|
Written by Austin Mitchell
|
|
24 October 2005 |
|
Once more unto the blog, Dear Friends. The nation has waited impatiently for the revival of Britain’s most honest blog site. The people have begged and pleaded. Some have been reduced to reading and re reading the joys of the first bloggy election. Others have written to Tony asking him to make me a bloggy minister. Most have relapsed into sobbing and misery.
Once more unto the blog, Dear Friends. The nation has waited impatiently for the revival of Britain’s most honest blog site. The people have begged and pleaded. Some have been reduced to reading and re reading the joys of the first bloggy election. Others have written to Tony asking him to make me a bloggy minister. Most have relapsed into sobbing and misery.
So in deference to all that it’s time to get back to the Blogstone.
October is the cruellest month. Back to the Fun Factory. Political life resumed. Party blood stirring in the veins. Everything shelved for the summer back in play. Plus an air of excitement to come. Will this be the year of the three leaders? The Libs were happy with Charles at the Conference: 61 egos can’t be wrong. The Tories are discovering the benefit of permanent leader elections in putting them back at the centre of interest. Far better to keep the leadership election going for ever than have to face the reality of a real leader.
Having been defeated five times at conference, Tony, remorseless as ever, is still determined to impose his "will" on the party before it changes again. With the PLP that’s an easy matter. The Unions are another game.
Over the coming months Tony will be building his own monument. Fortunately it’s sculptured out of soap and will wash away quickly, but the tableau he wants to create to build the Blair Memorial on is another matter. Systems and institutions which are working well at the moment will be destroyed to make room for the monument, and existing structures in education, health, local government will be vandalised or destroyed.
That’s the problem for the Party. If a leader who hasn’t got a Labour idea in his head is going to devote the last days of a premiership built on a Labour majority to making the world better for the pushy middle classes |
