Local elections are in the offing, so it’s that time of year when the political parties stuff pamphlets through the door, lauding themselves and excoriating their opponents.
Yesterday it was the turn of the Labour party. After a decade of Labour government and the accompanying disappointments, it’s naturally going to be tricky pitching a slew of Labour councillors as the solution to all problems in Cambridge.
A first glance through the material suggests they’ve decided to adopt the approach of distancing themselves from the national Labour party, in the hope we won’t think these two organsations are in any way related. For example, Cambridge Labour “says NO to unfair congestion charge”.
Irrespective of the pros and cons of congestion charging, this will be the congestion charge which the council is required by the Labour government to investigate (translation: implement) in order to receive grant funding for upgrading the local transport infrastructure. So it wouldn’t be entirely accurate to imagine that this is some scheme the LibDem-controlled council has dreamed up entirely on its own.
We also read that “Residents are entitled to better than the whopping 4.5% extra Council tax the Lib Dems are demanding.” One might suppose that a Labour council would be able to secure more generous central government funding (which makes up the larger share of local govt funding), but it does seem disingenuous to present council tax rises as being in some way wholly independent of central govt policy.
Labour will “…invest in citywide facilities for young people and also remove anti-social teenage booze and drug parties from city parks.“
Have those degenerate LibDems been spending our council tax on booze and drug parties in order to gain the youth vote? Why weren’t my children invited?
The back page however takes an alternative approach, piggy-backing on the Labour govt’s many impressive achievements (just kidding!), where we learn that “No country has done more than Britain’s Labour Government [sic] on Climate Change…“
Presumably we are to discount Sweden’s rather more impressive plans to become essentially oil-free by 2020. (OK, the Swedes have a lower population and greater supplies of renewable energy per capita, but it is nevertheless the kind of bold strategy that hasn’t exactly characterised NuLab’s stewardship of GB Ltd.)
For some reason I always vote, but each time it gets harder to overcome the cynicism.
4 Comments
April 4, 2008 at 9:07 pm
This government have been so disappointing in their subservience to the Daily Mail and Big Money. The NHS is sliding slowly into private hands, liberty seems cheap, banks get helped out of their own fuck ups. I sometimes wonder if there isnt a secret clique of fascist teenage civil servants (fascist as in the close relationship of industry and the state) that take over the minds of previously fairly reasonable politicians.
It seems to be even worse over the pond.
And voting is only important in “a few key marginals”
I cant vote Labour in Devon, as they have no chance of winning, but I would have in the past, so I vote LD. I dont think Labour deserve anybody’s vote at the moment, but I hardly think the Tories would be any better. Let’s all move to Sweden
April 6, 2008 at 9:49 am
snowqueen – as you say important to vote. However, I find that when taking part in activities sponsored by for example amnesty or the stop the war coalition, there is such an energy and sense of commitment and passion that pervades them that contrasts with the more passive nature of casting your vote. Perhaps even more significant is the involvement of all ages and cultures, there is hope…..
April 6, 2008 at 8:44 pm
WS, the cynicism is mine (MrP). Thanks for the reminder that there’s more to politics than just voting… I should get out and be a little more active!
-MrP.
April 13, 2008 at 6:21 pm
13-Apr update:
The LibDems delivered their newsletter today; apparently they are also opposed to the “unfair plans for a Congestion Charge in Cambridge, being put forward by the Conservative County Council under Labour Government rules.”
Next week I imagine the Conservatives will also announce they are opposed to Congestion Charging in Cambridge.
Confused? Me too.