Dear Fellow Platonians,
I'm having a weird week. A friend recommended me to her bank manager and I now have a working bank account and am about to rejoin the normal world by having a debit card and cheque book as well. It is a surprisingly positive experience for what seems like such a 'process' story.
It all started to go horribly wrong back in March when my bank decided without any warning that I was a crap credit risk and excommunicated me with the grand total of £180 in my wallet and a £500 unauthorised overdraft that they created.
As someone who always earned a good crust - that came as a bit of a shock. The credit crunch stopped my small business in its tracks and now I'm selling up as I can't afford my mortgage and have no real prospect of resuscitating my business as it focused on the public sector.
And then there's the fuss about Mandy's book - he doesn't appear to have said anything that wasn't widely reported before but lots of polytix commentators and Labour peeps are up in arms over it - because what they didn't want to admit was true or that what they'd been told was cobblers was also true.
The reason I'm posting about both these things is that often what appears to be the truth - isn't quite what it seems. Mandy put up a very convincing front as did many others about the warfare going on between No 10 and No 11. But it did them no good in the end.
Whilst I've been very fortunate to have been helped/hugged during my crap year - I still pretended things weren't so bad lest I made them feel awkward, myself feel like a failure or worst of all - end up exposed.
That's where Labour missed the point entirely in my view - Gordon and many of their policies were like my nuked business and financial woes. They needed to be faced up to sooner rather than later, but by hanging on and hoping they'd go away - they just got worse instead.
I can't say how glad I am that New Labour has hit the buffers but I fear that it's neither mortally wounded nor so seriously injured that it'll take a long hard look at itself.
Strong and effective opposition is essential for good governance but as it is - it appears that Labour are about to elect either a wonk, a twonk, a hypocrite, a bully or someone who looks like he's about to cry.
That does no one any good.
You are (as ever) spot on - Labour, New Labour, Ridiculous Labour, or whichever identity they are currently going by appear to have learned little from recent events. Their leadership line-up comprises tokenism and four white, middle-class twonks who all bear responsibility to varying degrees for the mess left behind.
ReplyDeleteIt won't be the bloody nose they learn from, it will be the knockout punch that follows.
As for your own situation, seemingly small achievements often earn the biggest appreciation. You have been in a valley, but all roads lead upward and you can choose which to follow.