Saturday 30 March 2019

Under The Belt

So Luxembourg is going to be on the Belt and Road, but we are not? So New Zealand is about to sign up to the Belt and Road, but we are not? So we are prepared to be less prosperous or powerful than Luxembourg (population 602,005) or New Zealand (population 4,950,970)? So we are more squeamish than the great liberal heroes, Xavier Bettel and Jacinda Ardern?

Look, this is not about liking the present regime in China. The New Silk Road will be there long after that has gone. At the very least, we need to be able to work for human rights from a position of strength, from a position inside the tent. In any case, this thing is coming, whether we like it or not. We must be on the bus, or we will certainly be under it.

If India tried something similar, well, then, India would be trying something similar, and we would have to be on that bus, too. I write as someone who cannot stand the present Indian Government and who sees little cause for optimism in the alternative, either. But the world is at it is, and the recognition of that fact is the beginning of the effort to make the world as we might wish it to be.

Another hung Parliament is also coming, and we need our people to hold the balance of power in it. It has become a local commonplace that I am on 30-30-30 with Labour and the Conservatives here at North West Durham, so that any one of us could be the First Past the Post. I will stand for this seat, if I can raise the £10,000 necessary to mount a serious campaign. Please email davidaslindsay@hotmail.com. Very many thanks.

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