NICK FERRARI
YEA – AND finally it was over.the most unedifying, divisive and downright ugly election campaign many of us can recall in decades finally finished with the general public spelling out what they expect to see: “Get Brexit Done!”
Now what must be addressed in the weeks or months to come is the calamitous collapse in trust between those of us who do the electing and those who wish to be elected.
The reason is plain. Brexit wasn’t so much the elephant in the room, rather the elephant, giraffes, rhinos, zebras, monkey cage and the entire damned zoo!
The last crop of politicians’ open skulduggery, dodgy dealing and insufferable sense of arrogance in that they knew far better than us has proved to make voting in any future election as attractive a proposition as chowing down on a bowl of kangaroo’s testicles in the jungle.
How marvellous to see the likes of Dominic Grieve, Anna Soubry, Emma Dent Coad and David Gauke turfed out, Chuka Umunna and Sam Gyimah ignored, and also so much for
‘The biggest turkey of this Christmas vote was Labour’
the views of the Conservatives’ very own version of Hinge and Brackett, Lord Heseltine and Sir John Major.
They’ve only themselves to blame, and this dreadful sense of politics being firmly rooted in the gutter has been entrenched by the events of the five weeks of electioneering.while no party emerged with credit from their respective campaign, at least Boris Johnson nailed an instantly understandable tagline for the Conservatives.
The Lib Dems were never able to recover from something that would hobble the most adept of campaigners and that was that the more the public saw their leader, the less they liked her. Coupled with the quite insulting position that they would, if possible, revoke the referendum result without giving us the benefit of even being consulted, and it was laughable that they had the word Democrats in their title.
MOST certainly, it was not what it said on the tin and as a result Jo Swinson went, in little over a month, from touting herself as a future prime minister to being unable to appeal to the good folk of East Dunbartonshire.
Understandably, supporters of the Brexit Party went into this election with high hopes as they had absolutely trounced all the other parties in the
European elections just six months ago.
That sense of purpose was not to last, however, and for once questions need to be asked of that doughty – and usually bang on the money – campaigner Nigel Farage. Having said he would “definitely” stand as candidate for the party he founded, he opted not to see his promise through.then, having declared his party was “ready and waiting” and would “definitely” fight for every seat in every corner of the land, again he backtracked.
Canny Farage was the commander who marched his men (and women) to the top of the hill, only to break ranks halfway up and then order many to about-turn.
However, the biggest and foulest turkey of this Christmas election was the Labour Party. Leader Jeremy Corbyn was exposed as someone who was simply unable to apologise for the allegations of anti-semitism and had a grasp on numbers equivalent to that of a monkey with an abacus.
The majority of Labour literature was conspicuous for the absence of any picture of Corbyn – or in some cases, even any mention! His policies were dismissed by everyone from former spy chiefs to economists and even his own health secretary. Senior Labour figures spoke openly of the need to replace him, but the general public have done the job for them.
EVEN in defeat Labour don’t get it, as John Mcdonnell opted to lecture on the perils of extremism, blithely ignoring the battery of anti-semitism claims it is currently investigating.
However, despite this victory, the hard work for thetories starts here.they are now the party that represents people from the disused pit towns of the North to the London constituency that has Grenfell Tower in it.they’ve not tasted victory like this in nearly 40 years.
But, as Boris said, many have “lent” them their votes.the next general election will not be fought on Brexit and he needs to show thetories can care for, and nurture the NHS, and deliver on promises on police, education and the environment.
Britain voted for a change from the political roadblock, and if the Conservatives are to count on the working-class vote again, the days of Eton and Oxbridgetory toffs must end , as they embark on perhaps the biggest change of the lot.