One thing that will always make me hate the US is the arrogance of the belief that it is the father of democracy, when it is probably to poorest example in the so-called “free world”.
In the US you have a choice between two right of centre capitalist with very little difference except nuance. There is no real choice, and even when an election is counted the result is one of two men to represent 750 million persons. It’s risible.
In Europe most countries have several parties, and even where the first-past-the-post system tends to reduce the number of parties to 2 main ones, most have several competing views. If the minor never get into power this tends to keep the political class busy thinking. In many countries where proportional representation is in place coalitions are common place. This means that views off the mainstream can get aired and debated.
In the last 20 years the British political system has been going the way of the US, and indeed for much of the 20thC only two parties ruled. In the early part the trad. two gave way to the Labour movement, and a new trad two were born when in 1931 the first Labour PM was elected. But despite the FPTP system the third party was always a threat.
Now we have the rise of a fourth main contended. I hate all that UKIP stand for, but it is a signal that democracy is still a vital part of British Life.
The party leaders of the once big three are currently running around like headless chicken wondering what happened and what can they do to change. The fact is that there is nothing they can do, except one thing. They seem to have latched on to the idea that ordinary people are not being heard - so far so good. Trouble is, that is not exactly the problem. The trouble is that ordinary people are not being represented. The leaders and their political class think that all they will have to do is listen, so that they can win their school-boy battles with the members opposite, just like they are used to in Cambridge Debating Society or in the classroom during their Political, Philosophy and Economics degree.
No. The current political class do not, and cannot speak for ordinary people. The Tory leader does not know the problems a small business has growing and negotiating the endless regulations, and rules. The labour leader does not know what it is like to try to live on minimal wage. And the other guy needs to consult a dictionary to learn what the word “Pledge” means (enough of Clegg), he deserves the worst of what he will get. They only know the college debating room and have otherwise pretty much everything on a plate. Politics, for them, is a game.
It is no good responding to the minutiae of the “Focus Group”. What you need to do is to end the leadership of the professional politician, nurtured on spin and misdirection of policy learned as a parliamentary researcher.
What is needed is to bring forward the people that made the parties in the first place; working people, party activists.
So the one thing Millibland and tweedledee David and tweedledum Nick can do is exit from their political careers, and leave it to people capable of REPRESENTATION.
Let’s face it UKIP is never going to lead. But whilst they furnish the people with a beer swilling smiley bloke, even THAT moron is going to look a lot better that dave, dave, dozy nick and twits.
