P asked me, which party will I be voting for this year and why. (Why he asks me these questions when I’m in the bath I do not know!) I thought about it and said:
Definitely not the Conservatives. They’re not for the likes of ee and me and I deeply regret having voted for Mrs Thatcher first time around. They’re not interested in any group of people except people like themselves: Eton etc., Oxford, that kind of thing. They’re not vicious, just callous.
Labour? No thanks. Their problem is that they invariably come in after several terms as the shadow party, nipping at the heels of the greater mortals. And when they do suddenly get into government, they don’t know what to do with all that power. They start off with good, noble intentions; faces shining with pride in the working class. But then power corrupts them and they quickly become venal, dishonest, selfish and greedy. And they make stupid decisions that the rest of us have to pay for.
The Liberals? Well now, I suspect that they could actually do a decent job, if they were given a chance. They’re honest: the current leader has gone on record saying that they will have to backtrack on their promise to stop student loans and give grants instead, because they just cannot afford it in the current financial situtation that we’re all in. I admire them for them. Their honesty is refreshing given all the crap we’ve had to put up with from the Labour party. And if the Liberals had been in power, I doubt that we would have so blindly followed the USA into Iraq.
But, I’ll probably vote Liberal in the next election simply because I like our local MP. Mark Williams is a decent chap who actually answers his emails, unlike a lot of technology-challenged bods. Our family have all had occasion to ask his advice, or to give ours, on several topics (mine was on the plight of battery hens) and he has always sent an answer. He went to bat against Arriva Trains on behalf of P, who travels to London and back every week. Personally, I could care tuppence about the national government (and that goes for the National Assembly). Mr Williams is a good chap in my book, and he’s getting my vote!
