The Bains Agenda

If you watch the news or PMQs, you might think you’re seeing real debate. Politicians shout. Journalists chase soundbites. Big issues are “tackled.” The system looks like it’s functioning.

But it’s not. What you’re seeing is a performance.

The theory of parliament sounds amazing and it is certainly better than a monarchy or a dictator. Blue team vs Red team fight it out in the Commons and all views are heard and its up for you to decide and elections mean we can act on it.

If you watch the news or PMQs you will be sold the idea that you are seeing legitimate debate.

The media follows a similar playbook; here is the news, this is really important and you must consume it or be uninformed.

We pretend anyone can become a politician or journalist if they’re smart and hardworking. That’s a lie.

Journalism is extremely classist and most editors, journalists and people with serious power are not from the places the rest of us are from.

The average wage for a journalist or politician is well below that of the 1% and this is a serious problem because it means they can be controlled and bought.

On a larger level, our media is owned largely by the 1%. So even if a journalist working for the Daily Mail is an average Joe, their boss is not.

Our politicians are no different. Party whips enforce how you should vote and lobbying groups buy them off so some their ‘decisions’ are really just what lobbyists want.

For instance, the Conservatives and Labour party are lobbied by the CFI and LFI respectively; which may go some way to explaining the otherwise irrational support for a foreign entity that seems to dominate our politics.

We live in a system wherein the people who really hold the power are billionaires.

I don’t pretend to have all the answers, but here’s what I do know: until we stop accepting the circus as reality, we’ll stay stuck shouting at the TV and fighting on behalf of politicians who don’t care about us while the 1% runs the show.