Election

Gordon Brown has announced that the General Election is to be on May 6th (alongside council elections in parts of the UK). Given the current economic climate this may well prove to be the most important election since 1997. I was going to say 1979, but the 1997 election ousted the (then) last remnants of Thatcherism.
Although the election was announced yesterday, everyone has known that May 6th would be the date for some time. The government could have gone to the country as late as June, but late spring has always tended to be a preferred date for UK elections, given the traditional May date for local elections. The silliness has already started with the various Party Leaders commencing their various election stunts.
Labour's election slogan is 'A Future Fair for All' and, it is to some extent backed up with policies, not least in terms of dealing with the deficit, that appear to have the ring of social justice, although tax rises beyond simply increasing National Insurance would be helpful. They have however outlined a longer timescale than the Tories to reduce the deficit, avoiding the obvious pitfalls of mass unemployment, reduced tax receipts and an increased benefits burden that would accompany any stark changes in economic activity levels.
The Tories have an election slogan 'Vote for Change', yet recently voted against the reform of the House of Lords and the removal of hereditary peerages. I guess that they mean a change of occupant in Number 10 but the retention of aristocratic privileges that pre-date the Magna Carta. Further they have reverted to classic Thatcherite 'solutions' in what little bits of policy that have inadvertently slipped out such as massive cuts to public spending that somehow don't impact on frontline services. Perhaps they mean an NHS without administrators, the abolition of school meals, volunteer firemen; it is hard to tell. But if anyone can square an economic circle then it must be 'Boy' George Osborne and 'Call me Dave' Cameron. After all, they claim to be a modern go-ahead Party whilst still remaining lukewarm on Europe, and decidedly vague on climate change. They also propose cutting public expenditure very sharply very quickly to reduce the deficit. Any person of even moderate intelligence can see that this is a complete non-starter. It would put tens of thousands of public sector employees out of work with a serious knock-on effect on the retail and other service industries as their spending power is reduced. This would lead to increased unemployment in the service sector, actually increasing exponentially the burden on the public purse by increasing the total of benefits payments. This brings us to their real policy to curb the deficit. They want to make poor people pay for it. One policy they have let slip is that are to reduce in-work and out-of-work benefits, hitting the very poorest in society at a time of great economic privation. Then again they are Tories!
The Liberal Democrats, bless them, so liked both the Labour and the Tory slogans that they combined them in a commendable spirit of inclusion. Their slogan is 'Change that Works for You - Building a Fairer Britain' and, to be fair their policies seem reasonable, but, with the exception of the hung parliament scenario, irrelevant as they will not be forming a government any time in this or any subsequent centuries.
It is easy to poke fun, but there is a genuine nightmare scenario on the horizon. The Tories could win and the darkest days of social division and the complete lack of any genuine hope that epitomised the 1980s could return. Never forget that David Cameron used to be a speech writer for Thatcher and that he presides over a party that is Eurosceptic to the point of xenophobia, that still tends to adhere to the greed is good mantra and sees public services not as an integral and vital element of a civilised society but as an 'add-on' and an economic burden.
The mark of a civilised society is the capacity of the poorest members of that society to participate in the social, cultural and economic life of that society. We need properly funded schools, free university education, a health service free at the point of delivery, free and accessible social services and in-work and out-of-work benefits and state pensions fit for purpose if we are even to begin to call ourselves civilised. None of these are safe in the Tories hands - remember Thatcher. We must never let it happen again!!