The past can tell us so much about what may occur in the future. For example we know that we should be wary of a German neighbour who complains that the east wing of his house is too small. Sure enough you’ll probably wake up one morning to find him breakfasting with a bear in your kitchen. The Labour government of 1974-79 proved that they couldn’t handle the economy, creating the ‘Winter of Discontent’ and culminating with the election of Margaret Thatcher. Yet the electorate of Britain were beseeched in 1997 by a young Tony Blair selling a message that things needed to change. ‘New’ Labour had shaken off the shackles of the past and the economy would be ‘safe’ in their hands.
13.5m people voted in 1997 for New Labour. Swept up in the idea that there was a change coming. For second 10m voted and for the third term they were down to 9.5m voters. The change that had occurred over this period seemed, and was widely reported, to be beneficial to the UK. It now turns out that it was a sham, a mirage founded upon debt and stealth taxes. It is such a shame that the voters of these three elections didn’t take time out to study the past.
We are all now subjected to massive amounts of debt. Rather than a swift readjustment to the economy (had banks been allowed to fail) we are all now burdened with paying this off, in a country that has an economic framework that discourages growth. The 9.5m New Labout voters of 2005 are responsible for this economic disaster. They are the ones that handed the keys of Britain’s economy to Gordon Brown. They should be the ones to pay for the costs.
Labour politicians do not, nor will they ever, accept the simple dynamics of co-operation and the resultant ideology of capitalism. So don’t believe them when they come knocking again in around 14 years telling you they’ve changed! They won’t have.
