Been catching up on some of the week's newspapers tonight. I was in serious political mode. We are at the start of a long general election campaign, and inevitably this blog will become entangled in it's tentacles as it's writer strives to become MP for Montgomeryshire. I suppose its bound to become more partisan as well. Partisan is certainly how I feel as I begin this post.
The theme of political stories this week has been the telling of bare-faced untruths by Labour Ministers. I hope I'm not being unfair, but lets look at some of the evdence. The first untruth is the big one - Gordon Brown's campaign to portray the difference between the economic policies of his party and mine after the next election as "Labour Investment" versus "Tory Cuts". This is totally, unambiguously untrue, and nobody outside the small group of No 10 acolytes thinks otherwise. Mathew d'Ancona covers it well in tomorrow's Telegraph. The Chancellor's budget, delivered last April to approving nods and backslapping from Mr Brown informed us that all departmental spending would be cut by 7% between 2011 - 2014. If any services are to be protected this percentage will increase. I don't think Gordon Brown is a bad man. But he seems to have beome delusional, and will become a sad derided figure if he does not find a way of completely changing his line.
Then secondly we have the issue of rights and freedoms of gay people. Ben Bradshaw, Chris Bryant and Angela Eagle, three openly gay ministers are seeking to suggest that a future Conservative Government would reverse legislation that protects gay rights and freedoms. The suggestion is that some unnamed, unhuman creatures described as "Tory backbenchers" would force David Cameron into such a course of action. What disturbs me is that, just like Gordon Brown on public spending cuts, they know what they are saying is competely untrue. Fellow blogger, Iain Dale, who is also gay, has published two posts here and here which exposes the dishonesty better than I could ever do. There may well be individuals in my party who want to change legislation in this field, but I don't know them. And as for 'forcing' Prime Minister Cameron to take such a position! What planet are they on? Planet Disneyland.
And yesterday we read that Andy Burnham, the Health Secretary, who had seemed a half decent minister at culture tells the world that Andrew Lansley has announced that a future Conservative Government is going to freeze pay for nurses and doctors. It seems that the Conservative health spokesman said something along the lines that the NHS could not afford 'inflationary' pay rises. Again, Mr Burnham, a UK Government Minister is setting out to deliberately deceive the public. He's left himself looking like just another dishonest politician.
I accept that in political knockabout there is always some finessing of words, and exaggeration to make a point. Its also common for an accusation to be made simply to try to force an answer. But what we are seeing now in planned, systemic dishonesty - even after flat denials to the 'charges' have been made . And the rottenness and putridness is worst and is fanned by the man at the top. The whole Government is becoming polluted. This is why I do not believe that Gordon Brown will lead Labour into the General Election. He has made himself an increasingly disrespected and unbelievable figure. There are too many decent people in the Labour Party who will not be prepared to allow this systemic dishonesty to eat away at the foundations of their party.
8 comments:
"... and there are too many decent people in the Labour Party who will not be prepared to allow this systemic dishonesty to eat away at the foundations of their party."
Unfortunately, the British Labour Party has become more corrupt and more interested in 'self' than in any time in its history, and that is a shame because at one time Labour was a party focused on the greater good and was for many years very connected to aspirations and needs of ordinary working folk. It is a great shame.
Labour has not just lost its way; it is going in circles caught up in its own growing cesspit of lies piled upon lies piled upon lies.
Gordon Brown has set about wrecking the fabric of the nation, and his own party has abrogated its responsibility to the nation.
What Labour is now would be unrecognizable to its founding fathers. Labour has become a party of self-interested elitists and extreme left-wing-PC zealots. The PC crowd in the Labour Party has managed to make ordinary working folk frightened of engaging in honest debate and as a direct result allowed the BNP party to gain a foothold both at national and European level.
How can this be? Because the British Labour Party has morphed into an elitist party out to destroy the fabric of the nation.
Labour has crossed the line – it is become a party that deserves no support whatsoever.
There needs to be a new party to replace Labour – the UK needs an honest and hardworking Labour Party – but not the party that carries that name today.
Labour is now dividing between the deceivers and those with some degree of integrity, Frank Field et al. It is about to self-destruct.
My family had been labour supporters for generations, on one side they were Bootle dockers, on the other side Welsh labourers. In 1997 I felt a huge relief when we got rid of a corrupt and badly organised bunch of Tories, it was such a good day for the people, or so I thought. Within a few months I could see that we, the nation, had made a terrible mistake. It has been a catalogue of errors ever since.
BUT, the problem lies with the fact that politics is bust, we need a complete sea change in the way UK PLC is run, we need people who actually have the experience of running a business in control and we need to reward them better than the idiot bankers who conned this lot into letting them regulate themselves, not that the regulators have a clue what is going on because regulation as we know it is also bust, not fit for purpose.
Polictics is bust.
GBGB - Even stronger than I was. Very much in line with what William Rees-Mogg has written in today's MoS - and he's a perceptive man who chooses his words with great care.
Alan - I don't think Labour will self destruct. I do think that the plan is to force Brown out at a time when its thought to be too late to demand a General Election before May.
IFADU - We need MPs who have integrity and a willingness to recruit and listen to the the best brains.
In particular regard to the gay issue. The Labour government has been a brave, reforming one on this issue. David Cameron also deserves credit for bringing the bulk of his party to accept those reforms. Labour's record on this issue is a good one and they have a right to be proud of it. Why risk sullying it by tring to re-politicise an issue where a welcome and healthy consensus has developed?
Anon - Agreed in all respects.
Glyn> glad u liked my wee piece (Gee Bees ...). MoS should hire me! ex-Labour now hard Con.
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