As everybody knows (but not everybody cares), Gordon Brown announced that we're all going to the polls in a month. I don't want to add too much weight to the already bulging online dossier on the ifs, buts, dos, don'ts, whys, wherefores and might-bes of the election. Mostly because, as with most future events, nobody knows. In short, there's so little to choose between any of them.
As a Labour lad I'm finding it difficult to justify voting for them again - part of me wants to register my disapproval. I don't like a lot of what Gordon Brown has done, both as Chancellor and PM, I find his supposed socialist politics dubious in their practice, and basically find him a bit of an ecomonic Thatcherite. That said, what does that leave me, the so-called "ordiary voter"? Let's discount the Tories, because quite frankly that's what they should be. Cameron has shown consistently that it's more of the same, and anybody who imagines that sleaze will disappear under a Tory government has a very short memory. Which leaves us with, well the Lib Dems. And part of me would love the Lib Dems to be a viable voting alternative. But they ain't. As usual, it's reactionary statements made with due care and attention and a lack of real conviction - whatever Nick Clegg says everybody knows the best they can hope is to be the kingmakers of a hung parliament. And quite frankly they have totally failed to capitalise on their biggest strength: their unknown nature. Rather than becoming a shiny and bright alternative to Labour and the Tories, they are just a greyer shade of grey.
And as to the BNP and UKIP, please, they aren't political anythings, just cranks. And the Greens, whilst being lovely and probably the only party to really have a social/environmental conscience, well, what would voting for them achieve, in real terms? Unless great swathes of people do it, very little. And to be honest, if tactical voting comes into play (which it does), voting Green isn't going to change who's in Number 10 a month or so from now.
Apathy apathy apathy. Which is disgusting, because the British people, in true fasion, just don't seem bovvered. We happily take pot shots at Italy and their *cough* "system of governance" (rightly so), yet the reality that we are living through what is one of the most corrupt ages of modern British politics still seems not enough to get people motivated. People aren't even asking the questions about what their legal status is in terms of becoming unwitting shareholders, risk-takers, in some of the nation's largest banks, who seem to be carrying on very much as before. Only this time if they fail we really do all go down with them. Or about waging a war which nobody likes but also which nobody stops. In short, we're products of that post-war dream of keeping the proles happy with consumer purchases whilst the people at the top do exactly what they like. In short, give the masses their freedom and obfuscate their ways to use it. And it works.
Perhaps the concern from everyone is not to rock the boat - understandable, as the economy, job market and everything else feels positively fragile at present, with the feeling that anything too strong either way is going to send everything crashing down. Elections are very unstable periods, both politically and socially. But at the same time, potentially, the greatest time for change, because they are the only time when democracy is "allowed" to work on a national scale. Because let's face it, the intervening periods show how democracy hasn't really been working, at least for most of the population.
My solution? Well kids, there isn't one. Unless the people of Britain boycott the election (highly unlikely) or make real demands for reforms in our political system, whoever gets in to 10 Downing Street will probably look and feel very similar to what we have already. Which is why the words "electoral reform" aren't been bandied about too much, except in vague concepts. The problem with how the country governs itself is that Parliament works on centuries-old traditions and structures which are based on a society which has now completely vanished. Basically the country has changed, its laws have changed and its sociological structure has (thank goodness) radically altered from 100 years ago. But Parliament has refused to change with it. And, in short, the status quo will be maintained with concessions here and there. And no encumbant Leading Party will embark upon the severe overhaul required to completely re-structure how Britain is run - political and electoral suicide.
The role of the Queen in all this is a funy one, because despite being nominal ruler of the Church and the country we like to keep her out of politics, even though technically she could still wield influence. Please note that the woman charged with opening buildings, sorry, ruling over us with a fair and loving hand, has said not a word about any of this. Becasue it would be bad form for the royals to comment on things like taxpayer's money and accountability. But really, would it be so terrible for the Queen to exercise some of that power and call the parties into line? Tell them unequivocally that the system of governance we have is outdated and in need of reform? Oh no, wait, that would mean she'd become outdated too. Because as all her roles seem to be entirely nominal and ceremonial, and she's proved herself not much use in a crisis, what is she there for? Aside from in a vague continuing figurehead kind of way? She doesn't seem too worried, does she? She hasn't waved her income she receives from our taxes for the next 5 years (something she could readily afford to do) to stimulate the economy. Ok granted they don't get more than about £36 million a year, but that's enough to assist a few struggling low-income families, right?
So really folks, in reality the only people who can and should stand up for the British people are, well, the British people. By this I mean us, the powerful/powerless electorate. But we don't seem to be bothered. We accept that we'll vote one way or the other and that change will come. But it won't, not really. Because the climate for the economic crisis, for the expenses fiasco, is a constant in British politics (and possibly in all political systems) and will continue to be so. It's the simple fact that only for 1 day out of over 1,000 can British people have a tangible say in large national decisions which have been proved to seriously affect their lives. The rest of the time we are remarkable powerless to stop important decisions, almost by our own consent. But until governments get out of bed with capitalists and claw back some impartial ground it's a lost cause. Big business run governments, and taxpayers have become the collateral. This is how modern democracies work, look at any country. And possibly it has never been any different.
We live in a democracy and we are allowed to say who runs it, but we are apparently powerless to say how it should be run. But what is worse, nobody seems to care, and democracy cannot work through apathy. It falls apart. We can, and we should, demand so much more of our leaders.
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