God's Country

Part Eighty-Nine

September 2020

'Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, oh Lord, my strength and my redeemer.'

Psalms 19:14

"This is a beautiful house, sir." The interviewer, a pretty rising star within the corporation said, knowing that the finished film would show her viewers something of the house, even if it was just as a backdrop to her interview. After so much election fever stretching back almost a year, the BBC wanted people to get to know the real Prime Minister better, to see the man behind the job, and Charles Buckingham had agreed to an interview in his new Meadvale home. "You like it here?"

"Yes, I do...for me, Meadvale is where it all started, the beginning of everything...and it is in my constituency of course." Charles smiled, relaxing in his armchair. "My wife stays down here mostly, because we have a young daughter as you know and she likes to be near her own mother. I am afraid that I use Downing Street as a bit of a bachelor pad at the moment...this is my home and I hope always will be."

"You have been a busy man...but since the summer things seemed to have calmed down a bit for you. How are things going from your point of view?"

"We are all getting on with the job we were elected to do. The two quick elections were not ideal for the country but the important thing is that we earned our mandate...and the Clitheroe by-election back in June rather underlined the will of the people. So we are really getting down to things now and moving ahead with the policies that matter to the people."

"Such as?"

"Penal reform...stopping prison feeling like a holiday camp was a first step. As you know we have taken luxury items out of prisoner's cells; we are making every prisoner work, and we have made sure that sentences are consistent and mean what the judge says. Prison has to be a deterrent, criminals have to leave with a strong desire not to go back there again...and in the case of more serious crimes...multiple murders, child murder, level one rape, the killing of policemen...we have restored the death penalty. These were very popular moves, but we have more plans to come. Young offenders must be rehabilitated, and not by putting an arm around their shoulders and showing them some love. These are young people, often in relatively minor trouble but these poor unfortunates often become career criminals, and they learn a lot of that once they are put inside. We have a number of programmes, some of which we are already trialling now, designed to re-educate young offenders. I think the public like what we are saying about this issue."

"Education is still a central theme?"

"Of course it is...it is about the one thing Tony Blair ever got right, when he stated that he had only three fundamental priorities in government when he first got elected as Prime Minister...education, education, education. Again, the people can see the changes. Quite apart from our church schools programme, school kids all over the country just look better. Our opponents say that this is superficial, but I think it is really quite fundamental to positive change. Smart kids in a disciplined environment work harder, it's quite simple. Teachers now have the powers to punish malcontents, and that is seeing dramatic results. We plan to take that much further. Parental responsibility is paramount, because every child has to come to school equipped to learn, and get the encouragement at home. Strong families raise good children, and we will not allow the feckless and the negligent to ruin young lives and expect society to pick up the pieces. We raised the age of maturity to twenty one, but parental responsibility does not stop there. Unmarried girls should still be looked after, even if they are older than twenty one. That is how we keep them out of trouble; that is how we prevent the crimes that cost all of us so dear...adultery, unwanted pregnancies, rape. We will legislate against this sort of behaviour. Education and the solidity of the family are crucial and we will ensure that everyone knows their responsibilities, and we will act when those responsibilities are ignored."