Once again the Annual Political Bunfest is upon us, not that
you would have known it without the hype from the press. Meaningful soundbites
have been few and far between, which is a sad reflection of the times in which
we are living and the lack of any cohesive strategy to get the country out of
the deep economic mess from any of the parties. Even the obligatory bouts of
personal mudslinging have lacked any real conviction this year.
Strangely, I have found myself studying David Cameron more
closely than I would care to admit. He cannot help his upbringing, he will
forever be an ‘Etonian toff’, and he should be happy with the hand that life
has dealt him. To portray himself as a ‘normal everyday geezer’, ‘a man of the
people’, is about as convincing as William Hague in a baseball cap.
Ed Milliband dedicated a great part of his keynote speech to
how ‘normal’ an upbringing he had. ‘Beaker’ may have attended Haverstock Comprehensive
School but not every pupil has 2 successful and celebrated academics for parents.
Nor do they go on to study at Oxford and Harvard.
John Major was not averse to talking up his humble family
background and Margaret Thatcher would
often play on her ‘grocer’s daughter from Rochdale’ roots. Personally, I
find such references rather unnerving and patronising to the point of nausea. I
would no more wish to see the country run by someone brought up in an inner
city tower block with just a GCSE in woodwork to their name than I would
welcome the spectacle of Vince Cable sporting an earring ,an eyebrow piercing
and with a large spider’s web tattoo on
his neck. Of course, every party strives to endear themselves to the widest
range of voter, but it is buttock-clenchingly insulting when they do not credit
the electorate with the ability to spot a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
When I say that I am studying David Cameron I should explain
that I am examining his footprints and
checking for signs of pedicel growth. His recent speeches talk of
difficult changes and growth which I believe are a veiled reference to his own
personal wellbeing. His political rhetoric would clearly indicate that he is
living, as he believes we all are, in a weird utopian world, which I (for one) don’t
recognise, and I am simply seeking the evidence of cloven hoof and horns to
prove my suspicions that he is, in fact, Mr. Tumnus.
Anyone who believes that this country is in the throws of
economic recovery is clearly living in the world of Narnia. The only reason
that the jobless total has fallen is that there has been a boom in coffee and
fast food outlets – this is all well and good up until we hit the point of a
coffee shortage when booming prices will force many of these new enterprises to
close, and we will have a glut of Baristas swelling the dole queue.
David Cameron may trumpet increases in the number of
doctors, dentists, nurses, etc. but the problems within the NHS are still
escalating. Fuel costs are increasing, manufacturing costs are increasing,
youth unemployment is rising and the only people in receipt of pay rises are company
directors. Every time I visit the local shops I notice that more shops have closed
and that food prices have risen. The police and the military are being forced
into reducing their numbers and there are still several years of cuts in public
services ahead.
He talks of the necessity for people to make cuts and the
need for more entrepreneurs. In focusing on the public sector he seems to have
forgotten that there are a great number of private enterprises who rely on, and
have been just as badly affected by the cuts made to this country’s public services. At the same time as we are being asked to make cuts we are being asked to make savings towards our long term needs in retirement. Those at the top may be in a position to adjust to the economies being asked of us all but for the majority of those on middle or lower incomes every enforced cut is a major blow and there comes a point where there is no more water in the well.
True, we are a victim of the global economic climate along
with everybody else. Thankfully we are not in the position of Greece, Italy,
Spain, Portugal or Ireland but Britain is certainly not Narnia and the only
thing at the back of my wardrobe is a manky old pair of trainers.
