Hi John,
Today Boris Johnson becomes Prime Minister. We don’t know exactly what Johnson will do, because we haven’t been told. But we have reasons to fear a Johnson government could be severely damaging to the values we hold dear.
On trade and aid, on economic and foreign policy, and even on the basics of being a democratic leader, Johnson has already crossed some serious red lines. We have never needed movements that can hold politicians to account more than we do right now. And that’s why Global Justice Now exists. Join us today and make us stronger for the challenges ahead.
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Boris Johnson has been clear that he wants to complete a trade deal with the Trump administration as soon as possible. It’s his priority. But as we discovered from leaked information last week, such a trade deal would seriously compromise the British government’s ability to hold big business to account. In the opaque talks which have already taken place, US officials have tried to bully Britain out of introducing a special tax on Big Tech companies like Amazon and Google. This adds to what we already know: a US trade deal would fundamentally compromise our public services and our food standards.
Earlier this year, Johnson supported proposals that would effectively spell the end of international development. The proposals called for an end to an independent department of international development and proposed watering the definition of ‘aid’ down to the point where it could be spent on… more or less anything the government feels like. More aid would flow into profit-making finance, to the ministry of defence, or to bribe countries to do trade deals with us. In his foreword to the proposals, Johnson said future aid should “do more to serve the political and commercial interests” of Britain.
Finally, Johnson has made explicitly racist and bigoted comments that exceed anything a modern prime minister has come out with publicly – women who wear the niqab are “letter boxes”, Africans are “piccaninnies” with “watermelon smiles”, gay people are “tank-topped bumboys”. Now Johnson threatens the very institutions that provide a check on his power – refusing, for instance, to rule out the suspension of parliament to get his far-reaching ‘no-deal’ Brexit passed. Rather like Donald Trump, Johnson seems to be a politician without the normal constraints on his behaviour. A man who will himself cross what are normally considered democratic red lines in order to maintain power.
So the need for movements which can hold politicians to account couldn’t be more important. It’s the only chance we’ve got of turning things around. Yet too many organisations have been silent in the face of these dangerous developments. It’s natural to be scared. We all have things to lose. But if we can’t stand up now, in this moment when it’s most necessary, when the dangers are so great, then we render ourselves useless. Global Justice Now has been holding governments to account for nearly 50 years. We hold every government, of every political complexion, to account. We will not be silenced now.
If you want us to keep standing up for what’s right, to keep holding politicians to account as it becomes increasingly challenging to do so, then join us.
Our power only comes from our membership. Our independence depends upon ordinary people joining and becoming part of our movement.
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Together, we can hold the Johnson government to account, and push the alternatives that bring us closer to the world we want. Please join today.
Thank you,
Nick Dearden
Director, Global Justice Now
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