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 If you read the Tory blog, ‘conservativehome‘, you’ll see they’re deluding themselves into thinking that David ‘call me Dave’ Cameron has escaped his ‘toff’ tag just because Labour aren’t using it as a jibe now.
(Cameron is shown, left, next to his ancestor, King William IV – also known as ‘Silly Billy’ – who twice tried unsuccessfully to force a Tory government on the country, in 1832 and again in 1834/35.)
Cameron IS a toff in the traditional sense of the term because of his privileged background, and trying to shrug off the image is pointless. It is precisely because Cameron, Osborne and many other Tories have this privileged, upper-class experience of life – and an obvious vested interest in preserving it – that their claim to have the welfare of ordinary citizens at heart is so unconvincing.
Why would the Tories be so sensitive about the ‘toff’ thing if they weren’t desperately embarrassed about it in electoral terms? They know it will lose them the votes of those who just can’t identify with their upper-class values, so they – and Dave – are trying to kid us that he’s one of us really. That – in their own words – they’re not the ‘nasty party’ any more. Trying to kid us that what Conservatives are interested in is mending our ‘broken society’. Right…
Read more of Tories desperate for Cameron to lose ‘toff’ image.
Boris gets away with it. We’re not fooled, either way »»
 Never a rabid protester in the past, and never one to kick up much of a fuss in public…
I wanted to express my disgust at the mess the bankers and politicians have created for us yet again, and went along to lend a bit of support to the G20 protests in the City of London yesterday.
An ordinary, middle-aged, working-class white male, wanting to try and change things for the better in my own small way. After all, it’s a democracy we live in, isn’t it? Aren’t we supposed to be good citizens and participate in the decision-making process rather than sit at home in front of the telly, never voting and never taking part as full members of the society in which we live?
When it comes to the next General Election, they’ll be imploring us to vote and take part, maybe even collect us and give us a lift to the polling station to get our vote. They LIKE us to care about our country and get involved, don’t they? Or is that only when it suits them?
Read more of Nazi police stormtroopers subdue democratic protest »»
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It’s all very laudable – world leaders getting together to defeat a global economic recession which they managed to create for us in the first place.
But shouldn’t we and the other nations be sending people who actually KNOW what they’re doing?
We’ll give Obama the benefit of the doubt for the time being, and he’s the Americans’ problem anyway.
In Britain, we continue to assume that our own elected representatives are competent enough to manage our finances and complex economy, otherwise we wouldn’t vote for them, would we?
We assume they’re able to tell good advice from bad, because…er, well, because they’re our leaders and that’s what leaders do, isn’t it?
Assumptions are dangerous.
We ASSUMED they knew what they were doing when we elected them and they promised us ‘no more boom and bust’.
We ASSUMED they had enough common sense to know that when banks lend £billions in 100% mortgages on stupid multiples of income and ‘self-certification’ of earnings to people who can’t afford them, then house prices are going to go through the roof and the balloon’s going to burst eventually.
Was nobody in government – or ‘Her Majesty’s Opposition’ – bright enough to know this basic fact of life?
It truly beggars belief that nobody in parliament could see this coming, when most of us knew it was all too good to be true, and too good to last.
We could put it down to incompetence on their part… or we could put it down to taking the cynical decison to ignore all obvious warning signs in the desperation to stay in power and pretend that it’s a global issue. The head-in-sand philosophy, or ‘admit nothing / deny everything-and-it-will-go-away’ approach to governing the country.
Nor does it matter whether it’s Brown or Cameron or the leader of any other party.
Our ancient parliamentary system which is designed to protect politicians, civil servants and the monarchy from its own citizens means we are stuck with self-seeking politicians and a ruling elite rather than effective managers and leaders.
We choose personalites, political parties and their ‘manifestos’ slavishly, rather than honest professionals and specialists in their field who will make decisons based on sound principles, not political dogma.
When was the last time a politician did anything positive and successful for our economy? Something which is long-term and sustainable, and which serves the best interests of the majority of citizens rather than big business, bankers, fat cats and political party donors?
The answer to that one is never – it’s always been a question of spending money on some bright spark’s manifesto promises rather than a measured approach to the country’s needs and priorities. This means it’s always ‘fire-fighting’: short-term, ineffective and wasteful.
And while we persist in allowing our country to be run in this way, it never will.
So are you expecting something positive to come out of the G20 ‘summit’?
Don’t hold your breath.
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We knew all along that the story was too good to be true – certainly in London, Bristol and Hull.
As usual, it’s another government deception to try and quell the growing number of voices speaking out against increasing numbers of illegal immigrants and the resulting dilution of the British culture and lifestyle.
In recent weeks we’ve been told that Polish and other economic migrants from EU countries and Eastern Europe are going back home because of our recession. You only have to walk around the high streets and shopping malls in London and other city centres to know it’s not true: just take in the people and conversations around you.
Now we hear that the fine city of Hull has a ‘Polish only’ jobs market springing up (Guardian, 16 March). So much for ‘British jobs for British workers’.
A ‘Centre for Cities’ study in Hull and in Bristol has evidently found that neither city has experienced this ‘exodus of migrant workers’ either. In fact, 18% of these workers brought with them their partners, children or both – which is 22% above the national average. The report goes on to say: "(migrants)…are channeled into these jobs through recruitment agencies, many of which were unofficially ‘Polish only’. If you are not eastern European you are unlikely to go on the books. There are now two separate job markets in the city – one with long-term residents, the other with migrants." And yet the Guardian piece argues, bizarrely, that we should ‘do more to integrate those that want to stay’ (i.e. ALL of them) in order to help our economic recovery.
So how does that work? We let them in to have jobs, homes and benefits, and that’s apparently going to help our own workers and citizens ?
Somebody needs to explain that one…
In the meantime, we need to STOP the influx of foreigners, not encourage it. We also need to REMOVE those who are here illegally, and we need to do it NOW.
Is anyone in government listening?
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