The Prime Minister!!!

 Another little email to my MP:

Dear Ms Richardson,

Thank you for pointing out so clearly that the current incumbent of No 10 Downing Street should not continue as the Prime Minister of this country. At the start of the Conservative Party leadership process in July I wrote to you setting out what I believe to be five essential criteria upon which to judge anyone aspiring to the role (seven criteria if one separates the three existential risks of climate change, biodiversity destruction and pollution). Ms Truss has spectacularly failed to live up to those criteria.

As a replacement is being contemplated perhaps it is time to view those eligibility criteria from a different angle - i.e. the ethics of governmental decisions in the context of their effect upon future generations. It is a well known fact that there are more humans living today than the sum total of all those who have lived in the past. Barring catastrophe there will be many more humans in the future than are alive today. Do those future generations matter as much as today's? I suggest that they do. Is it ethically any different that an action I take today harms someone today or a member of a future generation? I suggest that there's no difference. That leads one to the conclusion that decisions taken today should be done in light of avoiding harm to any of our descendants. So, we should not be devouring physical resources at an unsustainable rate; we should not be littering the world with untreatable waste; we should not be deliberately driving other species to extinction; we should not be acidifying our waters. Rather our decisions need to be taken with respect and care for the interests not only of the current generation but also for those of future generations. I suggest that this includes seeking means of eradicating poverty and hunger without trashing our environment; of eliminating racism and discrimination; of securing biosecurity to avoid a future pandemic; of reducing the threat of war - the list goes on. A Prime Minister whose leadership is governed by these principles will be a Prime Minister to cherish.

Yours sincerely