The existing mood within the party's representatives currently echoes Edgar's law. It affirms that the scale of every hardship can only be assessed in comparison to yet-to-come catastrophes. As Shakespeare lets the exiled child of the visionless lord state in King Lear: “The most terrible does not exist, provided that we can say ‘this is the worst’.”
A Succession of Intensifying Difficulties
According to this principle, there is no survey so gloomy for Labour that cannot be followed by one even bleaker; no fiscal forecast so bad that the exchequer can't aggravate it with contradictory signals on tax; no doubts concerning the Prime Minister that won't be heightened by malevolent briefing concerning a bid for power.
Immigration Rules Revelation
Considering this situation, the latest revelation of strategies intending to restrict the quantity of displaced persons granted entry to Britain, modelled on an infamously harsh Scandinavian model, was received more favorably with Labour MPs than anticipated. There appeared glimmers of parliamentary discontent yet no wildfire of rebellion.
Hardening immigration policies is far from the government's preferred area, however the present arrangement is evidently broken while citizens are furious. Numerous parliamentarians comprehend the position that acceptance and social unity are simpler to foster if assurance exists that the nation's borders are secure.
Growing Discontent
Reserved MP positions may also represent ominous. MPs have learned that everything is negotiable with a directionless leader with flexible principles. What is announced today might be reversed shortly. There's no requirement to rush over the top provided triumphs can be secured via endurance.
A common complaint involves the leader is hardly managing the cabinet at all, after assigning political judgment to his principal advisor. This doesn't imply the prime minister lacks executive dynamism, he simply favors not to mediate in departmental disputes or participate in extended discussions.
Governing Approach
The Prime Minister entered organized political activity at an advanced stage, initially becoming an MP during his early fifties. He lacks instinct regarding party traditions – the collection of historical arguments, initiatives, characters and cultural references that connect a leader to the wider movement and its perception of shared purpose.
His deepest convictions stay concealed to government members. Per a high-ranking Labour figure puts it: “The Prime Minister is quite different in his role in giving the impression that his private opinions is none of your business.”
Electoral Repercussions
The persona marketed representing the leader during the previous electoral contest has also not delivered its claimed rewards: managerial competence resulting in countrywide revitalization. If Britain still had a dual-party structure, the memory of how bad things were under the Tories might prolong acceptance of the administration.
It indicates a crushing loss of Labour candidates in council and national assembly contests in the coming spring. It would constitute an instance of significant risk for the Prime Minister, provided he remains through that period.
Leadership Questions
Missing from these calculations exists consensus on the identity of an alternative leader and their proposed policies might contrast from the current government's agenda. This flaw regarding changeover preparations is referenced by those backing the incumbent as one of many reasons to stick with the incumbent.
Even as unhappy parliamentarians could hesitate regarding those warnings, they similarly perceive in them the recognizable, empty ringing of modest goals that creates despondency with current conditions. It is the sound of lack of success to characterize the leadership as anything more than a sequence of tactics for maintaining position.
Concluding Thoughts
It proves difficult to generate allegiance to such a cause. And most Labour MPs have tried. They have stuck with established policies, justified it to constituents, followed party discipline, believed assurances that their issues received attention.
Prime ministerial ousting is fraught with risk, yet, might it be more dangerous than pretending that the current ruler possesses solutions regarding major issues that remain unmentioned? Edgar's law suggests prudence when removing a sitting prime minister. The successor could always be worse.
“The burden of these difficult days we need to follow; Speak what we feel, not what we ought to say.”
