Systematic social and environmental deregulation, and the

In the words of Andrew Adonis, Baron Adonis: “Systematic social and environmental deregulation, and the economics of austerity while enriching the rich, will be the markers of Farage/Tory politics after Brexit. Singapore-on-Sea for the rich; degradation for the rest.” These words carry the tone of a prophet’s warning, casting light on the dangers of power wielded for the few at the expense of the many. They remind us that choices made in politics are not abstract games, but forces that shape the daily lives of people, the health of communities, and the fate of the earth itself.

The ancients often spoke of balance as the soul of governance. When kings forgot the needs of their subjects and pursued wealth for themselves, collapse soon followed. Deregulation, in Adonis’s warning, is not freedom but license—the stripping away of protections for the vulnerable, for workers, and for the natural world. When these safeguards are cast aside in the name of profit, the strong grow stronger while the weak are crushed. Thus, he calls it systematic, for it is not a single act, but a philosophy that reshapes society from its foundations.

The mention of austerity is equally grave. To tighten the belt of the poor while loosening the coffers of the rich is a cruelty older than empires. Consider the decline of Rome, where senators and elites feasted while grain grew scarce for the common people. Or think of the Irish Famine, where policy and indifference deepened the suffering of millions. In every age, austerity is presented as necessity, but too often it is a veil for inequality, demanding sacrifice from those who have little, while allowing indulgence for those who have much.

Adonis speaks of Brexit as the turning point, a sundering of ties that left Britain at a crossroads. To some, it was the promise of sovereignty and new beginnings; to others, it was the opening of the door to exploitation. His phrase “Singapore-on-Sea” paints a vision of a state modeled on low regulation, where wealth flourishes for a narrow class while protections for workers and the environment are stripped away. To the few, this may seem prosperity; but to the many, it is degradation—of wages, of health, of nature itself.

History warns us of this pattern. In the Gilded Age of America, unrestrained industry brought immense fortunes to a handful of tycoons, yet left workers in slums, children in factories, and rivers black with soot. The land prospered for the rich, but degraded for the rest. It was only through struggle—through unions, reformers, and new laws—that balance was restored, however briefly. Adonis’s words suggest that Britain, too, risks such an age of extremes unless vigilance and resistance temper the path of deregulation.

The deeper meaning of the quote is that politics is never neutral. Every policy, every framework of law, tilts the scales either toward justice or toward inequality. To deregulate without conscience is to place short-term gain above long-term survival. To embrace austerity for the many while enriching the few is to sever the bonds of trust that hold a nation together. The true markers of a society’s greatness are not in its wealth alone, but in how that wealth is shared, in how the strong restrain their power for the sake of the weak, and in how the earth is preserved for generations unborn.

So let this teaching endure: beware of the glitter of promises that shine only for the few. Do not be deceived by visions of prosperity that demand the suffering of the many. In your life, act as guardian of balance—support leaders and policies that defend both the worker and the land, resist the false gospel of endless growth at the earth’s expense, and raise your voice when injustice is cloaked in the language of necessity. For if the people remain silent, the tide of degradation will wash over them; but if they stand together, the false prosperity of the few can be challenged, and a truer, fairer prosperity for all may yet be secured.