Wednesday 5 May 2010

Better the devil you know. Vote Labour

This is only a snapshot. What are the issues that affect your life? And what are the policies that prospective Governments will employ to deal with them? That is how to choose a Government and a leader.
And as you ponder your ballot box decision, do not ignore the claims of an outstanding candidate in your constituency on purely party political reasons. If they will deliver what you need, through hard work and determination, then they are priceless, even in opposition.
For those who would be Prime Minister, skills in the glare of TV debate are peripheral. What we gained from the Debates was entertainment not enlightenment. Brown was dreadful. Cameron not as good as expected. Clegg better than anticipated.
Cameron is good on his feet – better than he showed at debate. He has energy and toughness but is utterly and fundamentally the wrong man for Liverpool and places like it.
He is 43-years old and hails from a long line of stockbrokers. He was educated at Eton College and Oxford University. He will inherit multi-millions from both sides of his family. He is a direct descendant of King William IV and is the fifth cousin twice removed of our present Queen. He’s worth an estimated £3m.
His right-hand man, the Shadow Chancellor George Osborne, is another Oxford University man and stands to inherit the Baronetcy of Ballentaylor in Ireland, as well as a huge slice of his dad’s luxury wallpaper company. Not that he needs the money as he already benefits from a company trust fund and is reckoned to be worth £4.3m.
What empathy can these guys REALLY offer a single mum in Norris Green or a pensioner in the North End of Birkenhead?
In their entire, comfortable lives they will never once have to worry about how they’re going to pay the gas bill, or whether they can afford a holiday. Never once.
Never once will they worry about gangs of yobs creating havoc in their street or junkies leaving needles where their kids might stand on them.
A new, modern and inclusive Tory party is to be welcomed and encouraged. This though, isn’t it.
Clegg has begun to sound like a broken record as he offers “genuine change”. Change is fine – as long as it’s change for the better. There is nothing behind Clegg’s polished public persona to suggest policies that will deliver a better Britain.
And to revert again to a football comparison: What are England’s chances in the World Cup? Take out Rooney and Gerrard and the answer is not very good. Beyond Clegg and the redoubtable Vince Cable, who do the Lib Dems have to form a cabinet of quality?
Which leaves Brown. He is a shrewd and decent politician with a conscience and a flair for the spread sheets of economic analysis. A communicator? You wouldn’t fancy him to successfully place an order at McDonalds.
He has though, shepherded this country through the worst of the economic crisis. The recovery is fragile though, and we share Brown’s concern that the Tories or the Lib Dems risk that recovery with a more cavalier approach to savings and spending.
And beneath Brown are some wonderfully gifted lieutenants, notably the brilliant Alistair Darling and Prime Minister-in-waiting Ed Balls.
Brown has done well with the economy and superbly well with our system of Education. He has fallen short on Crime and horribly short on Health. If we elect him as Prime Minister these last two must be improved hugely and rapidly or Brown’s extended stay will be short and bleak.
On balance, though, he has done enough to earn a new mandate (his first from the electorate) and an extended run at creating the fair and prosperous society we all crave.
Sometimes, it’s better the devil you know. That’s why, for now, it must be Brown and Labour.
Alastair Machray [Editor] @'Liverpool Echo'

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