Clueless

To be fair to Jeremy Corbyn – and Labour as a whole – they have some lovely ideas. No, really, they do; the kind of ideas that must have crossed everybody’s mind at some point. For instance: everybody should have a job commensurate with their abilities, which pays sufficient for them to raise a family. They should live in a decent and affordable home, adequate for their needs and be able to eat good food in sufficiency without undergoing hardship to do so. And after their working lives they should be able to afford a long, healthy, happy retirement before going off to the farm.

People should enjoy quality education and encourage succeeding generations to embrace the advantages it bestows, while not denigrating good, honest toil for the less academic. A bin-man should have the same opportunity to live a satisfying life as a brain surgeon and assistance and encouragement should always be available for those who wish to explore avenues new. You should be free to pursue your lifestyle preferences just as you should respect the choices of others.

It almost goes without saying that a decent society should provide healthcare, clean air, good transport and reliable infrastructure to deliver power and communication links, water and sanitation to all. Nobody should be sleeping on the streets, nobody should be constantly afraid of violence and everybody should be able to go about their daily lives without being intimidated in any way. Those who transgress should be swiftly and humanely dealt with and everybody should have access to good legal representation.

See; who could disagree? But surely every party has the same wish list? Is there really a significant proportion of the electorate who would vote for parties which promise the opposite? The fact is that the only way in which one British political party is distinguishable from any other is ‘the plan’. And as always Labour’s plan for all these wonderful-sounding aspirations is to simply legislate for it and tax the rich. In other words, you’d better be happy, or else prepare to receive the full force of the law.

Jeremy models his outfit for 

the Glorious Leader's address

I hear nothing new from the Labour Conference (and I expect no better from the Tories next week) instead I hear only echoes of a failed past. Nationalise, soak the rich, grab the land and if Dawn Butler’s absurd utterings are to be taken at face value, bring back Militant Tendency. Labour – once a party united in its determination to represent the working class - has become bi-polar; Dr Jeremy and Mr Hyde, two personalities struggling to control the same body-politic. If you want the proof, ask any Labour MP what the party stance is on Brexit.