Election 2015: Fear triumphs over hope – David Hencke
David Gauke. He knows a lot about tax avoidance, does David.
Last Saturday in Berkhamsted market, Treasury minister David Gauke, my local Tory MP now safely re-elected, told me… that the Conservatives would be returned with a small working majority, writes David Hencke.
What appears to have happened is that enough undecided people on the way to the polling station appear to have bought the idea that they had to keep the government in power to ensure that the “recovery ” continued and probably thought ” I am just about OK” not to risk a change… Both Labour and the Tories said there would be more unspecified cuts.”
I suspect many people think these “cuts” won’t affect them – only welfare scroungers and immigrants. I think they will be in for a very big shock because there is no way the books can be balanced without much wider reductions if not removal of services. Local government, social care, benefits for disabled people, all are likely to be hit and there is no need now for a government in power for the next five years to bother with higher pay rises for public sector workers. There will also be a bonanza for private firms to take over the rest of the work of the state and fraught referendum on Europe and a resentful relationship between England and Scotland.
There are also matters the Tories will want to pick up from the Coalition years, like gerrymandering changes to Parliamentary boundaries. The rest of his article is on his blog site and well worth reading.
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Trouble is that Labour did not challenge robustly the allegation that they caused the national debt. sadly most of the Labour want to be right wing and do not have the guts to put forward a radical left wing agenda. So much for career politicians. What we now need is a return to good old socialist values with commitment form politicians to such a cause.
I agree,Labour needed to go further to the left.I did not hear that much on welfare to attract me.The SNP posted themselves against austerity,Labour seemed austerity light.Nearly a third of the electorate did not vote.A lot of these might have voted with a real left alternative.
Some say Blair won because he went for middle ground.I disagree,the Tories were in disarray by 97,despised by most of the country,and people wonder if change is better.I think a donkey wearing a red rosette would have been in with a chance.A exaggeration yes,but you get my drift.
If the SNP could get the vote out on a anti austerity agenda,perhaps we could have to.The last thing we need is for Labour to swing rightwards again.
To me,I did not understand the seemingly lack of opposition.Labour was fairly quite till after Christmas this year.This allowed the Tories,through propaganda in the right winged press to set the narrative.
The SNP claimed to be against austerity, but that party’s plans would have involved £6 billion more cuts per year than Labour’s, which were said to be worse.
I agree that more people might have voted, had they seen a real alternative to the Tories. I still say Labour was a real alternative, but it’s academic now.
Labour DID oppose, and worked very hard in that capacity. I think it’s just hard to break through when the right-wing media have gagged you.