Nonsensical excuses for Labour failure
Bob Marshall-Andrews, writing in The Sunday Telegraph, analyses the reasons for Labour’s losses in the local elections:
The second, barely acknowledged, cause of rejection is the growing and palpable concern at the continued erosion of civil liberty. Populist attacks on civil liberties have long been the stock-in-trade of New Labour and it was an essential ingredient of the project to outflank and ambush the Tories on law and order.
At first this may have worked, but it has produced a growing sense of alarm which has finally found expression. This alarm is now fuelled by the (albeit unjust) perception of the Prime Minister as a gloomy authoritarian who tolerates no dissent.
…
So to the second apologia: “I will listen and learn”. If this is serious then I propose the following political week for the Prime Minister, which will bring about a dramatic revival in Labour’s fortunes.
Monday: announce an immediate programme to return power and responsibility in public services to the excellent professionals who operate within them with an associated substantial reduction in targets and other official impertinence.
Tuesday: termination of the identity card programme, with the billions saved to be spent on the alleviation of poverty, sensibly increased security intelligence and improved conditions for service personnel injured in conflict.
