New politics that will give people little benefit
THE new Liberal-Conservative coalition Government, partly created by old Liberal Democrats such as Adrian Sanders, talks a lot about 'new politics'.
As a 'lefty', I have always been supportive of new politics and the Labour Party's delivery of a national minimum wage, a ban on hunting with hounds, a start on abolishing the House of Lords and Sure Start and Child and Pension Tax Credits were 'new politics' that helped thousands of the British people.
So, as the coalition Government publishes its mission statement, the main question remains how it will impact on the people of Torbay, now living with the stigma of the 'sick man of the South West', and now one of the weakest economies in Europe.
Well, although many would like to give a fair wind to this historical coalition 'love-in', the fact is hardworking families and individuals in Torbay will not be getting much benefit from any 'new politics', but will get more of the old Tory policies in which the rich get richer and the rest of society poorer.
Only a few short days ago, Adrian Sanders and Marcus Wood were proclaiming in their election leaflets how they single-handedly stopped the closure of all the post offices in Torbay.
Now, however, the new ideological friends are committed to the privatisation and break-up of the Royal Mail — thousands of job losses — and post office closures.
Adrian Sanders and Nick Clegg promised in their election leaflets to finance an extra 3,000 police officers on the beat. There is no mention of extra bobbies in the coalition statement. Clegg and Cameron, however, are united in reducing spending on the Child Trust Fund, tax credits and the biggest cut of all — £6billion from front-line public services. 'Camclegg' have stopped the proposed rise in National Insurance contributions for employers but kept the higher tax on employees, while the Lib Dems' promise to raise the adult learning grant has been shelved.
How many Torbay voters thought that when they voted tactically to stop the election of the 'Conservative from Windsor', Marcus Wood, they would end up with the return of Thatcherism?
The reality, or the joke, is that the old Liberals sold their birthright, with John Stuart Mill spinning in his grave, for a bit of power and the promise of a referendum on the alternative vote voting model, a referendum in which Cameron and Clegg will campaign on opposite sides.
DAVID PEDRICK-FRIEND
Torbay Labour Party
5 Comments
by Karen, Torquay
Monday, May 31 2010, 1:54PM
“I meant to say 'millstone', of course.
Apologies for any unintended ambiguity, folks.”
by Peter, Dorset
Monday, May 31 2010, 10:39AM
“David, How exactly did the ban on hunting with hounds help thousands of people? I don't think it helped anyone. It certainly didn't help one animal!”
by George, Newton Abbot
Saturday, May 29 2010, 1:58PM
“The Coalition plans for the Post Office are ambiguous. Both the Daily Mail and The Telegraph are reporting that the coalition intend to sell off the Royal Mail but keep the Post Office under state control. The Coalition also says that they will expand services and create a Post Office Bank, but this is also is a bit odd as the Bank of Ireland are already devising plans with the Post Office to set up such a bank and expand services and their contract with the Post Office has another 10 years to run. If the Coalition decide to end the Bank of Ireland agreement and set up a new arrangement then Post Offices will close as they urgently need new business, now, to survive.”
by Karen, Torquay
Saturday, May 29 2010, 1:35PM
“Dear David,
I thought we'd already agreed that your continued presence as leader of the local Labour Party is the real reason why the poor remain unrepresented in Torbay?
I agree wholeheartedly that Sanders is a milestone around all our necks and there's little prospect of any real progress until he's ousted.
But ask yourself this - who is ultimately to blame for him being re-elected here with an increased majority? After all, if we had a credible and popular Labour candidate in Torbay who actively goes out of his way to represent working people, we wouldn't have had so many people tactically voting Lib Dem to keep the Tories out.
I see that Labour took control of Stoke-on-Trent by fielding an unknown candidate, Tristran Hunt. Tristran has had no previous experience of party politics and is an academic historian by profession. However, he was able to convince the good people of Stoke-on-Trent that he was genuine in his commitment to representing their interests. This is a good example of how fielding a strong candidate can pull despondent working class support back to Labour and out of the black comedic clutches of the BNP.
Judging by your letter, you yourself are still in deep denial about your own failings to represent the good people of Torbay.
Forget about John Stuart Mill. When are you going to stop this pointless pontificating from the sidelines and finally stand down? You need to make way for a credible and serious Labour contender who will run local surgeries offering advice and help to those disenfranchised by the subversive, neo-liberalist doctrine of the past 30 years?
The citizens of Torbay deserve better than this. That is surely beyond any doubt now.”
by Nick W, Torquay
Saturday, May 29 2010, 11:20AM
“Yet more pointless lies from DPF. There is nothing in the coalition agreement that says post offices will be closed-indeed it states that they will be explicitly saved from any privatisation. Does he not remember that it was his own party that closed thousands of post offices??”