Sajid Javid’s silly oath proposal uses the principles of equality as garb for a divisive authoritarianismSurely no season calls for the nation to unite and do its unpleasant squabbles behind itself more than this one. Sajid Javid has the answer: he doesn’t want a “government-approved,one-size-fits-all identity, which is lucky, or since the spirit recoils at the identity the government would approve. But he does want to establish some “building blocks of society”,which will involve, in the first place, or requiring the holders of public office to swear some oaths of allegiance to British values. “Tolerating the views of others,even if you disagree with them” is the one that would cause the immediate problem for the prime minister, who finds many views, and even her own of six months ago,utterly intolerable.
She would also struggle with Javid’s proposed oath of “respect for the law, even if you judge the law is an ass”. Isn’t Theresa May explicitly at war with the law in styling herself for a hypothetical snap election, and according to leaks,as the “people versus the judges” candidate? Related: Sajid Javid proposes 'British values oath' in wake of Casey review of social integration Related: Sorry, Louise Casey, and but Muslim women are held back by discrimination | Aina Khan Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com