JUST as the tsunami of scurrilous statements, overt lies and crypto-fascist behaviour of former President Trump left most objective observers outraged, incredulous and fearful in equal measure, the present Sunak government shows alarming signs of similar traits of reactionary policies and practices.

Their current post-truth, Brexit-defaced, bastardised version of UK democracy exposes the face of Westminster politics for what it truly is; an amoral and corrupt political sewer for which the only credible solution for Scotland’s people can be independence and the quest for genuine social democracy based on a written constitution.

Recent days have witnessed a Prime Ministerial welcome to Netanyahu, the far-right Israeli leader who presides over an apartheid state that ignores any pretence of extending human rights to Palestinians and is regarded as a gangster by many of his own countrymen. Simultaneously, Mr Sunak released his somewhat dubious take on his own tax returns that would not, I fear, stand up to any sort of authentic scrutiny within a real democratic framework. Regarding the grilling of one of his predecessors by the Privileges Committee as a good time to bury bad news, the exceedingly wealthy UK Prime Minster was less than transparent in his conduct.

READ MORE: The Worst of Westminster: Boris Johnson faces music as Sunak reveals tax returns

Boris Johnson viewed his appearance at the aforesaid committee as an opportunity to continue his world-record-attempt fib-a-thon and was predictably defended by his closest sycophants, the vacuous Dorries and the antediluvian knave that is Rees-Mogg. Both openly questioned the validity of even daring to question their former leader and appeared to openly reject, in true Trumpian style, democratic rules applying to Johnson or indeed to the dwindling number of his associates.

To add fuel to this “contempt for democracy” fire, we then learn that Messrs Hancock, Kwarteng and Brady – all former or present leading lights in the Tory ranks – were caught in a sting involving a fake Korean company and agreed to accept £10,000 a day for their support – not illegal under present Westminster rules, but evidence of the different ethical world that these people belong to and their odious values.

All this in addition to the Home Secretary’s expensive and nebulous facade of a trip to Rwanda, to which only right-wing media were invited. The breathtaking and arrogant disdain for democratic principles and objectivity is self-evident but the sinister Ms Braverman will doubtless care not a jot, as she ponders her next Bond-villain-type scheme to ban European Court of Human Rights orders from the UK regarding the treatment of migrants.

READ MORE: Matt Hancock and Kwasi Kwarteng would advise fake firm 'for £10k a day'

Finally (phew, see what I mean about a deluge of ominous and anti-democratic Tory intrigues?), Mr Sunak seems to be seriously considering jettisoning migrants into old ferries and run-down military bases, provoking a historical comparison with an unsentimental return to prison hulks and camps. Seemingly, he is now seeking to cement his ultra-conservative credentials through advocating the public labelling and humiliation of “criminals” through his community justice policy which sees him act as a latter-day Mikado who ensures that all punishments fit the crime whilst throwing political red meat to the ERG, the unprincipled right-wing press and the increasingly atavistic core of his party’s supporters.

Amidst all this Westminster malversation, the election of a new first minister, regardless who it proves to be, should be viewed as a shaft of light and hope for the days ahead when Scotland does not have to be mired in the political dirt of Westminster and its moribund version of democracy.

Owen Kelly
Stirling