BRITAIN’S ruling class is eager to carry on the pretence that there is real choice under their political system.

Capitalism promises us that it’s the politicians that call the shots, there are real differences between those politicians and that we’re the ones that elect the politicians and they’re answerable to us.

But as with most tricks, when looked at too closely, reality and the nature of the fraud become clear.

Nowhere is it clearer that there is no real difference between the ruling-class parties than the imperialist consensus on questions of foreign policy, militarism and war.

Rather than questioning the Tory government’s policy or strategy on the burning issues of Palestine or Ukraine, Keir Starmer has bent over backwards (not hard when you’re spineless) at each and every turn to not only stymie any criticism, but to heartily endorse Tory policy.

Labour’s pledge that it “will act to block people not fit to be MPs” from standing in essential terms translates to blacklisting anyone who dares to question that imperialist consensus — especially in supporting Palestine.

The pantomime position with the by-election in Rochdale typifies this.

The fact that George Galloway has built up such a head of steam in the Lancashire town reflects popular discontent with Britain’s ideological endorsement and material support for Israeli genocide and war crimes in Gaza — and the Labour Party’s staunch endorsement of this in turn.

What does all this confirm to us? Britain is a proud western democracy — the oldest in the world in fact: you can stand as a candidate for whoever you want; you can vote for whoever you want; just as long as they enthusiastically cheerlead genocide in 2024.

And it doesn’t stop with Palestine.

It is unacceptable to question or attack Britain’s role in funding and fuelling the horrific quagmire in Ukraine or to call for peace.

There is no room in the political mainstream to question Britain’s aggressive and destructive membership in Nato.

And it works.

Just this week, Nato general secretary Jen Stoltenberg boasted that the latest defence spending figures showed a record increase in spending — with 18 members out of 31 now reaching the 2 per cent of GDP spending on war requirement. It was only three member states in 2023.

Their methods of censorship and ensuring that their political consensus is enforced are all the more effective because they’re all the more subtle and underhanded.  

Not only does imperialism hollow out even the sham of democracy that exists in Britain, it impoverishes our communities.

At a time when the so-called cost-of-living crisis immiserates working people across Britain and inflation drives down our living standards, there is always more money for bombs over Gaza and bullets for Ukraine.

Want to elect a politician who will challenge that? Fat chance.

So, who issues these diktats? Who is really calling the shots?

It is the same monopolies, the rich and big business who are profiting off these wars and preserving their inhumane system in the process. It’s the hawks in the Pentagon and Washington and the Ministry of Defence in Britain. Its anyone but the working people of this country.

The mass movement for Palestine that we have seen is a glimpse of what’s possible. The imperialist consensus has already lost the battle of ideas in the face of the reality of Israel’s crimes.

But that’s not enough. We need to keep building it into a movement that is capable of defeating the imperialism of Britain’s ruling class in practise.

A force of that type is the kernel of mass movement that can sweep away the whole rotten system that makes these crimes possible.