Do Something

Within the next thirteen months, we in the UK must have a general election. About 2,000 candidates will ask us to vote for them so that we can elect a party with enough seats to be able to form a government to run this country. Each party will produce a manifesto of wishful thinking and half-truths and will indulge in a festival of spin. If I refuse to vote for any of them on the grounds that no party gives the impression that it could run a chip shop, I will be accused of being apathetic. I am not apathetic. I am just bloody angry. I want to see some signs that there is a group of people who will tell us what they intend to do and how they will govern. There is a handful of politicians who I believe have something to offer - I would include Kenneth Clark, Vince Cable and David Davies and perhaps a few others. But not enough to form a government.

I did not set out to make this site a constant catalogue of moans against the political process but it seems to turn out that way. I have made it clear that the government of Blair/Brown is, in my view, the worst in my life time. Even going back further than that I doubt if there was any government worse. When I have the time, I will type out the catalogue of its failures. This government is the final dying entrails of Thatcherism.

I disliked Margaret Thatcher with a passionate intensity but at least she believed in something. But today, I feel that the whole of Westminster is populated with careless, second-rate politicians who are just potential violinists; people desperately learning to play the fiddle and form an orchestra, so that, like Nero, they can demonstrate their art while the city and empire collapse around them. We have an economic mess the like of which we have not seen in a century and these stupid people hit the front pages of newspapers because [a] they made up pathetic childish stories about opposition politicians and [b] they stand up demanding apologies and letters from the prime minister. Our idols have feet of clay? This lot are of clay from head to toe.

In the name of God, stop behaving like spoilt 5 year olds, get out of the play-pen and do something about the ghastly mess we are in.

What did we do to deserve them?