So at last they’re not only under starter’s orders but the race for the next parliament has begun. No more jostling at the starting tape, this is for earnest now. And already the mud-slinging has started, albeit in a muted way.
There’s an interesting 10 point guide from the BBC on what to watch for during the race. Watch the race with our indispensable guide …
It really matters this time. So we’re always told. Guess it does matter more this time given the fact that the country is bankrupt. Or does it matter? (See “policy” below.)
The TV debates will dominate. Yes, dominate the boredom, most like.
The internet will also dominate. Yes we’ll all die under a welter of email, SMS, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and other such spheroids. That’s in addition to the usual sheaf of paper stuffed through our letterbox, less than nothing in the papers (no, not even fish & chips; nanny banned them, remember!) and extra drivel on the airwaves.
Slogans will matter less. Did they ever matter more? At all? Mind this could be true; the sound-bite may be less important because lots of people are learning to see through them.
Policy will matter more. Oh, really? You mean any of them have a clue what their policies are? Or how to implement them? And even if they do know, are one lot really much different from the others? Aren’t they all their to feather their own nests?
The battle of the wives. I hear the bottom of a large barrel being scraped. Or are they auditioning for “Sex and the City”? Or to replace Kim and Aggie? Or Nigella Lawson? Someone pass the bucket please.
It could get personal. Delete “could”; insert “will”.
The local factor. It never made much difference before; don’t see why it will now. We’re much more global now; much more knowing about what our masters (tell us) they’re up to. Seems to me that means there’ll be even more voting for the party rather than on local issues.
Lies will be told. This is probably the only certainty here. But wait …
Nobody knows the result. This should be a certainty too. But do fat ladies sing? Will anyone even know the result when the results are in? As the BBC says, it’s going to be a bumpy ride. My money’s on a hung parliament and nothing being able to be done for about 2 years until it all crumbles, by which time the country will be in even deeper doo-doo.
Goggles down for a full house!
I am so so sick of this business of looking at what the wives wear, say and do. It should not have any effect on how their husbands are judged by the electorate. The job of first lady is already filled more than adequately by HM QEII – and God Bless all who sail in her! The wives should be left to get on with their own lives – as Norma Major did – and their husbands should stand or fall on their own merits.