Last week many Tory voters veered further to the right and voted for the UKIP. This was not a surprise! Perhaps the biggest surprise was that more did not join them. An economy in crisis; political double speak that has become almost entirely transparent (especially to those who afford regular glances at the Westminster village); spurious and bias newspaper headlines; rural conservatism and on and on…. And yet 92% of those eligible to vote either voted for another party or did not vote. That’s 8% of the electorate that voted UKIP. Yet when listening to the BBC and the rest of the mainstream media we could be forgiven for thinking that the country had been taken over by a foreign military power and an armoured parade was being planned for the Mall.
It is frustrating though for those who expect so much more from their neighbours and friends. Why do some people prefer to believe everything that is bad about people they have never met and not concentrate on the good? Why do people not understand that our economic system demands cheap labour and lots of it and that migrants are the ones who are much more prepared to accept it? Why is welfare abuse treated much more seriously by voters than tax evasion when it is regulary identified as costing the economy a small percentage (approx 5%) in comparison? Why is it that a party that professes to be libertarian has a policy that seeks to ban gay marriages? Why when we are told how dangerous smoking is (approx 140000 deaths attributed in the UK each year) do people vote for a party that supports the reintroduction of smoking in pubs? Why do very rich people who introduce policies that increase their wealth attract so many votes from those who are being penalised? The list of questions is almost never ending in trying to fathom the inconsistencies and flawed nature of people’s voting habits.
Perhaps it’s the parents fault. Could many people be scared to vote differently especially if their parents are dead as they consider it would somehow betray them? Perhaps the bias narrative in our childhood is cemented into our psychology so that we continue it with our own children…. It is distincly possible that our ancestors have taught many of us to be partially irrational and closed minded. This is then compounded by an education system and a media that provides few, if any, alternatives. The outcome is that politics becomes nothing more than a game to be won no matter the cost. For far too many the victory is pyrric and the loss is a disaster.
And then we have the baffoons and hypocrites that somehow win elections. In recent times Tony Blair; Boris Johnson; David Cameron and Nigel Farage have all sat perfectly on this throne. But there are so many more…. From war mongering to top down reorganisation of the NHS to adultery… we have people who tell us to be good Christians (personally I consider any idea that we are constructed by a supernatural being to be complete baloney) and yet act in a fashion that is even condemned in the old testament. Lying, cheating, killing… all in a days or decades work. I am not going to try and explain why voters are attracted to these types of people and why they prefer to be represented by those who seek personal gain over the welfare of the community but if I was to guess it would be desperation and disempowerment. Even the affluent wannabees are left frustrated. However, what is just as annoying is that as soon as they themselves have any chance to change it they do all they can to join the facade and suffer an almost complete amnesia. And on we go!
It would be unfair to focus on some of the major culprits but as we are constantly told ‘life is unfair’.
Margaret Thatcher
The ‘Iron Lady’ so named for her lack of compassion and dogmatism was a favourite to many and loathed by just as many more. She used her position to get even with her chosen enemies and increased unemployment by 450% in just 18 months following her 1979 election. Saved by her ability to manufacture patriotism out of a conflict on the other side of the Atlantic she went from zero to hero in a matter of months. As a consequence she won the next two elections and created the ‘share owning democracy’ in which freedom was measured by wealth and its pursuit. She chose to side with the apartheid leaders in South Africa against Nelson Mandela and gave diplomatic asylum to her friend, the dictator and murderer, Augusto Pinochet. There is now no doubt that the economic policies she and her economic compatriot Ronald Reagan pursued enabled the current worldwide debt experiened at both the macro and micro levels. Fortunately many had already ascertained her role in this meltdown long before her recent death and refused to join in the public eulogising demanded by her disciples.
John Major
‘Back to Basics’ – one of the biggest political jokes of the 1990’s. Whilst proselytising to the nation that we should all conform to a set moral agenda John’s loins were consuming Edwina Currie’s. I don’t though believe that Norma was laughing!
Tony Blair
Tony Blair re-invented the Labour Party into another right wing party but with a slightly bigger heart. Desperate to become electable, most of the founding principles of the party were jettisoned to meet the needs of Rupert Murdoch. Kept faith with the previous tory administrations spending plans whilst extending Thatcherism into areas that even Margaret Thatcher could only have dreamed of. Won the nation’s hearts with his balanced message to the nation following Princess Diana’s death and then ignored the opinion polls following 9/11. Taking Bill Clinton’s advice he became George Bush’s poodle especially in Afghanistan and Iraq. His government legitimated the carnage and rape without any medium or long term plan to help the respective populations. The rest is history! He is now despised by those who want a credible practical alternative to capitalism and corporate imperialism.
David Cameron
He is the Etonian that joined up with a bunch of other Etonians to grasp power with the help of another independent schoolboy Nick Clegg. Believes that the rich are the saviours of the poor and has spent three years overseeing the continued growth in the gap between the most and least well off. Promised there would be no top down reorganision of the NHS and then as soon as was possible reorganised the NHS from the top down. Those on welfare are being hit hard and the voters are slowly waking up to the fact that the propaganda in the media is mostly exaggeration and lies. Trying to modernise the Conservative Party in the minds of the voters but their policies betray them as a party of the rich, now and forever.
George Osborne
Another Etonian who uses his history degree to manage the 7th largest economy on the planet. Now seen by the more discerning voter as out of his depth and not a very nice chap, although unfortunately he does not stand out in the crowd.
George Osborne booed at Paraolympics
Homophobic remarks in House of Commons
Boris Johnson
The electorate in London wanted a personality and they got one but as the link below suggests his ambition for himself appears somewhat more important than for the the rest of the UK. Sorry to say though that again the room is bursting at the seams.
Boris Johnson on The Andrew Marr Show: Full interview
Nick Clegg
Seen as the person who stopped the tory party lurching even further to the right. They are probably correct but their lack of competence in negotiating the coalition agreement has seen them lose out on changing the voting system with an alternative that was gutless and deeply flawed. When Britain called out for more democracy the Lib Dems were still rejoicing at acquiring some power to care. Have let down their local grass roots and will be made to pay both by the voters and the snakes they climbed into the basket with.
Nigel Farage
‘The man of the people’ who went to an independent school and became a commodities trader. Probably the only thing he has in common with many people is alcohol and tobacco. Calls himself a libertarian but has a whole list of things he would prefer we did not choose from gay marriage to the global warming argument. Plays on the minds of those who believe the right of centre mainstream media unquestioningly, especially those who were conditioned to be dogmatic and anti open minded. His success will be measured by how many of these people vote for him both now and when he rejoins the Conservative Party, assuming the tobacco and the alcohol doesn’t get him first.
UKIP: A victory for the ruling classes
So on to 2015! Will it be hate and anger that fuels the vote or community and mutual support? Can we be proud of our neighbours and friends or will they continue to betray us by voting against their interests for the egocentric and self indulgent? The solutions are of course hard to identify but one that I can guarantee that will go a long way to making things much better and the above to become increasingly irrelevant is this. Slow down, stop rushing to conclusions and try and see yourself in other people. If you do that, then suddenly the need to vote for the people and the parties that blame everything and everyone but themselves will look a lot less attractive. Go out and make a positive difference to your friends and neighbours and the chances are they will do the same back. And if they don’t? Well, eventually someone will and it will have all been worthwhile.
Douglas James
