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Posts Tagged ‘Political Parties’

I was quite struck by a couple of pieces in The Telegraph by Benedict Brogan. In the first of which he was giving his “take” on the tactics being employed by David Cameron to remain in power after the 2015 General Election.http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/benedictbrogan/100134556/why-wont-ministers-speak-up-for-david-cameron/

Whilst I found his article interesting and in a sense, “timely”, I am not too sure that I agree with it all in the sense that whilst for now, that may be an ‘intelligent guess’, reality means that as it is as all such things, a moving target or a “World in Motion…”, and how the game plays out over the next 3 years, may well be very different…

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The other day Ed Balls admitted that if Labour came to power they would not promise to reverse the cuts in public expenditure currently being made by the Coalition Government. Frankly, the only comment one can make to that is “About time !” The reality is if and when Labour next comes to power, the political weather and economic climate will have changed, inevitably.

Although right now both this and the World generally face some difficult financial issues, these are perhaps just symptoms of other problems rather than the core disease. For a country like the UK, we are probably looking at a long term decline that started during the First world War which coincides with the rise of the Labour Party. One could speculate that solving this decline could also coincide with its (Labour’s), decline just as Communism collapsed with the Berlin Wall.

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Although it started with a piece by by John Rentoul in the Independent on Sunday and him contemplating the shortly to open film on Margaret Thatcher starring Meryl Streep, it did set me to thinking about the whole concept of “Leadership” in a modern democratic society. http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/john-rentoul/john-rentoul-a-missed-chance-to-tell-the-truth-about-mrs-t-6283694.html

It was a good article but if anything and looking at some of the comments posted to it which seemed to be rooted in past battles long since lost by the Left, my feeling is that it is far too soon to even make a half decent attempt to judge the significance of Margaret Thatcher or indeed any other recent politician. The reality is that if you try to do so, you are not debating “facts”, just unproven myths…

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As a sign that this Country is on the verge of terminal insanity, there can be no clearer indication than the nonsense and furore surrounding an appearance by Jeremy Clarkson on the “One Show”.

The “One Show” is an indifferent “chat show” BBC TV programme that goes out around 19:00 in the evening and is fronted by a couple of totally colourless people who clearly have had their brains sucked out through their bottoms before being given the ‘gig’. What followed was embarrassing, if the chat show host had even been ‘Parky’ who was never the sharpest tool in the box, the result might have been different but with this simpering pair of nobodies…

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This week it is the turn of the Conservatives to have their annual Party Conference and that is quite an amusing thing to ponder because for them as for the others, LibDems and Labour previously, what can they say ? Even the biggest dimwit in the electorate has likely worked out by now that in a global crisis, the British Government has very little ability to alter the consequences.

There is very little real debate on policy or even alternative directions to go in. Perhaps as a seafaring nation, at heart we all know that when a gale blows, you sail your vessel to survive and ride out the storm, all thoughts of any preferred course and direction, for the moment put to one side.

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In a sense, the Labour Party Annual Conference that runs through this week, is likely the most pointless exercise that anyone could imagine this year. Just how does any Party Leader following 13 years in power that resulted in abject failure, “Rally His or Her Troops” ? The answer of course is that you can’t except lead them off into some cloud cuckoo land where they feel ‘comfortable’.

Ed Miliband was voted in by the Unions quite cynically, they knew that any “next leader” would be a political space filler, rather like the Tories electing IDS as their leader so, why waste any effort on them, “make ‘em nice, human and we will dump them as soon as favourable opportunities arise…” It is called ‘politics’. The funniest thing that will be on view this week is Ed Miliband knowing the score, trying to make headway and upset all expectations…

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As I contemplate the “Party Conference Season” all that comes to my mind is that they always have seemed disconnected from the electorate at large, an introverted gathering of the truly converted to whichever party but this year, more than most, they are little better than a series of pointless charades.

I am tempted to use yet again one of my favourite Bill Shakespeare quotes: “…Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player, That struts and frets his hour upon the stage, And then is heard no more. It is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing.” But in all fairness, is there really an alternative to a “National Party Conference ?”

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The reality is that the National Health Service, rather like Education, has become a ‘Sacred Cow’ in British Politics and that ‘connection’ truly does need to be broken asap, it clouds all rational debate and discussion.

This is a truly “Difficult Area” for any Government of any political colour and the practical realities have been shrouded in pointless emotion for far too long. Yes, it is good for the present Government to have to “Present and Sell” their proposals to us the public/electorate in some detail but it is also a chance for serious debate.

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Having recently got involved in another waste of time argument about the EU with overseas readers who commentate on the Economist discussion boards and find it impossible to understand why many in the UK want out and from there…It is all a total waste of energy.

However, the useful thing that sometimes emerges from these things is the opportunity to rationalise your own thinking and concentrate on the core reasons for why you hold the opinions you do. Sometimes, your “object”, in my case the EU, is little more than a token for the real problem, something that represents an ‘obstacle’ to solving real world problems but of itself, is probably just not that important.

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A rather ‘luke warm’ editorial in the Independent in the post Barnsley aftermath, according to them at least, was as follows: http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/leading-articles/leading-article-bad-but-not-terminal-in-barnsley-2232973.html

My response was simple: The result was foreknown, a racing certainty for Labour even on a very low turnout. What happened to the Coalition Parties is not very relevant and I suspect that if there were a General Election today, the national outcome would be pretty much the same as last year. The reality is that people are “waiting” on events, if things go well, the Coalition’s popularity will increase by the next General Election if not…

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