So...
here we go again. The chance to be governed by the old Etonion ruling elite. With their fingers on the pulse.
After all, Dave's met a black sailor who joined the Navy at ten. His domestic life also shows a common touch. The Cameron's are virtually working class, as he revealed when asked about his wife's privileged background...
"The papers keep writing that [my wife, Samantha] comes from a very blue-blooded background", but "she is actually very unconventional. She went to a day school."
Now, there's nothing to say that being a member of the Bullingdon Club makes someone incapable of delivering competent governance, despite Boris Johnson's best efforts.
(Boris told New Statesman he intends, "To keep blapping ministers between the eyes" until they rule out spending cuts on major London projects."
"Blapping"? From the Urban Dictionary definition of "blap":
1.Refers to the sound made by a penis makes when it is hit against a woman's face
2.The act of slapping someone across the face with your penis. They then become your property.
3.The art of slapping some across the face with your penis, they then become your bitch.)
But it's not the dining clubs, the public schools, the constant anecdotage offered to suggest some kind of understanding about everyday folk...
It's the vague policies, and the fact that Cameron effectively said nothing throughout the campaign.
He started with the 'big idea' that everyone was going to rush out and do voluntary work to sort out all the problems faced in 'Broken Britain'. Then he suggested that MP's are kind of voluntary workers in the community themselves (Insert expenses scandal outrage comment here).
Then there was the idea that people should be free to set up their own schools.
The free schools would be funded by the state, but they could be run by local enthusiasts. Hurrah!
The problem is that the often quoted models for this change from big government to big society come from Scandinavian countries. In Scandinavian countries, they have big society AND big government.
Now they are at least backing off from the inheritance tax cuts for the super-rich.
It's going to be fun gaining credibility in Europe, too, what with the Tories' dubious choice of bedfellows in the European Parliament.
As far as the huge financial hole we are sitting in? Well, there's the one in a hundred pound saving. And there's the confidence of having George Osborne as Chancellor.
So we can look forward to more Free Market economics as the panacea. It has proved so effective, after all. In banking, for example.
But if the local school or hospital is underachieving, the solution isn't giving people the option to choose the next one up the road. The solution is to make it better. Choice can't solve the problem. Everyone can't all use the same school, the same hospital. In reality, it is often those with more money, more confidence and a better understanding of the system that get to choose. Those who can move into the right catchment area. The middle classes, in other words. That's hardly inclusive.
The NHS: Safe in Conservative hands... This little interview speaks volumes.
I really hope that Daniel Hannon finds himself in need of NHS treatment one day. Ah, but then, I'm sure he's sufficiently minted to pop off to a private hospital. Unless he needs emergency medical treatment, that is. There's no money in that, see? Just ask the 46 million Americans who don't have health insurance.
And 'our Dave' has promised to 'rebuild families'. What does that mean, exactly? And if your family doesn't need 'rebuilding', then what are they going to do, add an extension?
I am worried. I must confess to holding 'left wing views' (in case you haven't worked that out by now). But mainly I am worried because I have seen the positive effect of much of the investment that has taken place over the last twelve years. I have seen the benefits that SureStart and the Children's Centres have brought to our local area. I have seen massive improvements in the NHS after so many years of underfunding. I've seen improvements in the fabric of school buildings and libraries. This is the kind of stuff that helps to build communities, not giving every creationist nut-job the chance to run their own school.
I reckon there's only one fair way of sorting out the financial crisis. It might not be popular, but it is fair. Direct tax. Everyone pays a little more, but based on earnings, and it's universal.
But here's the important bit:
Pay more. Expect more.
Not more Nuclear Defence Systems (well done the LibDems for sticking to their guns on that one), or bank bail-outs, but better schools and hospitals, better local services, more social housing. Employ more people. Pay them a decent wage.
OK, rant over now. I'm tired. And maybe a little drunk. But not too optimistic...
here we go again. The chance to be governed by the old Etonion ruling elite. With their fingers on the pulse.
After all, Dave's met a black sailor who joined the Navy at ten. His domestic life also shows a common touch. The Cameron's are virtually working class, as he revealed when asked about his wife's privileged background...
"The papers keep writing that [my wife, Samantha] comes from a very blue-blooded background", but "she is actually very unconventional. She went to a day school."
Now, there's nothing to say that being a member of the Bullingdon Club makes someone incapable of delivering competent governance, despite Boris Johnson's best efforts.
(Boris told New Statesman he intends, "To keep blapping ministers between the eyes" until they rule out spending cuts on major London projects."
"Blapping"? From the Urban Dictionary definition of "blap":
1.Refers to the sound made by a penis makes when it is hit against a woman's face
2.The act of slapping someone across the face with your penis. They then become your property.
3.The art of slapping some across the face with your penis, they then become your bitch.)
But it's not the dining clubs, the public schools, the constant anecdotage offered to suggest some kind of understanding about everyday folk...
It's the vague policies, and the fact that Cameron effectively said nothing throughout the campaign.
He started with the 'big idea' that everyone was going to rush out and do voluntary work to sort out all the problems faced in 'Broken Britain'. Then he suggested that MP's are kind of voluntary workers in the community themselves (Insert expenses scandal outrage comment here).
Then there was the idea that people should be free to set up their own schools.
The free schools would be funded by the state, but they could be run by local enthusiasts. Hurrah!
The problem is that the often quoted models for this change from big government to big society come from Scandinavian countries. In Scandinavian countries, they have big society AND big government.
Now they are at least backing off from the inheritance tax cuts for the super-rich.
It's going to be fun gaining credibility in Europe, too, what with the Tories' dubious choice of bedfellows in the European Parliament.
As far as the huge financial hole we are sitting in? Well, there's the one in a hundred pound saving. And there's the confidence of having George Osborne as Chancellor.
So we can look forward to more Free Market economics as the panacea. It has proved so effective, after all. In banking, for example.
But if the local school or hospital is underachieving, the solution isn't giving people the option to choose the next one up the road. The solution is to make it better. Choice can't solve the problem. Everyone can't all use the same school, the same hospital. In reality, it is often those with more money, more confidence and a better understanding of the system that get to choose. Those who can move into the right catchment area. The middle classes, in other words. That's hardly inclusive.
The NHS: Safe in Conservative hands... This little interview speaks volumes.
I really hope that Daniel Hannon finds himself in need of NHS treatment one day. Ah, but then, I'm sure he's sufficiently minted to pop off to a private hospital. Unless he needs emergency medical treatment, that is. There's no money in that, see? Just ask the 46 million Americans who don't have health insurance.
And 'our Dave' has promised to 'rebuild families'. What does that mean, exactly? And if your family doesn't need 'rebuilding', then what are they going to do, add an extension?
I am worried. I must confess to holding 'left wing views' (in case you haven't worked that out by now). But mainly I am worried because I have seen the positive effect of much of the investment that has taken place over the last twelve years. I have seen the benefits that SureStart and the Children's Centres have brought to our local area. I have seen massive improvements in the NHS after so many years of underfunding. I've seen improvements in the fabric of school buildings and libraries. This is the kind of stuff that helps to build communities, not giving every creationist nut-job the chance to run their own school.
I reckon there's only one fair way of sorting out the financial crisis. It might not be popular, but it is fair. Direct tax. Everyone pays a little more, but based on earnings, and it's universal.
But here's the important bit:
Pay more. Expect more.
Not more Nuclear Defence Systems (well done the LibDems for sticking to their guns on that one), or bank bail-outs, but better schools and hospitals, better local services, more social housing. Employ more people. Pay them a decent wage.
OK, rant over now. I'm tired. And maybe a little drunk. But not too optimistic...
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