Ten years ago today I was full of optimism. I had spent much of the day knocking people up to remind them to vote. Change was in the air. After eighteen years in power, the Tories were jaded and their time was up. Now it was our turn. Even so, I was amazed at the staggering degree of the win that night. I was overjoyed and buoyed up for some while afterwards. Change was in the air… It could only get better…
There are two tragedies in life. One is not to get your heart’s desire. The other is to get it.
George Bernard Shaw
Didn’t we just? In a decade, this government has systematically undermined our civil liberties, turned us into a surveillance society, amended the relationship between state and citizen (for the worse), undermined the rule of law and made this a thoroughly unpleasant country in which to live with every jumped up little jobsworth demanding to “see some ID”. Despite squandering millions in stealth taxes and introducing summary (in)justice, the fear of crime remains rampant because it conveniently provides politicians with an excuse to erode yet further our liberties. So, too are the shrieked warnings of terror; again used to remove habeas corpus and to justify yet more snooping into our lives.
Then there’s the lying to parliament, an illegal and unnecessary war that is costing the lives of British service personnel for no good purpose and will do for years to come because Blair and Bush were too stupid to learn the lessons of Vietnam. And don’t get me started on farming, foot and mouth, fishing and the EU…
That day ten years ago seems a lifetime away now and the euphoria of the early hours of the following morning has long since turned to ashes. Later this week I go to the polls in the local elections. My vote is likely to be for the least worst option as none of the major parties in this country are remotely liberal. If UKIP are standing, then maybe. Whatever I vote, it will not be Labour and likely as not, never will be again.
Happy anniversary.
I am doing something I never ever thought I would… standing for election for town council. Sort of a “stop shouting at the telly/radio and try to do something about it” reasoning (well, beyond writing lots of letters to MPs and signing petitions) – mind you, I doubt there’s much one person can do at a local level, it’d be like putting an elastoplast on a broken spine.
So how did it go?