Animal Farm Revisited

Speech by Cllr Dermot Roaf delivered to County Council on Fri 3rd Jul 1998

(This speeech was delivered to the County Council in 1998 by the then Liberal Democrat Leader. Most of it is still true in 2006.)

George Orwell's book is sometimes thought to be a history of the Russian Revolution, but it is clearly the story of our present Government. Do you remember the morning of 2 May 1997? Were not our feelings those of the animals on the day after they expelled the humans from Manor Farm? "But they awoke at dawn as usual, and suddenly remembering the glorious thing that had happened, they all raced out into the pasture together. A little way down the pasture there was a knoll which commanded a view of most of the farm. The animals rushed to the top of it and gazed round them in the clear morning light. Yes, it was theirs - everything that they could see was theirs!"

Then the animals painted seven commandments on the wall of the barn - including the fourth "No animal shall sleep in a bed" and fifth "No animal shall drink alcohol". Later in the book the pigs take up residence in the farmhouse, sleep in the beds and drink the farmer's whisky. When Clover the carthorse, puzzled by what appeared to be a breach of the fourth commandment, asks Muriel the goat to read the commandment, it turns out that it now reads "No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets". Similarly the fifth changed to "No animal shall drink alcohol to excess".

Does this remind us of the new Government's Education pledge of "No selection"? It turned out that this meant "No selection by ability", but that "Selection by aptitude" was at the heart of the new Government's vision of education. Or of the Local Government pledge of "No capping"? It turned out that this meant "No crude and universal capping", but that "powers to limit excessive council tax increases" are essential.

The book describes the battle for supremacy between Napoleon and Snowball. Napoleon wins by training a bodyguard of fierce dogs. The recent Government reshuffle has been described as a battle between supporters of the Prime Minister and the Chancellor. Are the Government spin doctors the modern equivalent of the fierce dogs? If the economy goes into recession and if youth unemployment rises, will we find the Chancellor blamed (as Snowball was blamed when the thin-walled windmill was blown down in a storm)?

After Napoleon's victory, he abolishes the policy meetings open to all animals and kindly offers to settle all policy issues himself - since as his assistant Squealer explains, "He would be happy to let you make your decisions for yourselves. But sometimes you might make the wrong decisions, comrades, and then where should we be?"

Whenever animals object, the sheep shout them down, bleating "Four legs good, two legs bad" or later on "Four legs good, two legs better". Does this remind you of most backbench Labour MPs? The anthem "Beasts of England" is then proscribed - how long will the "Red Flag" survive?

In the final chapter the pigs entertain neighbouring farmers to dinner. This ends with a violent quarrel. "There were shoutings, bangings on the table, sharp suspicious glances, furious denials. The source of the trouble appeared to be that Napoleon and Mr Pilkington had each played an ace of spades simultaneously. Twelve voices were shouting in anger, and they were all alike. No question, now, what had happened to the faces of the pigs. The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which." Can you tell the difference between New Labour and Old Tory?