Keeping Things Civil

The Midlands Industrial Council sounds like a most admirable body (even if it is daft enough to waste its money on the Tories), just as the trade unions are (even if they are daft enough to waste their money on the Labour Party). Between them, they seem to supply the last clean money left in British politics, which is why Red New Labour wants rid of the former while Red and Blue New Labour alike want rid of the latter. After all, they are examples of a little thing called civil society, which we cannot allow anywhere near politics. Can we? And the shortfall arising from the “transition” to civil society’s exclusion from politics must be made good by the taxpayer. Mustn’t it?