Skip to main content

Went the day well?

After nearly six hours in an airless sports hall, as the officials struggled with the new automatic counting machines, the results were... well, "as you were". Looking across the country it is hard to avoid feeling a bit flat. Certainly not much really bad news- though losing Islington was a disappointment clearly- on the other hand, holding Kingston and Sutton, taking Richmond and making overall progress is not too bad. Knocking the government into third place in the national share of the vote is also reasonable. Labour, however did not melt down- though they had a pretty horrid night over all, it was just about as bad as expected, but not worse. The Conservatives will be obviously happier, but 40% in the locals still does not look a government forming vote, at a General election, and they missed as many targets as they hit. There must be a slight sense of unease that, aside from London, their performance in the metropolitan boroughs was generally poor.

From a personal perspective, I am concerned. Turnout was still laughably low- generally around 25%. It is clear that people are just not engaging with the political system that is supposed to serve them. On reflection, I think that there probably is something that politicians actually could do to improve this. It is something so old fashioned that many will instantly dismiss it: it is courtesy.

By and large I do not believe that most of my political opponents are personally corrupt. I just think that they are mistaken. Clearly when incompetence is found- and Charles Clarke's upset at the Home Office does apply- then someone must take responsibility, and under the current cabinet system, that should be the minister. Clearly too, sexual harassment of employees, as alleged about John Prescott, is a serious professional failing and, if true, is not acceptable. However, we should be a lot more nuanced in our criticisms. Otherwise all we end up with is the sense that every failing in a minister is a scandal, and should be punished by a resignation that, if resisted, demonstrates a lust for office that is equally unacceptable.

Damned if you quit, damned if you stay.

Generic sleaze is corrosive of politics as a whole. If politicians would like greater respect from the general populace, then perhaps they should start by respecting each other in public, as most of them do in private. The problem is that such a self denying ordinance robs us of what may people see as part of the fun of politics: common abuse and muckraking. It may be fun, but we have got to try to wean ourselves away from this kind of schoolyard stuff- otherwise turnout will remain low. More to the point the quality of politicians will fall. Only professional politicians, accustomed to the personal abuse and either too thick skinned or brazen to care what people say about them, will put themselves forward. Many genuine people on all sides of the political spectrum are being put off by the intensity of the personal invective. Few rich or successful people now wish to put themselves up for election, when even driving a twenty year old Jag is considered a thoughtcrime.

For myself, I have agonized somewhat. I have no corrupt skeletons- save perhaps a couple of late tax returns. My sex life is as embarrassing as anyone else's- in the sense that I would hate much of it to be front page material on The News of the Screws- but to most eyes, it is fairly boringly normal. I am reasonably successful in the City, so there will be those who would dislike that, though I have always imposed a very strict code of personal ethics, way beyond the needs of law, and as a result am dramatically less rich than even perfectly acceptable behaviour would have made me. In the opinion of my friends and my party I am well qualified to stand for Parliament again.

I will put my name forward, but only a fool would be undaunted by the prospect of the examination ahead. Perhaps the only way is to handle oneself is with a measure of defiance, as Alan Clark- that charming rogue- did. However, a "Flashman" Parliament is as repulsive as a "Pollyanna" Parliament.

Mind you, it might be a lot more fun.

Comments

You are right - a slightly disappointing night for the Lib Dems nationally. Though it's a measure of our progress over past years that I do view it that way.

Good luck in putting yourself forward - though please don't use Alan Clark as a role model!

I remember from his diary that he described David Penhaligon - my favourite all-time real politician - as a 'turd'.
Cicero said…
Clark was the all-time greatest Mr. Toad (and complete shit, even according to his wife). He was a maelstrom of ego, and comparing him with Penhaligon, morally speaking, is not possible! "I don't give a blow. Lie, if necessary"- on the other hand both were shrewd and both were respected (though, of course DP was really loved...)
Anonymous said…
I'm hoping that negativity comment doesn't apply to our excellently crafted, superbly on message campaign in Bayswater?

Popular posts from this blog

Concert and Blues

Tallinn is full tonight... Big concerts on at the Song field The Weeknd and Bonnie Tyler (!). The place is buzzing and some sixty thousand concert goers have booked every bed for thirty miles around Tallinn. It should be a busy high summer, but it isn´t. Tourism is down sharply overall. Only 70 cruise ships calling this season, versus over 300 before Ukraine. Since no one goes to St Pete, demand has fallen, and of course people think that Estonia is not safe. We are tired. The economy is still under big pressure, and the fall of tourism is a significant part of that. The credit rating for Estonia has been downgraded as the government struggles with spending. The summer has been a little gloomy, and soon the long and slow autumn will drift into the dark of the year. Yesterday I met with more refugees: the usual horrible stories, the usual tears. I try to make myself immune, but I can´t. These people are wounded in spirit, carrying their grief in a terrible cradling. I try to project hop

Media misdirection

In the small print of the UK budget we find that the Chancellor of the Exchequer (the British Finance Minister) has allocated a further 15 billion Pounds to the funding for the UK track and trace system. This means that the cost of the UK´s track and trace system is now 37 billion Pounds.  That is approximately €43 billion or US$51 billion, which is to say that it is amount of money greater than the national GDP of over 110 countries, or if you prefer, it is roughly the same number as the combined GDP of the 34 smallest economies of the planet.  As at December 2020, 70% of the contracts for the track and trace system were awarded by the Conservative government without a competitive tender being made . The program is overseen by Dido Harding , who is not only a Conservative Life Peer, but the wife of a Conservative MP, John Penrose, and a contemporary of David Cameron and Boris Johnson at Oxford. Many of these untendered contracts have been given to companies that seem to have no notewo

Bournemouth absence

Although I had hoped to get down to the Liberal Democrat conference in Bournemouth this year, simple pressure of work has now made that impossible. I must admit to great disappointment. The last conference before the General Election was always likely to show a few fireworks, and indeed the conference has attracted more headlines than any other over the past three years. Some of these headlines show a significant change of course in terms of economic policy. Scepticism about the size of government expenditure has given way to concern and now it is clear that reducing government expenditure will need to be the most urgent priority of the next government. So far it has been the Liberal Democrats that have made the running, and although the Conservatives are now belatedly recognising that cuts will be required they continue to fail to provide even the slightest detail as to what they think should guide their decisions in this area. This political cowardice means that we are expected to ch