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It’s my house. The posters say “Vote Labour”. I've never previously stuck up a political poster. Ever.
Not that I’m expecting the message to be heeded. In the 26 years we’ve lived in Hereford, the city’s southern-section Labour candidate has always been a distant third in general elections. But miracles do happen, and national polls put Labour 21 points ahead of the Tories. Perhaps, perhaps.
It’s more a statement than an exhortation. I’ve never been more ashamed to be British than now. Eliot’s wry observation “…not with a bang but a whimper” has never been more apposite. Except it’s a sordid whimper. A corrupt whimper. A land where opportunism, political greed, governmental incompetence, international egotism, contempt for anyone who is differently coloured or who lives in mainland Europe are the order of the day.
A land where closed-doors finagling results in an other-worldly person becoming prime minister, ruling for forty-odd days and leaving office having cost the country £46bn. What’s that? £46,000,000,000.
Tories have ruled for 14 years. Their manifesto tells us what they intend to do. Why, you ask, did you not do these things earlier? There seems to have been plenty of time.
To curry favour Tories promise to cut taxes. But that means spending less on public aid: health, education, the elderly, even, for goodness sake (THESE ARE TORIES!) the armed forces.
The feeble-minded, queried by TV reporters, disguise their ignorance with “All politicians are the same.” Maybe; but is it conceivable the opposition would do worse?
In the past VR and I have been forced to vote tactically. The hell with that. Who knows…?
Footnote: Labour is led by a knight. Knights did chivalry. Yeah, pure bullshit, I suppose.
I suppose you have influenced me in many ways over the years. However, yesterday I had a phone call from our prospective Labour candidate for our newly formed constituency. For many years our MP has been Tim Farron and I always voted for him. He has been energetic and effective to the point of above and beyond on behalf of our community and he has been of help to me in the past, and also within the last few days when I asked for advice with my British Gas problem he responded by return informing me he had written direct to the CEO of BG the same day, so I will be sorry to lose him. But this frees me from the decision to vote tactically or vote to oust the present lot. The Labour candidate was impressive on the phone during a ten minute or so conversation and I quizzed her on various topics. She was knowledge, able, and articulate, and what I would call a vocational politician with a sound track record of public service. The parties standing with percentage poll ratings from January this year are:
ReplyDeleteLab 35%
Con34%
LibDem 16%
Reform9%
Green 4%
So for me it was a no brainer, especially as Labour only show a slender majority and it could be a close fight with the worst result . For once I'm not sitting on the fence. I gave her promise of my vote on the phone. I'm glad I did that before reading your post underlining the fact that I unequivocally made up my own mind.
Sir Hugh: We too have faced the conundrum of a good constituency MP belonging to a party that is far from good. Our guy helped me solve a problem with the DVLA that I had found to be nightmare. He called when only VR was in, talked agreeably, asked genuine questions about her grandfather who was persecuted for belonging to miners' trade union. "He seemed like a nice chap,." she said.
ReplyDeleteSomewhat tangentially he is married to the daughter of a senior judge whom we had had admired (speaking about the Rule of Law) at the Hay Festival. Also, his wife played a significant and beneficial role during the acquisition of pandemic vaccines
I pointed out it was a professional requirement that he appeared nice. But there was more. He had a minor position with the Treasury and we were able to check a huge list of horrible bills he had voted for. To give him credit, he has, over the last year, tried to distance himself from the excesses of Tory party leaders. I suspect he'll get in; good luck to him.
It is the people he consorts with I hate. Note how many have decided to renounce MP-ship rather than undergo their own version of the "Portillo moment".
Bravo! Robbie and Sir Hugh!
ReplyDeleteFed: I'm not quite sure what you are applauding. My apostasy? - it's not at all new. My writing style? - Amazing what a weekend spent at the Walter Pater School of Applied Gentility can achieve. My grasp of controlled vituperation? - I've worked hard at that. My longevity? - I can't help wondering if I deserve it.
ReplyDeleteNone of those. My applause was for your coming out in Belmont
ReplyDeleteFed: Confession time. My "coming out" was not entirely self-generated. I was chatting to a neighbour four doors down - interesting background in management - and discovered he'd just put up a Vote Labour poster. Joked about it, "Of course," he said, "I could be doing it for this or that less admirable reason." - quite a complex statement for someone who admitted to be a born Herefordian. This, I saw, as the starting gun.
ReplyDeleteAs you know many people walking their dogs on our estate pass within 3 or 4 metres of our lounge bow window. Their post-poster-putting-up behaviour has changed subtly. Previously they felt entitled to peer into our lounge only to jerk away as if in spasm when VR - admirably positioned for this - waved to them. Now they start to peer in, notice the poster and switch their heads 180 degrees away from its corrupting influence. Or could it be guilt?
I also dislike when people refuse to take a stand or a side by claiming "all politicians are alike." It's cowardice to use that as an excuse to not vote. I have read that the word idiot derives from in ancient Greece meant someone who was not involved or participated in the public or political aspects of the community.
ReplyDeleteColette: I'd like to suggest such people are under-educated but since I left school at 15 I can't speak usefully about them since I am one myself.
ReplyDelete