Brown Bread?
Misconstrued memos, the debacle that was the Labour Glasgow East by-election defeat and extraordinary rises in the cost of energy with nothing to curb it but proposed windfall taxes. What should Brown’s Labour government be expecting next? A swarm of locusts?
Labour may be mistaken for proverbial sitting ducks, with no original game plan, only further calls for the resignation of the once exalted Chancellor of the Exchequer. Nowadays, Brown has come to embody pestilence and plague on Biblical proportions for the Labour government, leaving the Tories up in opinion polls with fresh faced policies. For the first time in twenty years admitting you quite like, let alone (heaven forbid) support, the Conservative party won’t be met with patronising giggles or straight out rejection. Conservativism is cool.
Seemingly set on a course for self-destruction, with Labour in-fighting amongst Blairite ex-ministers and Brown loyalists, it has become hard to distinguish the cries of the public, whom these politicians are meant to represent, above the din of back-bench squabbling. With a disillusioned public and a long hard and particularly biting winter to relish, are Miliband and his cronies on their way to finally ousting the politically grey Brown?
For years the percentage of people bothering to go down to their local polling station and vote has been dwindling, and it seems a trend set to continue unless leaders can inspire the public once more. However, more than inspiration is needed from Brown. Not only are the public tired of petty politics, but there is now a strong sentiment that casting your vote will not actually change anything. For a start, the absence of an election after the appointment of Gordon Brown is a gripe that many voters are not so quick to forget, lest forgive Labour for.
If Labour decided to replace Gordon Brown as leader, they would not be constitutionally required to ask permission to do so. This Act was abolished in 1926 as the Re-Election of Ministers Act became legal. Alas, yet again we would be left with a political leader that we did not consent to, nay fervently desire. Apathy amongst the youth, what about apathy amongst voters? It is no wonder that we are increasingly turning to alternative methods in order to get our political point across.
As green issues concerning the environment, carbon emissions and global warming become a priority for not only British but world leaders, we want to feel like our actions are making a difference. Short of futilely stamping up and down outside No.10 demanding a ban on all Chinese imports and for gas guzzling 4×4s to be completely outlawed, one way the public feel they can take a stand is through purchase power.
Buying a pound of sausages and half a dozen eggs is no longer simple. Ensuring that the pigs, slaughtered to make the sausages, were hand reared and fed only the finest organic swill is vital. This makes shoppers feel in control, having the opportunity to demonstrate their ethical and concurrently their political beliefs, something which politics no longer offers. We are empowered by the illusion that our choice of breakfast juice affects someone somewhere along the food chain. A sense of fuelling the market, the power to alter supply and demand so that now almost every supermarket has capitalised on free range fair-trade GM free mania, is what supermarket shopping delivers unlike contemporary politics. Knowing that your bread has been sourced by wheat not doused in chemicals which also robbed a small family of field mice of their rural dwelling makes consumers feel empowered. These are admittedly sad, if not ironic, times when buying a loaf of bread gives a greater sense of participation in running our country than using the once revered vote.
By choosing to buy organically grown local produce the message is clear, we are interested in local issues and we want to see improvements in our daily lives, rather than hearing another round of conflict and disagreement amongst politicians who are supposed to be on the same side.
This comes after yet further woe for Gordon north of the Border. If he thought the Glasgow East by-election would be the end of Scottish troubles, reconsideration should be advised. As the former Scottish Finance Minister, Tom McCabe, called for the next leader of the party to stand up to Westminster, he criticises the “arrogance” of some MSPs, causing further discord within the Scottish faction of the party. This just isn’t Gordon’s day.
Perhaps our PM could do with a Marks and Spencer style re-vamp, with the next election campaign featuring a husky voiceover from Harriet Harman, guaranteeing voters a spin-free style of leadership – too radical I hear you cry. Or perhaps Labour does need to simply get rid and start again in order to re-establish themselves amongst the British public. However, unlike when Brown took over, the people would demand to have their say and the new leader would be unwise to delay. Brown’s less than dazzling stint as PM after succeeding without an election has created many disillusioned voters – although it has produced many organic farmers - and therefore they would be unwise to deny them their voice a second time round.
So as Brown’s Government crawls towards September and the annual Party conference, his fate seems somewhat precarious. However, the fact still remains, it is time voters feel empowered by politics again. Although it is doubtful whether this can be achieved under Gordon’s lead as PM. As his time as leader may just be drawing to a close, we need to regroup and regain confidence in politics. But, the game is not over yet and he may just be able to save himself and Labour if he can somehow radically shake up the party. Well Organic Fortnight is running until the 16th September, maybe there he may just find the answers he’s been searching for. Organic, free thinking Labour? Yes please.
