It is fashionable amongst the ex-Britpop and new media generation to be right-on New Labour supporters. All that’s vulgar about this rich selfish binge drinking coke snorting middle-‘new money’-class who are now in their mid 40s was epitomised in New Labour when it swept to power in 1997. The ‘spin’ lunatics had taken over the asylum, and so started the reign of lies and deceit that nobody objected to because at least it wasn’t the Conservatives any more.
They could push through legislation and policies far more ‘right-wing’ than the Tories ever had because the New Labour generation were too busy sniffing to smell a rat. They could lie far worse lies than the Tories had done, but it was alright, they weren’t the Tories so nobody cared. Not a soul blinked as Margaret Thatcher was called to advise and discuss policies with Tony Blair.
Meanwhile, whilst New Labour’s Tony Blair went on religious crusades into other countries on false premises that nobody really worried about, the Tories entered their wilderness decade. Their support depleted and having grown old and tired, they fumbled around weakly missing every opportunity to show the country what was really going on. A succession of leaders with confused and grey ideas failed to generate more than a tiny whisper into the public’s ear. A new image and new mouthpiece was needed. But, that’s where the wheels ground to a halt.
Then the truth of the New Labour awfulness, especially after the legacy of the crusade into Iraq, started to dawn on the more sober of the Britpop champagne socialist generation in charge of media. Some even dared mutter misgivings in public about what their wonderful Labour party Government was doing. Their dislike of what was happening even caused some to start flirting with the Liberal Democrats. A very few even reasoned that the newly appointed charismatic David Cameron actually wasn’t talking Thatcher-esque rubbish but had a cleaner and more modern approach with the Conservatives, although of course they could never vote Conservative. The mutterings of the Britpop generation continued from their positions of power as the journalists, reporters, commentators and thought-shapers, to pour scorn and negativity against the Conservatives whilst also questioning their own previous unquestioning love affair with Labour.
However, the Conservatives got the majority of the votes (based on votes per party) and the largest number of seats (based on seats per party) at the General Election. This then led to the strange marriage of Conservatives and Liberal Democrats that is today’s coalition Government.
As a person who likes to laugh and point at those who deserve it, I found this hilarious. The look on the faces of those who hated the Conservatives, but tolerated or even loved the Liberal-Democrats was priceless.
Pretty instantly the mumbling and chattering started with the customary sneerings and hissing that out performed Gollum as they searched for something bad about the coalition to maniacally scream and shout and point at. When they couldn’t find anything they issued prophecy after prophecy about how cracks would soon appear and how everything was doomed. Of course, the cracks didn’t appear, and so they got even more wound-up and angry.
And here we are today with the media full of pre-conditioned anger and ready to explode their foam all over the place, if only they could find something to really foam about.
Yes, David Laws and his ‘irregularities’ with regards to his expenses was an excellent starter and immediately dubbed a “first crack”. However much the chattering classes twisted and turned it though, it wasn’t about a Conservative, and it wasn’t really about the coalition. Could they make it be about the coalition? Try as they could, it was just one bloke in a position of responsibility who had done wrong.
Soon the veins on their foreheads were again standing out and their eyes were darting from side to side desperate for the chink in the coalition armour that could lead to the first “told you so” foam to ejaculate all over their hankies.
Well, it might come soon. Or it might not.
Personally, I hope this coalition Government works and lasts the full term because I think as a society we need to move away from the confrontation and division that the champagne socialists love to perpetuate, and into an era of co-operation and actually doing things rather than moaning about what others once did in previous decades.
With a good following wind this Government will last the five years they plan to and will have gone some way to fixing what’s broken and built the bridges so hated by those clucking and foaming.
I wonder though, if, when Parliament dissolves for the next election after the maximum five years promised by the Coalition, the foamers will be saying “See! SEE! They’re going for an election, I told you it wouldn’t last!”
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