There isn’t an easy answer to every problem. Sometimes a social problem has no satisfactory solution. We just have to “muddle through”.
Well-meaning people sometimes believe that by passing another law –
or deleting one – all will be put right. The Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn may have had well-meaning intentions when he said, at Goldsmiths University last week, that he believed prostitution should be decriminalised. He told the students that people should not be criminalised for selling sex services – there was a “more civilised way” to approach this issue.
But his remarks angered Labour women colleagues, including the veteran feminist politician Harriet Harman (a niece of the late Lady Longford).
Prostitution, tweeted Ms Harman, is exploitation. The feminist lawyer Julie Bindel lacerated Mr Corbyn in print, saying his attitude was an example of the way left-wing men betrayed women.
In New Zealand, where the sex trade has been decriminalised, prostitutes have been murdered. But in Sweden, where the law criminalises the man who buys sex – not the prostitute – there have been no such homicides.
“Decriminalisation,” wrote Ms Bindel, means that “the state becomes the official pimp”, while local authorities become, in effect, brothel owners.
I think there will always be disagreement about legalising or decriminalising prostitution – because there may be no satisfactory social “solution”. The Swedish model sounds admirable, but the last time I was in Norway I was told that the street sex workers were escapees from this Swedish model.
Jacob Rees-Mogg MP said on Any Questions? that as a Catholic he thought prostitution was always wrong. As a moral ideal – sure. And yet, he might have added, there is a long Christian tradition of compassion for the prostitute, going back to Mary Magdalene. And kindness, too.
The late owner of a famous Soho pub, Gaston Berlaymont, told me that in 1940s Soho there had been many French prostitutes. “They were always so well-mannered,” he said. “And they never missed Mass on Sunday at St Patrick’s Church.”
Perhaps they felt, in church, valued as souls, rather than purchased as bodies. Celebrations are under way to mark the 90th birthday of Her Majesty the Queen on April 21. And perhaps in honour of the much-loved Elizabeth II, the national anthem has been retained at rugby and football events, after a Labour backbencher, Toby Perkins, had proposed that Jerusalem should be sung rather than God Save the Queen before England matches.
The sporting authorities have rejected the proposal, but I predict that it may arise again after the birthday celebrations, or, possibly, after the present Queen’s reign.
Many commentators have described the British national anthem as “a dirge” which lacks the liveliness of others. La Marseillaise is ever-rousing – consider its unforgettable rendering in the film Casablanca – and Deutschland über Alles is sufficiently beautiful to overcome its unfortunate passing association with events of 1939-45.
The Irish national anthem, The Soldier’s Song, also strikes up at a spirited pace, though the words, even in English, don’t make a lot of sense, alluding to some long-gone foe among Celtic tribal warriors.
God Save the Queen is indeed a bit dirge-like, but its charm lies in its personalised element. It is not just about an abstract concept, such as “Fatherland”: its focus is on a person, the personification of a nation.
We will tactfully draw a veil over the seldom-sung third verse, which originally contained a malediction against papists (“frustrate their knavish tricks”). Meanwhile, Mr Perkins’s choice of Jerusalem – a popular Christian hymn – is interesting, but surely the secularists would object?
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It’s been reported that some Britons who are nervous about the prospect of Brexit from the European Union are applying for Irish citizenship (to ensure they will still have access to EU freedom of movement).
The number of British people who qualify for Irish citizenship must be considerable, since you only need to have one Irish grandparent to do so. It’s been calculated that about a quarter of the population can claim an Irish granny (or grandad). Among Catholics, this figure is likely to be even higher.
The Irish state has historically had a liberal attitude towards those requesting Irish citizenship. Ireland has always feared emigration more than immigration, and taken it as a compliment when someone wants to be Irish.
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