There will always be an England, goes the saying. But will there? If what’s happening to former party leader and Brexit champion Nigel Farage is any indication, that charming old axiom may have reached its sell-by date.
In an editorial entitled “After my banking travails, I fear Britain is lost,” Farage tells a hair-raising tale of institutionalized political bigotry and discrimination. It combines the kind of systemic abuse once associated with Soviet rule but now sadly common in the United States with the sort of social credit tyranny one sees in China.
“…We are living through the politicisation of our corporate sector. Woe betide you if you do not conform with its worldview,” writes Farage. “This was brought home to me when I was recently told by my bank [since 1980] that it is closing all my accounts without explanation. It is impossible to function without a bank account. It should alarm everybody that a bank has the power to punish those it considers to have erred or strayed.”
He goes on to detail his financial ostracization as bank after bank refused to accept his business, and he gives examples of other politicians — always conservative — to whom it has also happened. Not only are these victims “unpersoned” and rendered unable to conduct business or even function in society, but they also face psychological extortion from vast, faceless institutions as their family members suffer the same fate. Basically, the banks tell the target, “Step down from politics or the kid gets it.”
But these powerful financial corporations still require a fig leaf to justify their abuse for PR purposes, and this is provided by a legislative or executive body. As was once SOP in Stalin’s Russia but is now common in the U.S., a “crime” is alleged and bounced to the media for magnification. Farage tells what he was baselessly accused of, and you’re not going to believe it:
In a rare in-front-of-the-paywall Substack post, the indispensable Doomberg explains the mechanism by which the Leftie fascists in British Parliament launched the premise for de-banking Farage:
In the British parliamentary system, elected politicians are bestowed with significant privileges while executing their service to the public. Among the most notable is a far more expansivedefinition of freedom of speech than average citizens enjoy, a valuable allowance given the country’s notoriously strict libel laws. Members can say practically anything within the confines of parliament without fear of civil or criminal consequences.
While the intent of parliamentary privilege is to insulate politicians from undue interference by outside actors—especially those of the wealthy and litigious variety—the advantage is regularly abused to score cheap political points using dirty tricks. Provided you have a poorly calibrated moral compass, it is a simple enough task to stand on the floor of parliament, falsely accuse your political opponent of having committed a dastardly act, and then observe the resulting media frenzy with a knowing smirk. “I dare you to repeat that outside of parliament” is a common challenge issued by victims of such smears, but one that is rarely accepted by the cowards who make them.
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