The rot beneath

I'm not sure whether this photograph is a metaphor for the state of politics in Britain, the smooth bark of the silver birch being rolled back to expose the spreading darkness of the Common Tarcrust fungus. Who knows what was going on in my subconscious when I took it, on a walk to free my mind from the turmoil of the last couple of days.

Yesterday was a bit of a rollercoaster, The election was prominent in my mind, and I walked with my family through the pouring rain to vote in a rather grotty sports pavilion where we were greeted by the lovely electoral officials, who now recognise us as this is the fourth time we've voted since 2016.  I found it hard not to keep scanning Twitter and Facebook through the day, and a faint glimmer of hope began to grow when I saw how many people I know had voted tactically and reports of queues of young people at polling stations. But as with so much social media, this was only a very imperfect picture of my own carefully selected bubble, largely consisting of other environmentalists.

The rest of the day was spent preparing for our local Wildlife Group's Christmas event. Pete and I gave a talk about the wildlife of our garden, which was followed by mince pies, mulled wine and a fiendish quiz about fungi. Despite the weather we had a good turnout with several new members. It was lovely to chat to everyone and a good reminder that a lot of people do care about wildlife and environment. I didn't look at my phone until after ten, but when I saw the exit poll my heart sank. Several of us went to the pub and there was discussion about relocating  to Scotland, which seems likely to become independent eventually. 

I had a rather sleepless night, checking my phone at regular intervals to see if the exit poll was accurate...it was. I was devastated by the results of the referendum in 2016, but this time I felt surprisingly calm, probably because I had expected the result. I still find it hard to understand how we've got to this point, and why so many seem to want to destroy our country but I try to remember that in reality significantly less than half the country voted for this government - its the result of an archaic electoral system that's not fit for purpose. It makes me angry that the rich and powerful have managed to hoodwink part of the population who are fed up, scared and gullible. 

It's not going to help being depressed about the outcome. After a period of grief and reflection we have to pick ourselves up and start the fightback. We need to carry on caring for others in our community and looking after our own bit of the environment. Most importantly we need to keep up the pressure on the government to fulfill its (probably empty) promises on the NHS and environment which were key issues for the populace during the electoral campaign. It would also help if we had a credible and united opposition!