0 Goodbye Gordon, Byebye Brown

Sometime between skipping Philosophy & Ethics and sitting down to eat my Chicken and Bacon pie with fried potato slices, fried onions, carrots and broccoli, Gordon Brown was deciding on how best to word his final bow to the nation. I've gotta say, it wasn't something I was expecting, but at the same time it wasn't surprising either.

So today, Gordon Brown announced that he'd be standing down as PM and leader of the Labour party before September. Why?

Let's look back to my post yesterday when I pointed out that the Brown/Clegg relationship could present a barrier to a Liberal Democrat/Labour coalition. That barrier has now fallen away, thanks to Gordon's selfless act. Brown is aware that he's not hugely liked by the electorate, and it takes a brave brave man to stand up and face that. He did what he believed was right for the Labour party, and for the country. By removing himself as an obstacle to coalition, he's given Clegg the opportunity to enter into talks with the Labour party without the prospect of the two ever having to work together. The creation of this coalition would ultimately serve the country better than any minority Conservative government could, simply due to the fact that we are a progressive, reformist and fair people. These are values that Cameron and his conservatives fail to understand, and it is these misunderstandings that will inevitably lead to their own downfall as they fight among themselves.

The problem with the Conservatives is in fact not Cameron. The party's problem is the majority of it's membership. Time and time again, Cameron has tried to present them as the party of change and liberation and of new beginnings! Time and time again, Cameron is thwarted by the divisive and repulsive force that is the Tory backbench. The party's parliamentary membership is anti-reform, anti-change, anti-new beginnings. David Cameron has made the mistake of trying to cover up his problems, rather than remove them. As it is, he's further proved that the idea of progressive conservatism is little more than an oxymoron.

What's more, he's done it again. Cameron's refusal to go further than offering a referendum on AV has been the downfall of his party in the ConDem negotiations. He couldn't bring about that real change and liberation that he's harped on so long about, because he knows that the Party would never accept it. Cameron knows that he's hit a brick wall, and the nail could not have been driven further in when the Liberal Democrats announced that they were to enter into formal negotiations with Labour.

So what about Gordon? He's been in the job for 3 years, presided over on of the unluckiest political periods of our time and simply could not match up to the charisma and charm of his predecessor. Did Brown do anything wrong? Not particularly - apart from abolishing the 10p tax rate, which was a move he later admitted was wrong. Gordon didn't cause the expenses scandal, Gordon didn't cause Global economic melt down, Gordon didn't cause a volcanic eruption, but these periods of public contempt for authority summed up and were unceremoniously dumped on the shoulders of a man who had such high hopes and ambitions, a man whose vast multitude of good deeds have been forgotten, who waited for his opportunity for 10 long years, but ultimately a man who was able to swallow his pride and take the full force of public anger into his stride like the statesman he is. Gordon Brown didn't deserve any of this, but he has remained loyal and patriotic to the country from the beginning of his saga. He has bowed out of the show with such dignity and courage that I find it hard not to feel a welling up of sadness for him. He has truly been the right person to lead us through the last 3 years. Now he's stepped aside because he knows that the Lib Dems will not work with Labour with him in place.

That's courage.

That's loyalty.

That's a true British Prime Minister.

0 May 6th

So, this is my second/third attempt at a blog. In a couple of months we'll see if my dedication to the contribution of shit to the already shit-saturated expanse of the world wide web has faltered or not. My prediction is that it probably will have, although I don't think the bookies will be offering odds on this one.

Thursday was election day (Yes, stop groaning, this is another election blog, deal with it or piss off), and after a month of campaigning for political activists it was pretty much a slap in the face, if I'm honest. Of course, my own time would have been much better spent revising for impending exams, but where's the fun in that?

The Conservatives, by all reckoning should have got a majority. But they didn't. The Liberal Democrats should have gained vastly more seats, but instead they lost 7. Labour was clinging on for dear life, and we actually didn't fail as miserably as we thought we would. Thursday night was a terrible night for everyone, and the look of defeat in the eyes of all the political activists at any ballot count you care to consider (including my own constituency in Chingford and Woodford Green) would tell you as much.

Cameron's 'Big Society' idea did him no favours. Look at how Conservative controlled Hammersmith council has treated the poor, vulnerable and mentally ill and you'll have an idea of what Cameron and his cronies want to do nationally. That's not the sort of country we need or want.

His "change" agenda was equally unconvincing. It's easy to say "change", especially when we don't qualify what we actually mean by change. The fact is, there was certainly no progressive change in any of the Tory plans. Marriage tax breaks, inheritance tax breaks for the rich, repeal of fox hunting ban, cutting support for families and businesses just when they most need it? How about cutting funding from schools in order to fund shabby "community-run" schools that have no access to science and sports facilities? Not forgetting the fact that the parents who Cameron ultimately proposes should run these schools have jobs and lives to lead.

The Conservative party hasn't changed. Philippa Stroud was curing gay people, Chris Grayling reckons gays shouldn't be allowed in B&Bs (just in case they play with each other's willies!), and Lord Ashcroft thinks he's above paying taxes.

In fact, even the party's members are happy to admit they haven't really changed; Tebbit has slaughtered Cameron for his Cuddly Conservativism (numerous times, in fact). What now? The conservatives ideally need to make it past the 326 mark to form a credible government and now we're facing a possible sell out from the one hit wonder, Nick Clegg. I mean, if there's one way to piss your party off, it's to agree to a coalition with the Tories.

But considering that Cameron has ruled out PR, will Clegg still agree to work with him? After all, Nick has already called Brown a failure - it's hardly the best of working relationships to start off on. In some respects, Brown and Clegg have both shot themselves in the foot by keeping up the slagging match. There's a good chance that Clegg will be brushed aside by the Tories and refuse to form a coalition with Brown leaving Cameron will attempt to lead a minority Government.

How long it would be able to govern for is anybody's guess, but the idea that there won't be another General Election for 4/5 years is unlikely. The problem is that whoever calls it will need to time it carefully so as to avoid pissing off the public who are unlikely to vote much differently unless one party really makes a royal fuck up of itself.

I've raised more questions than I've even attempted to answer, and that's the very problem with what's become known as #GE2010 - it's been one of the most confusing elections this country has ever had. Nobody knows what to expect and most of the talk is just pure speculation, probably fuelled by a bit of relevant party political propaganda.

And that's just it. This election hasn't changed since April 6th.

It's still way too close to call.