No government could be this insensitive, nor this stupid. It seems that they are jumping on every passing bandwagon in the hope that they may scrape together enough votes to win the next election, or at least not crash out into political oblivion.
Sunak’s five pledges, which when announced looked like open goals are now lying in tatters. Inflation is stubborn, growth is lacklustre, national debt is as big as it has ever been in peace time, NHS waiting lists continue to burgeon and last month saw a record number of people crossing the channel in small boats. Judge me on my success he said but now it looks like he has just given up.
The Conservatives’ continued adherence to their immigration dogma is against public opinion. Its signing off on new North Sea Oil and Gas licences are at odds with its net zero objectives. So-called small boats as an issue is no longer uppermost in the voter’s minds but rather the cost of living and global warming crises.
It’s all gone crazy but what is really going on?
I’m not sure that the party is that clever or united enough but I have become increasingly sure that they have given up on the 2024 election and instead have set their sights on the 2029 one. Next year’s election looks lost and so my thinking is that they are putting up all sorts of crazy policies that are doomed to failure, making the next parliament almost impossible.
Labour has decided it can’t come out against such rashness as the media will be all over them, accusing them of going against the will of the people and putting forward unfunded policies, something that the current government does all the time as it happens. Labour is more worried about snatching defeat from the jaws of victory than anything else, so stay quiet on even the most egregious policies.
Should Labour get in, saddled with all these unworkable policies, they are going to struggle to make any headway at all. They will spend the whole parliament trying to sort out the mess. The Tories can then blame them for their incompetence, despite giving them a hospital pass, and sweep back into power after a five year respite.
Of course the electorate wouldn’t fall for anything as obvious, would they?
Thoughts from a Guerrilla Worker 