Enough, already.

For the first time in my life, if there were an election tomorrow, I would not bother voting for anyone. I guess that I would go to the polling booth and just spoil my ballot paper, there not being an option to vote for ‘none of the above’.

After 13 years of New Labour – or more precisely after the final 5 years of them, I was genuinely pleased that they lost the General Election. I was equally pleased that there was no overall majority. I thought the Coalition was a fine idea. Sadly, the Tories have just too many seats and the Lib Dems just too few. I think there is a moderating influence on the worst excesses of the Conservatives, but sadly it is not strong enough and with the Lib Dems assuming the role of whipping boys in the polls, even the most disillusioned Beardy won’t be pushing them to drop out and lose their only chance of influencing policy in any form for the next couple of generations.

Essentially, Labour cannot be forgiven for getting is where we are, with their head in the sand approach to the public purse, and the Tories cannot be forgiven for wielding the axe too savagely, too quickly with more than a hint of glee and political point scoring, but very little deep thought or compassion.

I happen to agree that the State needs rolling back; but in the final analysis, governments of all political stripes have been building and developing a dependency culture for at least 70 years – probably longer – as they have accrued more power to the State. More than one generation has been born, grown up, raised families and died in an ever more restrictive environment of ‘Mummy knows best’, where Mummy is the State in one form or another.

You just cannot build that kind of dependency over a couple or three generations and then get rid of it in 2 or 3 years.

You can stop the world now, please; I want to get off.

Enough, already.

For the first time in my life, if there were an election tomorrow, I would not bother voting for anyone. I guess that I would go to the polling booth and just spoil my ballot paper, there not being an option to vote for ‘none of the above’.

After 13 years of New Labour – or more precisely after the final 5 years of them, I was genuinely pleased that they lost the General Election. I was equally pleased that there was no overall majority. I thought the Coalition was a fine idea. Sadly, the Tories have just too many seats and the Lib Dems just too few. I think there is a moderating influence on the worst excesses of the Conservatives, but sadly it is not strong enough and with the Lib Dems assuming the role of whipping boys in the polls, even the most disillusioned Beardy won’t be pushing them to drop out and lose their only chance of influencing policy in any form for the next couple of generations.

Essentially, Labour cannot be forgiven for getting is where we are, with their head in the sand approach to the public purse, and the Tories cannot be forgiven for wielding the axe too savagely, too quickly with more than a hint of glee and political point scoring, but very little deep thought or compassion.

I happen to agree that the State needs rolling back; but in the final analysis, governments of all political stripes have been building and developing a dependency culture for at least 70 years – probably longer – as they have accrued more power to the State. More than one generation has been born, grown up, raised families and died in an ever more restrictive environment of ‘Mummy knows best’, where Mummy is the State in one form or another.

You just cannot build that kind of dependency over a couple or three generations and then get rid of it in 2 or 3 years.

You can stop the world now, please; I want to get off.