Opposition. What Opposition?

Just to clarify my gloating position on New Labour I’d like to make it clear that I do not really have a major anti Socialism position. Socialism in itself is not intrinsically bad, I mean the whole point is to make life better. Totally flawed of course, but well meaning. No, what really gets up my nose is the deceit and hypocrisy which always accompanies it. I think this comes about because in their heart of hearts Socialists know that no-one with an ounce of common sense is going to buy into Socialism. The punters know, without necessarily being able to articulate exactly why, that it is flawed and will lead them into being made worse off in some way. Or if they do vote for it is because it’s tribal or because they see advantage, and that usually means power or benefits.

Since Labour tacitly accepted that Socialism was entirely flawed and abandoned Cl4.4.they have not been left with any coherent philosophy. All that is left is some woolly stuff about eradicating poverty and redistribution. Plus of course regulation, which has now become a sort of nationalisation lite. (You can take nationalisation out of the Socialist Manifesto but you can’t take it out of Socialists). This leads them inexorably to Big Government and Big Spending.

So now the party lines have become well defined not by an overall difference in ideology but by a simple choice. Big Spenders vs Little Spenders. Put like that who do you honestly think is ever going to get the most votes, especially as they are both going to be spending your money? Quite. And if put like that what chance will these latent Socialists ever have of getting into power unless they deceive you as to their true purpose? Quite again.

Enter the Great Deceiver and his sidekick. Bliar (the best and most appropriate mis-spelling opportunity ever) and McBean. The trouble is for Gordon that Bliar was a super salesman with charisma. Brown is just a great deceiver. The Voter is now just about finding out exactly what New Labour is. It’s a great big tax and spend machine. And that is why its poll position is so dire.

All this is very sad and rather worrying. Personally I do not want a one party state. Without a coherent opposition (witness the last 11 years) ruling parties get entirely carried away. A strong opposition is critical to a functioning and vibrant democracy. So once New Labour implodes on its tsunami of debt and deceit just where will this opposition come from?

We were let down by the Tories in 1997 when they imploded in sleaze now we are going to be let down by New Labour who are imploding with deceit and debt.