You've described my tremulous feelings on the whole situation very well. I blame mostly the Murdoch media. The government was always full of Tory pyschophants,

You've described my tremulous feelings on the whole situation very well. I blame mostly the Murdoch media. The government was always full of Tory pyschophants, but the media kept the masses informed enough to keep the damage in check. People used to resign in disgrace if they failed their post. After the phone hacking scandal in 2007, the Leveson Inquiry[1], and the resulting lack of action that passed after it, Murdoch media has only been emboldened to act and report disgracefully. As much as I hate the Tory's, I blame the Blair-Murdoch relationship for kicking it off. 1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leveson_Inquiry https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leveson_Inquiry