I write currently sandwiched between Białowieża, one of Europe’s last primeval forests, and the Biebrza marshes, one of Europe’s most important wetlands.
A wonderful sanctuary for wildlife, the area hosts wild bison, lynx, wolves and other exotic creatures.
I am in north eastern Poland. These two national parks are just about the only places left where Europe’s original landscape and wildlife can be seen. My highlight so far was watching three Eagles swoop for food in a Lake.
I am often attacked by socialists who inform me that “socialism has never been attempted” and that I should stop saying it is a failed dogma.
I beg to differ: Poland’s succession of socialist governments, following World War 2, was so completely and utterly incompetent that they failed to develop these forest and wetlands, allowing them to remain a wilderness.
This spectacular lack of management is an extraordinary success for the forest’s biodiversity.
Socialism was not all ironic good news, however: socialist managers had been allowed to reach industrial production quotas without regard to cost or safety.
This led to pollution in socialist Poland being far the worst in Europe. Alarm about sickness ballooned, yet socialist party bosses attempted to subdue the protests, deeming ecological concerns a ploy of the capitalist West to weaken socialism. Never attempted indeed!
Brighton and Hove is clearly not socialist Poland but is starting to look a bit “shabby” from the very thorough ineptitude of the current Labour administration.
The real danger, however, is that some real socialist experimentation, from a Momentum-backed Labour Party, starts us, after the next local elections, along the path of a real socialist disaster.
If you, like me, care about providing a future that is fair for all, and fearful of a crumbling of civil society, you will be looking forward to the next local elections.
Not wishing to gamble with the future, I hope you will agree that the prosperity of Brighton and Hove rests upon the Conservatives bringing forward some sensible policies that drive balanced economic growth.
Now is surely not the time for us to “give socialism a chance”.
Councillor Tony Janio is the leader of the Conservative opposition on Brighton and Hove City Council.
I think you need to speak to Cllr G.Theobald about what might happen at Tuesdays P and R meeting before you blame Labour for the state the City is and might continue to be in.I supported and voted Conservative for more than 40 years but never again.
I do wonder if Cllr Janio actually read Labour’s 2017 manifesto, as he appears to be making the mistake that many on both the left and the right do, by describing social democrat policies as socialist. Is there any evidence Labour wishes to overthrow capitalism? Certainly not from the statements of their leader or their policy platforms. A desire to redistribute wealth is admirable in many circles, but there is no evidence that any aspect of Labour’s proposed policies are vaguely socialist. This sort of muddling of words and hurling the word ‘socialist’ around is thoroughly unhelpful to the political discourse.
Deluded and idiotic 🙄. Conservatives will never take Brighton. I suggest you give up and go home now.
state of the city….oh God for a few flowers or something to lift the spirits amongst all the dirty shabbiness of it all. Brighton seafront is the most depressing place to frequent now. Are we really so broke??
I implore any sensible City voter to cast your vote anywhere than the nutters that are Momentum dressed in Labour clothes.
Our city is a disgrace compared to neighbouring towns – full of graffiti, inclement rubbish collections, planning application backlogs, no vision for the city, a pigs mess along the seafront & that’s for starters.
LABOUR OUT
Why don’t you look towards your own party’s central government policies that include millions of pounds worth of cuts in our city…that do far more damage to the city’s infrastructure and the erosion of public services that cause further harm to those who have been struggling for a decade.
Funny how Michael Gove has just made a speech saying the current capitalist model is failing. Along with every Tory policy, I might add.
Tony Janio should learn what socialism is before he starts lecturing people on it.
All he has done here is to show his ignorance.
The old ‘Socialism doesn’t work’ drone. It’s worrying that a politician can be so ignorant about err politics. Just FYI Socialism and Communism are different things and Russian communism was in fact totalitarianism. We have socialist democracies like Denmark and Sweden that are functioning very well and much happier places to live than this miserable little island that 8 years of your Tory failed austerity policies have created.
Both socialists and capitalists alike in this country do not give 2 hoots about wildlife or protecting wildlife habitat. Both are sides of the same wildlife destroying camp and are hell bent on urbanising the countryside in their pursuit of economic growth through population growth.
Does this guy know a difference between socialism and comunism ? Socialism is not an economic model, like communism or capitalism and has nothing to do with economy. Can someone show him on map Danemark, Finland, Sweden, Iceland,…? Is he really trying to sell this Tory rhetoric in Brighton ? In place which central government had abandoned years ago ?