He gave an effectively brainless performance attempting to justify the smear campaign adopted in Crewe. And as a previous Labour follower I was left for the first time wondering where my vote would be going next time around. Things must change in this country and mostly for reasons like yesterday. Whilst I have never hidden my dislike for the old Conservatives, it appears that their winning candidate yesterday is a strong willed individual whom you would want as your local MP. Labour's candidate looked weary from the beginning, struggling to hold herself to even simple TV sound bytes that I caught and not inspiring me even as an outsider. The Guardian described her defeat as "crushing", which is probably a light word to use in the scheme of things.
It is hard to summarise my feelings overall. I consider myself particularly interested in Politics and considering that I am a part of what is an apathetic youth culture towards voting, I expected more effort from Labour. Tony Blair was a major factor for me voting Labour last time around, I will make no secret of that. Whilst he was not every-one's "cup of tea" I believe he was the best option at the time, he got things done and he would never have allowed situations to escalate on every matter as they seem to right now. Furthermore he had strong leadership, actually made decisions and was man enough to stick by them. This is what we simply do not get from Gordon Brown, Alistair Darling and even Jacqui Smith. I am not inspired by them, I see them changing their minds, making changes I see no logic in and all at a time when there are honestly more pressing concerns. This brings me back to Chris Bryant who smiled quite deviously last night when confirming he played a part in the ousting of Tony Blair. To him I say well done, you have truly played your part in handing the next election, bar a miracle, to the Conservatives. Clueless, thoughtless and reckless politics in action or what?
A few commentators are now referring to the Tories as a government in waiting and it is interesting to think about how this has happened. It cannot be attributed to Conservative party policies, I could not name you anything of note that has made me want to vote outright for them. The interesting factor is that Labour are alienating me and making me look to the Tories as the alternative. Bizarre indeed considering that David Cameron is just about the most false looking individual since, well, some would argue Tony Blair. But that is a much explored topic and one I will skip over! It is therefore a battle of who has the fewest flaws, Gordon Brown the tired looking, straw grappling individual he has become. Or Cameron, Mr. Nice, in every photo and available from his breakfast table for a webcast each morning. A little spooky.
Dare I mention the no hopers? A little harsh perhaps but Nick Clegg, or the Lib Dems leader is at best hoping to hoover up the undecided vote once again. He comes across as the "new head teacher" kind of leader, let us hope he proves me wrong! That said his normality is in stark contrast to the other two main parties, though if he possesses a rational outlook it will undoubtedly get absorbed into the tit for tat arguments conducted in the open arena of mass media.
The post title states that there will be political change, but perhaps it needs to be more than just in terms of who runs our country. I feel genuinely dissolusioned and find myself not wanting to waste a vote, but also not to simply hand it away either. There is much debate to be had over the coming months, and hats off to Gordon Brown in advance if he manages to fix the gaping hole in a sinking ship.
