Tuesday, December 15, 2009

March or May? Just go!

Politicians getting unsettled, will he wont he, you'd think it was important, though in reality after Lisbon it makes next to no difference who rules, different faces, same masters in Brussels. Yes it's election speculation time, when will Gordon go to the polls, it's about the only important decision he can make all to himself, a Prime Ministers prerogative so to speak.

Guardian.
The sudden flurry of speculation that Gordon Brown might opt for a 25 March general election finds MPs in all parties at Westminster deeply divided on the prospect. Tory MPs dismiss it as a Labour-spun rumour to unsettle them. On a night when ICM's latest Guardian poll confirmed the closing gap – now 9% – Labour colleagues return the compliment.
Hazel Blears is confident of holding her Salford seat despite everything, but would prefer the established favourite date, 6 May, which coincides with the local elections. Door-knocking needs volunteers and council elections guarantees them. Besides, March is still cold and dark. In Islington North her leftwing colleague, Jeremy Corbyn, would prefer 25 March, "so the Tories have less time to spend all that money".
Some Conservative MPs, even those jittery as they contemplate a hung parliament under a leader who commands less respect or affection than they would like, want to get it over with in March. "The third quarter (Oct-Dec) growth figures will be better in the Christmas runup, then they'll dip again when VAT rises," protests one. Good point: bad Jan-March data would surface in April.
But not even March-ites can convince themselves it will happen. "Brown always ducks decisions, it's the story of his life," snaps another May-ite, this time Labour. The case for having another budget, despite the widely-hostile reception for last week's PBR, is as strong as avoiding having one.
One thing is for certain, the best thing Brown can hope for is a hung parliament, though it's unlikely to say the least that Labour will form the majority party in it. If they don't then I doubt the Lib Dems will ally with them, it would be akin to serving up tainted fruit.
Yes the public are heartily sick of this corrupt Labour government, but the Conservatives have yet to sell themselves as a credible government with a credible leader. Being seen as a nice guy only worked for Blair in a time of economic prosperity, Cameron faces a massive recession where being Mr. Nice-guy is not going to be enough and the public know this. They also know a man of weak principles too, no one will believe a cast iron guarantee off Cameron ever again in pretty much the same way that anyone knows that a Labour manifesto promise is not subject to legitimate expectations.
So we have to put up with Brown trying to figure out when would be the best time to go to the people, which naturally for him will be when is best for Labour or alternatively worst for the Tories, that's the way the man thinks, it wont be what's best for you or I or what's best for the country, but it will be born out of the selfish desire to do the maximum amount of damage to the next government bearing in mind that he knows he wont be in charge of it barring a miracle.
Either way what we'll end up with is much of the same, a lot of words and a good few more EU directives, because not one of the main parties will give us a say whether we want Brussels directing our lives.

So, I wont vote for the Lab/Lib/Con pact, they don't represent me and wont give me and the majority our say and for as long as they ignore me, I'll ignore them save only to stick the boot in with words as and when I can.

4 annotations:

Daniel1979 said...

I feel much the same. There should be a law that forbits a PM to spend money in a fifth year without a vote in Parliament, Brown has gone silly lately with spending pledges and it is only going to get worse.

Daniel1979 said...

oops, 'forbids'

James Higham said...

You're right - we're effing sick of them.

Dave H said...

"...he wont be in charge of it barring a miracle."

I'm just off to check the definition of miracle. Surely God was meant to be the good one?