Henley News

Nigel Hastilow has an interesting column in the Henley news this week (you have to scroll down the page)

“When I was up for selection as a Conservative candidate in Halesowen and Rowley Regis I said I would always express my opinions even if they didn’t accord exactly with party policy. I said I believed in the importance of freedom of speech even within the apparent confines of a political party. I also said – and would still maintain – that one of the reasons why most people are cynical about politics these days is because politicians are seen as slippery, insincere, equivocating and only in it for what they can get.

“My argument was that a candidate who spoke his mind would be welcomed by the voters as a rare commodity. It is clear that I was right. The e-mails and calls I have had over the past few days have overwhelmingly proved the case. They express real anger that even a political pigmy like me is not allowed to raise one of the most pressing issues of our time without being vilified and hounded out.

“I failed to appreciate that the constraints on freedom of speech are greater than I feared. They include the deliberate twisting and downright nastiness of the political process itself. There’s also the fact that a political party can’t win if its members are not all rowing in the same direction. But above all the constant self-censorship needed to protect oneself from the wrath of the PC police.

“That’s why politicians dare not risk saying what they believe. And why I am clearly incapable of being a successful politician.”