There's not a lot that prompts a bout of feather spitting for me. Aside from the rigours of everyday life, work and my faltering fitness regime, I'm pretty much all sweetness and light.
Excising me this week is a feeling. I've not had this feeling since I last read Adrian Mole about 28 years ago. This feeling persisted through the years and lasted until just after John Major turned up.
I'll try and explain.
Part of it is the stark realisation that the rhetoric from Dave about caring Conservatism is a load of old tosh. Of course, I knew this deep down but I didn't really want to admit it to myself. To do so would mean allowing 'the feeling' to get back under my skin.
Well it's back. And I don't like it. Rightly or wrongly I hold the following beliefs.
Given half the chance:
--If there's a ladder to pull up, the Tories will do it.
--If there's a choice between supporting communities or big business..
--If there's a problem to solve in society then it will always be someone else's problem (and fault)
--If there's a bothersome state service that requires care and attention there will be Serco waiting in the wings.
After the coalition fractures in 18 months time and Clegg, with his tail between his legs reluctantly supports a no confidence vote, we will have a general election.
Then, Cameron will pull out all the stops and probably win the general election with poxy FPTP. (there will be boundary changes to suit..)
At this point, unshackled by the Lib Dems, the Tories will retreat into their intellectual green zone. We'll then be subjected to their true underhand bile smeared policies.
Now I've got that out of my system, I've got to get back to my faltering fitness regime, staring at the wii fit. Still in the box.
2 comments:
You are right about the caring Conservatism. Has any Government in recent memory been quite so brazen about saying one thing and doing another? Flashman's only job outside of politics was in PR and it shows.
You might be right about the General Election and a Tory majority. But maybe not. I think the Lib-Dems will be reluctant to force a GE as they face wipe-out. The Tories too will be wary: They will remember that they failed to win a majority last year against a discredited Government, after an very deep recession , and with a very unpopular Prime Minister. Boundary changes will not help them that much.
I think the Coalition will last full term. The Tories' plan is to have a bit of spare cash by then to bribe the electorate (looking increasingly unlikely with Osborne's incompetence taking effect); the Lib Dems hanging on for a revival in the polls (perhaps, they'll ditch Clegg?).
Whatever, I think politics is very volatile at the moment. I wouldn't put money on any of these outcomes. For example, there were rumours the other day than Vince Cable was set to defect to Labour. Things like that could upset a lot of calculations.
Exercise tip: I stick a stationary bike in front of BBC iPlayer.
As I read your post I'm already thinking that what you've said is probably more likely. However, I would make one point. Don't underestimate a political party's ability to self destruct.
A phrase being banded around at the moment by Sepp Blatter (of FIFA corruption and sleaze fame) is 'Crisis? What crisis?'
Callaghan unwisely used it and put Labour in the wilderness for a generation. The Liberals are not above a catastrophic error of judgement on the same scale..
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