The Chronic ails of Narnia

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.