Bun fights in bakeries and booze ups in breweries sprang to mind when the shock result of the Tory leadership contest was revealed. Veteran political hacks audibly gasped when it was revealed that James Cleverly had been knocked out of the race. He’d wowed the party conference, leapfrogged over his rivals to look like a cert to be one of two who would then be put to members to choose their next leader. ‘Twas not to be. It seems that a cunning plan involving vote switching went disastrously wrong, leaving the one candidate who recognised the need to be more ‘normal’ out in the cold and the choice of two right wingers in Badenoch and Jenrick competing to outperform Reform. On that score, Jenrick’s already got form – as immigration minister he ordered that murals featuring cartoon characters at an asylum seeker reception centre for children be painted over.
Meanwhile, in America, Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene claims that the US government created Hurricane Milton and can control the weather, repeating the false conspiracy that it is sending severe weather to Republican-heavy areas. Which rather begs the question, if governments could really control the weather, then you might think they could do something about climate change. But of course people like Ms Taylor Greene don’t believe in climate change, are quite keen to dismiss scientists and other experts who, usually politely, point out that some of their conspiracy theories are little short of bonkers. Which is why we would do well to pay more heed to people who actually know what they’re talking about because they’ve spent years studying, examining and working on theories and ideas that could have an impact on all of us. People like Professor Geoffrey Hinton who’s just been awarded the Nobel prize in Physics and is often called the godfather of AI. He resigned from Google last year so he could speak out about the existential risk posed to humanity by AI. Or Ken McCallum, head of MI5 who, in a sombre speech this week, warned of the threat from Russia, Islamic State and Iran which is not necessarily bombs and bullets, but the more insidious aim of ‘causing mayhem on British and European streets’. We saw this summer how quickly such mayhem can happen and how easy it is to sow division and hatred, suspicion and fear through the many channels that spew out disinformation and provide platforms to politicians and commentators who think they have a quick fix to complex problems simply by targeting a specific group of people, be they immigrants, peace campaigners or environmentalists. Honestly, it’s enough to make anyone want to curl up with a good book. Boris Johnson’s got one out, not the biography of Shakespeare that he was allegedly advanced £800,000 for and didn’t make it to the publishers in time for last year’s 400the anniversary, but his memoirs. Presumably found in the fantasy or fiction sections of any library or bookshop.
