Remember the days before the General Election? Before all I ever wrote about was politics? It was a simpler time, many say, and a time which I miss. The last month or so has been all about three middle-aged white middle-class men, all in search of a promotion (or in the case of Gordon Brown, keeping his job). It has been exhausting. And to make it worse they lied when they said it would all be settled by May 7th. The nausea of the campaign is still here, nearly two weeks since voting day.
As you may have guessed from the tone of recent blogs, I wasn't too jubilant about the result of the election; the "crawling into bed" of Nick Clegg with David Cameron which on paper is just wrong yet has an eerily comfortable look to it. The two of them, standing there, could be leader of either party and they wouldn't look overtly out of place. It shouldn't work for a number of reasons;
* Trident
* Nuclear Power
* European Integration
* Economic Recovery Policy
* Electoral Reform
* English Grammar (Liberal and Conservative are, by definition, opposite?)
* George Osbourne, not Vince Cable, as Chancellor
And yet it does. It bloody does. And it is down to one reason; Nick Clegg wanted a "jellyfish" parliament of transparency. But the only reason it's like a jellyfish is because he has no spine. I just expected more from him and his party (Kennedy, Ashdown excluded).
It's stitched up the media quite nicely, with The Times and The Guardian singing from a hymn-sheet which is growing increasingly similar. The Sun has a fondness for the pair now, despite a slightly tougher stance on Clegg a few weeks ago. I wish Murdoch would make up his mind!
Obviously there is still opposition. The Daily Mail and The Daily Express feel betrayed almost by letting this "left-wing party looking for right-wing votes" in. But, if we are honest, these papers have always been, for want of a better word, absolutely insane. I mean, what would Diana say about this is coalition?
But the question that has been asked often in the press is, "what is the future of Labour?". Many are sceptical, believing that "New Labour is dead". Personally, I am not so sure. I am not saying that New Labour worked perfectly, for it didn't. But I refuse to believe that it didn't work at all. There are three things that brought down this Government; the Iraq war, the economic crisis and the uncomfortable appearance of Gordon Brown. If Labour can learn from these mistakes, via tougher financial regulations, an alternative foreign policy and a charismatic - the Miliband brothers and Ed Balls all have the credential to be strong leaders in Opposition - then I believe New Labour can re-emerge. After all, it was New Labour which brought us, amongst many other things, the National Minimum Wage, a stronger NHS where waiting times have fallen dramatically, Sure Start centres and devolved powers in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Although Labour shouldn't have entered this war, and the banks got away with too much, people seem to think the Tories would have dealt with these problems in a better fashion. Truth is, they wouldn't.
So as the dust settles, and a bluey-orangey coalition fully get to grips with Government, those who claim the death of Labour in this country are wrong. Or at least I hope so.
DC
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