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Last week, a friend of mine who claims no interest in politics, their view being that as individuals we are powerless to change anything or even get politicians to listen to us, set me an interesting challenge.

What they wanted me to do was to come up with just one reason why the Labour Party should be voted out of Office at the next General Election. It was entirely up to me to decide exactly what that reason was, this policy or that but, I could only put forward ONE and that must be good enough for the politically uncommitted to understand and consider.

So Where to Start ?

As I thought about it I started to realise that this was quite a demanding exercise. I could say Tony Blair getting us involved in Iraq, the Dr. David Kelly Affair, Cash for Honours, The policy on the EU, refusing a promised Referendum, Gordon Brown underfunding the Armed Forces, spending taxes like a drunken sailor, Political Correctness destroying the fabric of society, 42 Days Detention… the list is endless.

The problem is not what I personally object to, my “big thing” could be leaving the EU but that does not mean it is a topic which would have universal appeal, indeed it has always been seen as “Policy Wonk Territory” in electoral terms so of all the things I detest about Labour and Brown, what one thing could I pick on…?

A Cooking Moment

My 88 year old Mother having suffered a heart attack is currently in hospital. As often happens when people reach a certain age and stage, her appetite is poor and not because I am a bad cook so various foods, sauces and ingredients get left in the cupboard. So with her in hospital and as I hate waste, it was a good time to use up some of this material in cooking meals for myself.

Whilst stuff in tins can last years, sauces in glass jars do not. Cut a long story short, I was using a cheese based sauce out of a jar and after I had started cooking, wanted to check on the ingredients so, consulted the label and in doing so realised it was some months past its use by date. Did I then throw it all away ?

The answer is no and having ate it, was a jolly good pasta dish too, I have survived with no side effects except perhaps the unexpected growth of hair on the palms of my hands and a green glow in my eyes…

A Eureka Moment !

It was then that I realised the “One Reason” for Brown and his cronies to be gone – They are all past their Use By Date ! They are quite simply ‘tired and droopy’ like a wilting bunch of flowers and just changing the water won’t revive them we need a fresh new bunch of flowers !

Given the current economic situation, the Country needs an injection of “Hope” and the possibility of change and things getting better. The problem with any Government that has been in Office for 10 -13 years by the time of a General Election, is that they invariably look tired, totally jaded and this becomes even more exaggerated during periods of major changes. As the incumbent party in Office, Labour has many advantages over the Opposition in terms of setting agendas and so forth but, they also suffer some major disadvantages too, they are the same and the same people saying the same things.

The Need for Change

I am sure that Gordon Brown when he came into Office wanted to make the job of Prime Minister “His Own” both in policies and tone but the reality was he couldn’t because having been in charge of the UK Economy as Chancellor for 10 years, he was a prisoner of his own past. Labour lost its chance of renewing itself when nobody stood against Gordon Brown for the Leadership because the ‘contest’ would have allowed even Brown to mark out a new path and direction for the future. Instead both Brown and the Labour Party are locked into policies that have clearly failed.

David Cameron in contrast could come into the Office of Prime Minister and conduct an ‘on-going dialogue’ with the electorate where he could be open, make the odd mistake and admit to them without losing the respect of the majority of the voters. Although it may not look like it currently if your only measurement of British Politics is opinion poll ratings, Cameron is almost perfectly poised to introduce a modern version of “One Nation Politics”. If the economic picture darkens further, “We are in this together” and sharing the pain equally, will be crucial for the UK, there will be no room for Labour’s “blame culture” that they have created over these past 11 years through their petty fogging legislation.

The Answer

The Labour Government is stale, smells of failure, has an inability to listen and is incapable of changing itself. Brown is not a politician and lacks leadership capabilities but and what makes it worse is that with a 60 seat majority in the Commons, they do not have an alternative Leader to Brown to offer the electorate either.

So the answer to my Friend’s challenge is nothing to do with any one policy or person, it is simply Labour is past its USE BY DATE – throw them out !