In his latest newsletter, the British writer Ben Sixsmith trashes William Hague, the former Conservative Party leader, for his soppy managerial Toryism. Excerpt:
Quote:
Now, Hague is announcing that European countries, already experiencing record levels of immigration, should welcome more. It is the "age of migration" and we just have to accept it. Well, perhaps one should respect Hague for grasping the nettle but this doesn't sound like it has even the merest pretence of "conservatism". It's "adaptationism" at very best and an extremely blithe and optimistic variant of it as well. This this is what thirty years in elite right-wing politics will do for you.
Hague grew up in Rotherham and, as a side-note, has never commented on the mass rape of schoolgirls in his old hometown. This is doubly remarkable given that Rotherham's grooming gangs took root when he was Leader of the Opposition. That doesn't mean he was responsible but you'd think he would have noticed. I still think about the one murder I recall happening in Bath.
He now lives on a 2.5 million estate in rural Wales, "set in nearly 13 acres of grounds" with "10 bathrooms and three reception rooms, along with a 'leisure suite' featuring a heated indoor pool, spa pool and fitness suite." Now, this sounds lovely. I don't resent Hague and his successful wife's financial status and if I was in his position I'd buy a **** off big old house as well.
But I can't help wondering about how it feels on those dark Welsh evenings in a house so big he could be comfortable if it was ten times smaller. Perhaps he sometimes thinks about the Britain beyond him declining into a swamp of infrastructural decay and societal mistrust. Does it trouble him? This man who spent decades around the top of politics? Does it bother him?
