According to a new survey, 66 per cent of 25-34-year-olds ‘favour “strong leaders who do not have to bother with Parliament”’; a quarter think ‘democracy is bad for Britain’, and ‘36 per cent support military rule’, with ‘nearly twice as many voters’ saying ‘they wanted a society that “focuses on giving people more security” rather than one that “focuses on giving people more freedom”. 63 per cent of those questioned believed that ‘“fewer people are getting married because of a decline in family commitment and values”’, and 59 per cent thought that ‘“increases in immigration have had a negative impact on the economy overall”’.
The report’s co-author Will Tanner, formerly a No 10 advisor, said: “‘Most voters are not freedom fighters who want more rampant individualism, a small state and lower taxes”’, while Lord O’Shaughnessy, a former policy director under David Cameron, ‘said this marked “a break with 60 years of liberal consensus”’, and warned that the Tories must deliver Brexit or risk ‘losing five million voters at the next election’, therefore Boris Johnson ‘“needs to deliver Brexit … and to move on from freedom and give these voters the security they crave”’ (‘Millennials favour a strongman in No 10’, Telegraph, August 8, 2019).
The poll was conducted by ‘centre-Right think tank’ Onward, and its findings will no doubt be ‘weaponised’ by the Left as a warning against the rise of fascism. And yet this is the same Left which has helped to stoke such sentiments with their political correctness and bullying ‘tolerance’; who see the family not as the building block of society but as an obstacle to be swept away; who favour open-door immigration and then complain about a shortage of housing and pressures on schools and hospitals. Although no longer exposed to the reality of Soviet Communism, as happened during the Cold War, they have been exposed to social Marxism and clearly do not like it.
And although there are many examples of communism or state socialism – China, North Korea, Vietnam, Venezuela – with the help of a compliant BBC, attention has been diverted from their horrible realities to our own ‘victims’ – the LGBT+ ‘community’ – and green issues, with special horror reserved for the ‘threat’ of Donald Trump, Boris Johnson and ‘the Tories’, Israel, and most important of all, the ‘climate emergency’. Ironically, the ‘choice’ promoted by the Left in regard to personal matters has led younger people to reject compulsory economic ‘solutions’ that lead to poverty ‘for the many’, and eco-fascism that would force people to stop driving, eating meat and having children.
However, in craving a ‘strong man’ to carry out their political wishes there is the danger of getting the wrong sort of strong man – a Hitler or Mussolini, elected on a promise to do the electorate’s bidding but with more dangerous ideas of their own. Electing a Lenin or a Stalin would be little better, and Labour’s John McDonnell has shown his hand in threatening to demand that the Queen dismisses Boris Johnson in the event of him losing a vote of no confidence (see here).
But the answer is not to get rid of the Opposition, or to get rid of Parliament. There will always be those on both sides of the political divide who are impatient with democracy when things are not going their way, but young people need to understand that democracy offers a peaceful way of changing government instead of bloody revolution. They may be turned off by debate – and once again, it is the MPs who refuse to accept the result of the Brexit referendum that are guilty of bringing Parliament into disrepute with their childish antics – but debate is the whole purpose of Parliament, the peaceful alternative to civil war.
The thing to fear is not debate but lack of debate, and they themselves have seen the pernicious results of ‘hate crime’ and ‘de-platforming’ being used to censor and silence debate, with the cooperation of a politicised police force even while we face an epidemic of violent crime.
Some people are tired of politicians disagreeing, but it is even worse when they agree to agree – and Mr McDonnell has Conservative allies in his anti-democratic campaign, notably Dominic Grieve. Coalitions are only justified in time of war – it is when peace-time ‘cross-party’ alliances spring up to defeat democracy that we need to worry.
The young people polled say they want security over freedom. Brexit will give us freedom, both personal and political, and – since we will no longer be tied to Brussels, which sees peace-making as doing nothing and is therefore guaranteed to lead us into war – Brexit should also give us security. At least it will if Boris can be the man who is strong enough to deliver Brexit.
I’d say IT DEPENDS WHEN AND HOW QUESTIONS ARE PUT. Undoubtedly the strong leader not accountable to parliament bit refers to Boris Jonson versus the present shambolic parliament. Security rather than freedom surely refers to our police at the moment being bogged down with political correctness instead of tackling knife crime for instance. Again Boris has already spoken about this. Immigration is straightforward but give Boris a chance hasn’t he backed the ‘points system’ to allow those we want and need. Personally I avoid these opinion polls because I always find questions are slanted to get the preferred answers.
Thank you Ann for a good look upon opinion in this Nation, but it is a very worrying view of what has taken place in the years of membership to Europe’s control ! ….. Two generations have known no other system, other than dictatorial control from Brussels, and for them it is natural. – Acceptance of political nobodies in charge, devoid of Democratic election and accountability, is for them totally normal. This is the unnoticed but very real strength that time gives to error. – Generations that remember when UK/GB was independent with a Parliament of power, are naturally dying off ! That EU referendum was held in 2016, and it would seem to have been just in the nick of time !
Genuine ignorance has also played its part for those on the light side of middle-age. This is not an exclusive clout at the Teachers, as funding in schools and universities is also a factor. ….. This may be difficult for some to grasp, but I remember being ‘Taught’ at school, by example and history. – Today, teaching seems to have morphed into ‘Instruction’, which is quite different. – (I hasten to state that this is not universal thankfully) ! If we then add in the so called p.c. overlay, backed by a ‘New View’ of our Laws in the Courts, is it any wonder that very real disagreement exists between the generations that make up this Nation ?
So, the younger folk want ‘Security’. – That’s good and understandable. – We all want that ! ….. Then they say that they want ‘Freedoms’. – Again, this is what we all want across the generations ! ….. Where the real difference lies, is how we achieve Security and Freedom. Younger folk look to an association within Europe, but unfortunately, as we have seen so very clearly, the EU’s end-game is being kept under wraps until it becomes self evident. ….. Older folk remember a time when Security and Freedom were gained by ourselves and our own hard work. Breaking out of the EU will give us the freedom for doing this. – Trade with the world may also give us an extra, called ‘Success’. We must grasp this !
Excellent articlle but fails to address the issue that Boris Johnson is a social liberal with Islamic family heritage who not only is in favour of mass immigration but wants to legalize hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants already swamping the country.
Why is not Gerard Batten in the vanguard of UKIP providing the strong leadership the nation craves by an alliance with military forces to eliminate all traitorous MPs including the American immigrant (born in New York City) currently residing in Number 10?
The questions in the poll are given and the answered received but it is the analysis that is important. Who’s analysis? Something that I read into this report is that young people are being engaged in politics.
We fear that the young will respond in the ‘correct way’ for the propagandists, swallowing their storylines and lies.
The answer to the question about immigration is to my mind very telling. ‘59 per cent thought that “increases in immigration have had a negative impact on the economy overall”’. So not only are they becoming more interested in politics but they are not happy with the storyline and the lies.
The idea that young people are stupid really is arrogant. The Left Right of British politics is a ‘dead man walking’. If they cannot control the young they are finished and the young are not stupid.
To read too much into this poll is a mistake. What it appears to me is that things are finally starting to change.
“Most voters are not freedom fighters who want more rampant individualism, a small state and lower taxes”, oh yes, says who? The young are ‘the young’, idealistic, naïve, proud and in great need of independence. Maybe that is not what Will Tanner would like to believe.
Thank you for the article.
I don’t know you, Ann Farmer, but your writing makes an awful lot of sense to me. Thank you.