The Shrinking State of Mind
12/09/25
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SHORT TERMISIM, IMAGE: EUGENE GOLOVESOV
Robert Jenrick, Shadow Justice Secretary, an often-maligned figure within the political sphere, has carved himself out as the standard bearer of the vertical video. The new and most popular form of political communication. Jenrick has chosen to use this format to expose the everyday grievances that people up and down the country frequently become enraged at: littering, shoplifting, stealing, fare evasion, and levels of migration.
The format’s influence is unquestioned – a byproduct of the socio-economic climate we inhabit – short, sharp and punchy messaging. After Jenrick uploaded his now-infamous video on Transport for London (TFL), where he chased down fare dodgers like an annoying teacher, a Freedom of Information request uncovered that fines for this practice increased by 60% the month after. The outcome of the situation was a good one, but that is beside the point for those partaking. TFL, somewhat, getting their act together was always going to be the case. Traction, reputation, and public perception meant that action had to be taken, even if they were being used as a proxy to funnel anger against institutions.
Jenrick, Farage, Lowe, Tice, and, to a lesser extent, Mamdani have been able to present solutions in a simple form. Their messages are effective because they resonate; more pertinently, the vast majority have lived examples. Shoplifting – tougher policing. Fare dodging – ensure people do their job. Levels of migration – stop the boats. Crime – deport. Social friction – remove cultures.
Its presentation is emblematic of what politics has become; the fickle and charlatan-like assumption we have of many politicians is not by chance. However much the oratory may depict this as part of a burning desire to make the country better, it is merely a means to an end. The politics of focusing on granular issues feeds into a cult of personality, harnessing anger and frustration to reach personal aspirations.
Those political players don’t talk about huge infrastructure projects or how we can unlock the sclerotic state, and if they do, it is never without the adlib of populist whataboutery. Trump and MAGA have demonstrated how far a cult of personality can take you, but attempting to replicate it is a non-starter. The White House can post videos of migrants being deported and locked up in crocodile Alcatraz. But it's theatrical, all part of the show. Fuel to his base that keeps them chugging along. The real change is not so overtly displayed. The pressure on the education system, the changes to the healthcare system, the anti-vaccine rhetoric, the rewriting of state jurisdictions, and the overreach on press freedom. That is fundamental and long-lasting, marking the creation of a legacy.
A MAGA HAT, IMAGE: NATILYN HICKS PHOTOGRAPHY
It is logical to think that focusing on problems at a ground level is smart; our timelines are permanently clogged with people robbing shops, acting inappropriately, or stirring up discontent. And yes, this kind of anti-social behaviour needs to be rooted out of society, and yes, those who seem oblivious that this stuff happens stem from a classist blind eye. But, it cannot be the be-all and end-all of what politics is seen to be. As Aristotle said, “politics exists so humans can achieve the best life together”. Its ultimate purpose is on a far greater scale than we are being conditioned to believe; the UK has more pressing issues to consider.
Our obsession with the granular is reductive, a zero-sum game; however, hubristic and personally vindicating the exercise may be. As Fraser Nelson recently wrote in The Times, “social media now acts as a distorting lens through which millions see their country. When shrill voices dominate, hyperbole wins”. Jenrick and Farage are harnessing anger for personal benefit, whilst Downing Street is choosing to splash videos of migrants being detained across social media to appease those who decry inaction on the migration situation. The politics of futility benefits no one in the long term.
Trying to garner political attention on the most prescient issues is born out of a selfishness to achieve personal ambition and reaffirm one’s political standing. Every decision, seemingly, can only be made with a view to attaining re-election or winning office. Farage and Jenrick’s politics propose radical change to a broken system, but it’s rooted in tackling low-level issues, without the MAGA dexterity to simultaneously consider the wider picture. Moreover, a point that is not appreciated by those who decry the country being systemically broken is that by oxygenating the notion to the extent they do, trying to fulfil that promise in power is a practically impossible task.
The two most consequential post-war prime ministers, Thatcher and Blair, had a platform to propose and enact radical change to the system, something hard to achieve today with such a bloated and bureaucratic state. But the iconisation of these figures by their respective parties has led to the political class being blinded by their shortcomings. The systemic ramifications of mass privatisations and governance for the wealthy and few, and the house price-to-wage ratio reaching astronomical levels, have been everlasting. In 1997, when Blair entered office, the average income was £15,000 a year, with the average property costing £65,000. In 2007, pay had risen by £5,000, while property prices were up by £190,000.
Their failings have left the state and its incumbents straitjacketed ever since through the creation of a political climate allergic to long-termism. The period from 1997 to 2002 saw GDP grow consistently by 3%, unemployment steadying, then falling, and inflation at the much sought-after 2% value. The template was there; this should have been a time of mass building, creating infrastructure across the country that granted connectivity and enhanced productivity. But Blair became distracted, as if overseeing a prosperous economy was not enough; invading countries would be more enjoyable.
PRIME MINISTER BLAIR WITH PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH AT A NATO MEETING, IMAGE: PAUL MORSE
A decision once again rooted in profound short-termism, serving ego, and American desires. Not thinking, so if the goal is invasion, then what is the result? Farage and his acolytes are unlikely to be engaged in such systemic geopolitical decisions if in power. Yet, it speaks to something more broadly: the decline of neoliberalism, US aside, across the Western World. Centrist governments across the continent are forever embattled with trying to dispel populists who control a narrative that is only to be played on their terms. The forever focus on triviality; policy and decision-making are being made from the ground up.
This way of governance is fundamentally misguided, underestimating the need to rewrite frameworks and unlock mechanisms that supercharge growth and productivity. The Economist recently wrote about Xiongan in China, Xi Jinping’s pet project, where he is building a new $116 billion city for over a million people. Its purpose is not for the next ten or twenty years, but to be a city for the next thousand. Despite the growing statist overreach displayed by the CCP and the lack of affordability for the median Chinese worker, such projects demonstrate the importance of politics on a mass scale. Bloomberg also wrote about how the Chinese President is building a $167 billion mega dam in Tibet.
Despite all the spiel, the next Prime Minister – almost certainly someone of the right – may retort on how their premiership is going to be the start of a different country, without shifting policy and decision-making from the top down, any progress they attempt will be limited in scope. For substantive change to be made, it constitutes taking ideas that make up a prosperous country – growth, opportunity, stability, productivity, to name but a few – and working from there.
Not only has our political debate become bogged down in insignificant matters, but our electorate has become addicted to instant gratification. Delaying that process is a tough thing to sell, but essential to rebooting the country and unlocking it from the shackles of itself. Focusing on the issues that affect the social fabric is as astute as an insurgent force, but its resonance is short-lived, the value to a government ultimately redundant in the long term.
2029 will see a pitiful inheritance for whoever it bequeaths. Without radical, big-picture thinking, the state will continue to serve the state, uphold the state and ensure the status quo remains intact. When the country continues to stagnate along its path of terminal decline, then who will these people blame? The man in government. The wheel of change will forever spin, waiting for the next man to shill on everyday grievances. The hiss and froth about phone snatching and LGBT flags will have all been for nothing.
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