on matters of faith and social responsibility within the Catholic tradition.)
.
José María Arizmendiarrieta died on 29th November, 1976.  He will always remembered as the founder of – and spiritual inspiration behind – the Mondragón Corporation, the world’s largest worker cooperative network.
Share:
  • Print
  • Digg
  • StumbleUpon
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Yahoo! Buzz
  • Twitter
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Add to favorites
  • blogmarks
  • Blogosphere
  • Google Buzz
  • PDF
  • email
  • Live
  • MSN Reporter
  • MyShare
  • MySpace
  • Technorati
  • Webnews.de

Date: December 6, 2025

Categories: Articles

The Real Problem Which Blights Our Prison & Punishment System
THERE’S AN old saying that goes something along the lines of ‘before we conform, or condemn, let us at least be curious.’  We like this saying as it effectively sets a challenge for everyone.  It suggests that we expose ourselves to ideas that – in some cases – are maybe diametrically opposed to our own.
 
We National Liberals have been doing this for many years now.  And, as we never tire of reminding or readers, we do this for two main reasons:
 
Firstly, we’re building a safe space for honest, open & respectful debate.  Secondly – and very importantly – we’re creating a culture of trying to understand where others & their ideas are coming from.  
 
With the above in mind, we reproduce an article about crime & punishment.  The Real Problem Which Blights Our Prison & Punishment System was published earlier this month on a blog called The Empty City.  It describes itself as ‘independent commentary on law and policy from a liberal constitutionalist and critical perspective.’  The article was written by D A Green, a former legal correspondent for the New Statesman.
 
Our attention was drawn to this article – the original of which you can find here https://emptycity.substack.com/p/the-real-problem-which-blights-our –  because of its thought provoking & non-conformist nature.  We were particularly impressed by the way it takes a complex subject matter and breaks it down into short & easily understandable sentences. 
 
We also liked the way that it challenged a lot of – what we believe to be – preconceived ideas from the reactionary ‘Hang ’em and flog ’em brigade.’  We feel that we need to get to the root cause of problems – as opposed to just looking at the symptoms.  Therefore, we’d urge everyone to read this article carefully as there’s a lot of food for thought here.  
 
It goes without saying that there are no links between the National Liberal Party, D A Green or The Empty City. 

.

The Real Problem Which Blights Our Prison & Punishment System

 

The way we think about custodial sentences is what needs to change

.

Today’s news is about prisons:

.

.

 

*
Let us take a step back.
.
There is a serious addiction problem which blights our prison and punishment system.

The relevant addicts only make it worse for themselves and for everyone else.

.
And they never seem any nearer to breaking free from the cycles of despair and misery.
.
The addiction, of course, is that of our political and media classes to custodial sentences.
.
*
.
There are long-term, medium-term and short-term problems with our prisons.
.
*
.
The short-term problem is the general lack of funding, lack of direction and lack of thought about how to manage the prison estate. At the moment this general mess is breaking through into the national news because of mistaken prisoner releases.
.
But those mistaken releases – treated by many in media and politics as a gotcha against the government – are in merely obvious manifestations of the ongoing chaotic and dangerous conditions of our penal system.
.
*
.
The medium-term problem, at least in England and Wales, is the structural craziness of having the prison system as part of the ministry of justice, a small department (also responsible for courts and probation) that has little or no political gravity in Whitehall.
.
The decision of the Blair government in 2005 to create a “holistic” (vomit) MoJ by taking prisons and probation out of the Home Office and lumping it with the former Lord Chancellor’s department has led to our prisons being inherently underfunded ever since.
.
The Blair government made many bad decisions, but this is one of less famous but far more consequential ones.
.
*
.
The long-term problem is the fundamental assumption in our politics that the norm for punishment should be lengthy (and expensive) terms of imprisonment.
.
It is a fairly recent notion in historical terms, and only really came about in the early 1800s, after the general moral turn against corporal and capital punishments and the practical turn against transportation.
.
As I once put in a paragraph of which I am still proud:
.
“Here is a thought-experiment: imagine that you have asked some mischievous demon to conceive the most counter-productive way of dealing with crime. What fiendish scheme would this diabolic agent devise?
.
“The demon could suggest a system where offenders are kept together with more serious and experienced criminals for months or years, and so can learn from them; where the offender is taken away from any gainful employment and social support or family network; where the offender is put in places where drugs and brutality are rife; where the infliction of a penalty can make the offender more, and not less, likely to re-offend; and where all this is done at extraordinary expense for the taxpayer.
.
“A system, in other words, very much like the prison system we now have in England and Wales, as well as in many other jurisdictions.”
.
.
.
*
.
Perhaps one day, like slavery and witchcraft trials, sensible humane people will wonder why we ever did such a thing.
.
That is not to say there is a group for which detention is appropriate for public protections, and (notwithstanding the sentiments of some other liberals) there is a place for full-life tariffs for certain crimes.
.
But generally prison is a costly system for worsening the social problem of crime.
.
Other than a hundred-or-so prisoners with full-life tariffs, the assumption is that the prisoners will be one day released. It is just a way of delaying a problem.
.
Whatever the solution to crime, it is likely to involve punishments that do not snap and effectively extinguish social, community, family and employment ties – for it is those bonds which are more likely to bind people to more constructive pursuits and lead to meaningful rehabilitation.
.
*
.
But our political and media class are addicted to the bidding war of ever-heavier sentences, and the criminal division of the court of appeal and the sentencing council are content to nod-along with the wants of the addicts.
.
Yet we cannot afford this addiction.
.
We simply do not have the capacity to go along with what is demanded.
And so we get news stories like the ones that are now breaking.
.
Breaking news about a broken system.
Share:
  • Print
  • Digg
  • StumbleUpon
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Yahoo! Buzz
  • Twitter
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Add to favorites
  • blogmarks
  • Blogosphere
  • Google Buzz
  • PDF
  • email
  • Live
  • MSN Reporter
  • MyShare
  • MySpace
  • Technorati
  • Webnews.de

Date: November 26, 2025

Categories: Articles

« Older

By continuing to use the site, you agree to the use of cookies. more information

The cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible. If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click "Accept" below then you are consenting to this.

Close