In the Middle Ages, before the widespread use of gunpowder, the moat of a castle was an effective means of defence. Although the age of castles as strongholds is long gone we in this country have one trusty moat which has protected us for centuries, and I have often remarked, when contemplating history, and indeed modern threats, "Thank God for the Channel".
In the 16th Century it was gales in the Channel which helped the English Navy defeat Philip II's Armada; in the early 18th, as Churchill recalled in 1940 "Napoleon lay at Boulogne for a year with his flat-bottomed boats and his Grand Army", yet the all conquering French were stopped by that strip of water; in the First World War the strength of the Royal Navy, coupled with the existence of the Channel, prevented the vast German armies of 1914 from invading Britain; and without the combination of the RAF, and the Royal Navy, holding the line at the Kent coast, the Nazi barbarians would have succeeded in overwhelming our army.
Now, however, our politicians are unable to stop an invasion by criminals crossing the Channel in small boats, jumping the queue of people genuinely seeking asylum, and putting even more pressure on our already crumbling infrastructure. When the Home Secretary, to give her her due, makes even tentative efforts to halt the tide, she is abused by the left liberals who now dominate our society, and nothing effective is done. The Australians have shown the way, and we could easily put an end to all this, by placing every occupant of these boats in detention in a remote area, treating them humanely, but make clear that if they wish to leave they must return from whence they came, and that they will never be granted residency in the future, regardless of how they may arrive.
That this will not happen is obvious, as the political class is good at making promises, but useless when it comes to implementing them. Time and again we are told that such and such will be done, only for the implementation of same to be kicked far in the future, or cancelled altogether. Only recently we learnt that the prospect of more grammar schools being created is to be abandoned, while how often have we been assured that a bonfire of EU legislation will take place, with no result. Even something as benign as a new Royal Yacht is cancelled.
As the lunatics of woke continue their rampage, destroying our culture and our history, the politicians wring their hands, promise to rein them in, but do nothing. Pre pubescent youngsters are mutilated in the name of 'trans' rights, yet all we get is words, not action. Again, while the young are indoctrinated by the nonsense those in charge of our schools and universities are promoting, nothing is done to oppose forcefully the lying propaganda being disseminated.
In 1936 Churchill summed up the political elite of his time in a way which is totally applicable today "Decided only to be undecided, resolved to be irresolute, adamant for drift, solid for fluidity, all-powerful to be impotent. "
George Orwell knew the nature of those we now call the woke only too well. He said that supposed intellectuals, arrogant and hypocritical as they are, try to distinguish themselves from ordinary people, so they ignore normal virtues like honesty, fair play, and common sense. Instead of condemning these imbeciles, and fighting back, our political class does nothing to stop them, beyond bleating like sheep in the face of a wolf.
Clearly, while all the main parties are intent on doing nothing, nothing will be done, but the eventual result is likely to be a massive reaction among the ordinary people, which may, hopefully, sweep away these people and their policies.