I CANNOT recognise the country we have become!

The proud “mother of democracy” is now worse than a laughing stock.

But it is not a laughing matter.

King Charles I used to dissolve parliament when it refused to do his bidding. The resulting English Civil War was fought to establish the supremacy of elected MPs over the king/executive.

Hitler was originally elected democratically and then subverted that democracy to become a dictator. Hitler also stated that telling lies was effective only if those lies were so big that they blinded the people.

Populist forces, as in Germany in the 1930s, have now in the UK elected Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn, both anti-establishment figures. Corbyn has his ideological cronies in Momentum and is portrayed by most of the press as a dangerous socialist radical. Johnson has his ideological cronies in Jacob Rees-Mogg’s ERG group and, in the background, Farage’s Brexit Party. He has appointed advisors who are extreme ideologues and clever, ruthless manipulators of the press and social media. Johnson, as a representative of greedy corporate banker capitalism is, however, portrayed as mainstream. It’s a sick joke, but a clever one, that this old Etonian presents himself as a man of the people.

For the ills of his society Hitler blamed the Jews; for the ills of our society Johnson blames the EU. Both sets of scapegoats are foreigners.

Both Corbyn and Johnson avoid interviews. How often do we now hear on radio and TV: “No one from the government was available to speak to us.” So, no democratic scrutiny.

These are dire and dangerous times. So, let there be civil unrest, let us emulate the protestors in Hong Kong. Otherwise, supine, we permit our democracy to be corroded and our UK split.

JOHN ROBERTS Lower Scholes, Oakworth

* E-mail your letters to alistair.shand@keighleynews.co.uk