Labour U-turns and Thatcher’s blame

In my book ‘How to Win Every Argument,’ subtitled ‘The Use and Abuse of Logic,’ I delineated Thatcher’s blame. Just as a thatcher covers the whole of the roof, so Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was blamed for whatever outcome ensued. Critics switched seamlessly from attacking her for poverty and unemployment to attacking her for fostering the culture of shameless affluence epitomized by the yuppies.

If a policy was implemented first in Scotland, the country was ‘being used as a test bed.’ If it was done first in England, Scotland was ‘being left behind yet again.’ And if it were done simultaneously in both countries, the government was ‘failing to recognize the essential difference between the two countries.’

It’s a ‘heads I win, tails you lose’ fallacy, where blame is attached to whatever outcome follows.

Sir Keir Starmer’s government is being mocked for its ‘13 U-turns.’ They are taken as a sign of weakness and indecision, of a government that doesn’t know where it’s going. In cases where it doesn’t U-turn, it is blamed for ‘not listening to people,’ and going remorselessly ahead despite opposition.

Blaming it for doing U-turns and for not doing U-turns is to use the Thatcher’s blame fallacy against it. It expresses a determination to have it both ways - to attack it for listening, and for not listening.

Which is preferable, a government that listens and alters its policies accordingly, or one that ploughs ahead remorselessly? Of course, it might be preferable to have a government that doesn’t propose the wrong things in the first place. But, given the fallibility of politicians, isn’t it better to have one that corrects its mistakes before they happen?

In my case, I’m for the U-turns. I prefer a government that sees the error of its ways in time to prevent the harm its policies would have brought about. It means that popular pressure and opposition can stop stupid and counter-productive measures from going ahead. A U-turning government is a listening government. Now for Chagos…

Madsen Pirie