Milibands and even more Balls

I often find myself defending my political views as it seems to be assumed that "City Types" are inherently of the right. My tendency is towards the left (as my tailor will confirm) in many ways and I have voted for a Labour candidate more often than a Conservative one.

I regard my enfranchisement as a rare and precious thing and strive with all my heart and (more importantly) mind to decide after as much and as deep contemplation as I can. I have canvassed for local Lib Dem councillors and have been, in my time, Deputy Chairman of my local Conservative Constituency Party. I regard this with pride as rational and not as vacillation. If circumstances change, so do my opinions - to paraphrase John Maynard Keynes.

As a result of this, I find the current tribal nature of British Labour politics all the more galling. In the aftermath of the style-over-substance reign of the image-obsessed Blair and the horrrific incompetence of Gordon Brown, who inherited from Ken Clarke an economy stronger than any time in the 20th Century, I find it inconceivable that anyone could have voted Labour, other than for a significant number (who exist on all sides) of exceptional constituency MPs. With a few shining exceptions, the present Parliamentary Labour Party is so clearly intellectually, morally and financially bankrupt that I found myself angry at the vox pop television interviews with lumpen morons who were proud to say "We are Labour in this family and have been for generations" Do we now have to worry about voting behaviour as a genetic disease?

Strangely enough, this pattern does not seem to be repeated on the right. Despite the lampoons of the percieved stereotype, the affluent (OK - I hate the phrase but let us call it middle class!) voting block seems much more prepared to move its allegiance according to issues. The anti - Iraq War movement was very much a middle-class one for example.

The recent election of a new leader for "New Labour" only serves to illustrate my worries further, The Miliband brothers are the sons of an infamous Marxist academic and although it might be disingenuous to expect the apples to fall too far from the tree,it seems to have been quietly brushed under the carpet in presenting their public images of late.

One can only hope that by the time the new leader of New Labour is old enough to start shaving he might have the maturity to eschew some of his inherited views. With an election process that so heavily involves the Trade Union movement, I will not hold my breath. I was very amused at this piece from The Daily Mash    http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/politics/politics-headlines/miliband-to-organise-anti%11apartheid-disco-201009273118/

I was, not entirely out of malice, rather hoping the clever and articulate Ed Balls would become the new leader - if only for the "Balls" headlines in The Sun.

While all this is going on we have a group of capable people running the country whose internal divisions and debate are public and transparent. Vince Cable is my neighbouring MP and a very clever man, with whose opinions on UK Banking I disagree strongly. He can however, while running counter to the message of the ruling coalition, express those views cogently and to the great credit of the open system adopted by (or possibly forced upon) Downing Street by the realpolitik of coalition. The UK Press clearly have a problem with coalition, however. I wonder if the newsworthy attributes of adversarial tribal politics are a lot easier that doing some real thinking for the journos?

One final question. Am I alone in thinking that the order-paper waving, mooing and "hear-hear"ing pantomime that is parliamentary behaviour is odious and as much as an insult to the electorate as even the expenses scandal? I would like to respect our elected representatives and feel they at least respect each other. Perhaps we need to physically remodel the Commons (for God's sake - the lines on the carpet are to keep MPs a sword's length apart!!!) and censure disruptive behaviour.

Above all, can we try to end tribal voting?

Dum Spiro Spero