Bel is thinking

Much talk in the press about Labour MPs and ministers plotting to unseat the hapless Gordon Brown. For some reason, they seem to think that he is the root of all their current woes. They do not realise, or choose not to realise, that the problem goes much, much deeper than that.

Simply put, this is it: the British public is sick of the Labour Government, and would like nothing more than to vote them out. Yes, there is a big problem with Brown - more to do with the fact that there is simply no connection between him and the public. To put it very kindly, he appears to most people as a statistics-spouting robot programmed only for one-way communication. Plus the fact that, having greedily and dishonestly grabbed all the credit for the good times in the economy, he cannot now distance himself from the current economic troubles. All his talk about “global turbulence” does not wash with the electorate.

But the bigger problem is Labour itself. People are quite rightly entitled to ask what exactly they have achieved from 11 years of a Labour Government. So far, the answer to that question should not fill any Labour MP with pride. The point of this article is not to enumerate Labour’s failings, numerous as they are (these are documented everywhere everyday - all one has to do is turn on the news); rather, my point is simply that if Labour MPs were truly honest with themselves, they would look to the bigger picture.

For any Labour MPs that might be reading, let me draw them an outline of the bigger picture: people are fed up to the back teeth of higher taxes, wasteful spending, rising crime, curtailment of individual freedom, nannying, excessive political correctness, erosion of British sovereignty, corruption among the political classes (though, to be fair, Labour is far from the only guilty party here), excessive regulation, and condescension from on high.

By all means, get rid of Gordon Brown - there will be very few tears shed - but do not delude yourselves that that would be the end of the nightmare. Far from it. Brown is actually performing a useful service for the Labour party. He is serving as a convenient lightning-rod for the anger of the electorate. Without him to hide behind, Labour and its self-serving MPs will face the full, undeflected wrath of the British public. Perhaps something for them to consider.

I have just had the dubious pleasure of watching Harriet Harman blunder her way through Prime Minister’s Questions.

For all that, she still did better than Brown on his best day.

So Gordon Brown is now lecturing us to stop wasting food?

This from a man who, as Chancellor, threw away almost £2bn of taxpayer money every year on overpaid tax credits (see here and here). A man whose Government continues every day to create new ways to waste our money. (For a recent example, see the £2.7bn Crewe and Nantwich byelection bribe - a last-minute, unbudgeted expense, done for little more than political expediency.)

After all that he has done to our public finances, I am astounded that this man can stand there, and without shame, presume to lecture the British people about thrift.

This is even more galling in view of last week’s vote by MPs to continue, among other things, having their meals paid for by the taxpayer. We pay for their food and wine, and then they turn around to us, and, in between mouthfuls of the choicest fare, give us tips on how to make our food last longer. “Package it properly, put it in the fridge, plan your meals properly. Do all this and you will save £8 a week.” All this they tell us, while feeding themselves fat on the good of the land.

This is beyond ridiculous. What makes it worse is that these people seem not to realise the level of contempt in which they are held. Or maybe even more worrying, they do realise, but are past caring. They have been afflicted with that condition often seen among people who have held power for too long. They have become blind to all but themselves. Oblivious to every warning, they plough on in the single-minded pursuit of self-interest. In this regard, I am reminded of a verse in the Bible. It was used in a different context, but would be apt here:

“That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand.”

Blindness in part has come upon our “leaders”. How much longer until they fall into their self-appointed ditch?