Whose country is it anyway?

13 June 2009

The Spectator calls for a general election

Mr Brown’s spin doctors insist that the coup failed and the matter has been settled once and for all. But the coup merely stalled. The Prime Minister has been left suspended in a political limbo, still vulnerable to instant removal at any moment. He faces dangerous by-elections in the seats vacated, respectively, by Ian Gibson and Michael Martin: Norwich North and Glasgow North East. He may yet have to perform a humiliating U-turn on the part-privatisation of the Royal Mail to prevent a potentially fatal backbench rebellion. Once again, the week of the party’s annual conference — in Brighton from 27 September — has been named as an (entirely arbitrary) deadline, by which the PM must have brought unity and purpose to the government. How often have such deadlines been set and ultimatums delivered? In truth, they have been the defining feature of Mr Brown’s unhappy premiership: it has been one long last-chance saloon.

The self-destruction of the Labour tribe would be a matter of anthropological fascination were it not that the party happens to be holding the country hostage. And this is no moment for Britain to be in the hands of a gang in apparently terminal decline, neurotically introspective, fatally self-absorbed. Britain faces dire economic problems, indebtedness on a terrifying scale, and has public services and infrastructure singularly ill-equipped for the needs of the 21st century. We are embroiled in a long-running conflict in Afghanistan and face a deadly Islamist terrorist threat within our own borders. As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, the only nation other than the United States that shoulders its full military responsibilities on the global stage, and a key member of the G8, Britain still punches above its weight — just about. But how ludicrous we have seemed to the rest of the world in the past fortnight: a banana republic engaged in a risible political farce.

In 1997, Tony Blair declared that New Labour was ‘the political arm of none other than the British people as a whole’. At the time, this claim sounded rather sinister. Now it seems merely preposterous. Labour is entitled to engage in self-immolation if it wishes, but it should let the rest of us go first. Please, Mr Brown: can we have our country back?

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Jamal Akhbar

June 12th, 2009 12:28pm Report this comment

The purpose there in a grand debate on the ‘alternative vote’ is a continuation of the Mandelsonian "goodness" strategy: you must vote for us because we are doing things to make you healthier (and in the end we will become so good for you that democracy will become necessary).

D.G. Macleod

June 12th, 2009 2:46pm Report this comment

Be afraid: In 1997 in common with many Scots I voted for a Scottish Parliament. It was to address a 'democratic defecit' in running some of our domestic affairs. What we got was a hybrid monster You get two votes, the first is a first past the post constituency choice, the second a PR choice from a 'list' This was cynically devised by SCottish Labour to prevent the possbility of the Nationalists ever winning an outright majority. (The present administration is a minority one.) The theory was that on balance Labour would always be the biggest single party and never be out of coalition office for long. Leave constutional change to Brown for the UK at your peril. To be fair devolution was seen by the other parties as follows:
1.A stepping stone to independence by the nationalists
2.A job creation scheme by the Lib Dems
3. A lifeline for survival by the Tories.
Scotland swapped democratic defecit for over government. Be afraid

Graeme Stewart

June 12th, 2009 11:08pm Report this comment

This is just more mind-boggling doublethink from the Dear Leader. He says " we have crappy morally corrupt politicians therefore the system of choosing much be wrong" For me David Mitchell summed it up eloquently and simply on HIGNFY - "If you find the swimming pool full of piss, you don't say "swimming pools are bad, we must do away with them", you should say "We must stop pissing in the pool"."

Celeste

June 13th, 2009 3:05am Report this comment

Without further delay, Alan Johnson should become leader of Labour, and a general election should be called. The longer Gordon Brown clings to power, the more difficult he is making it to exit with dignity.

Baron von Wilhoven

June 16th, 2009 7:08am Report this comment

Your fears of a preferential system are unfounded. First-past-the-post does not deliver 'majority' rule either.

Australia has preferential voting in most states, with all states but one having two houses and Tasmania having a form of Hare-Clark in place.

'democracy' such as it is, exists there as well/badly as in the UK.

NZ has a list-and-party voting system too but you'd have to get a Kiwi to explain it more than that.

Doing away with the Lords was a Blair promise, so I thought, and it should be done asap, or, kick out all the current ones and have a proper election system, similar if you will to the Australian Senate.

The carpetbaggers could keep their titles but do change the elected ones from being 'Lord'... it is an offence to every sense of a true democrat.