So the Conservatives are dead. Not just here in the UK,
where they have been on life support despite best advice for decades, but in
Spain, too, it seems. The supposed ‘fascist’ ‘far-right’, ‘extreme right’
resurgent Nazi party, Vox, has split the right-wing vote, but the jubilant declarations
of victory for the left have a hollow ring. The socialists didn’t manage an
outright majority and some commentary suggests they only held the seats they
did because people believed the negative campaigning against the ‘voice of the
people’.
Make no mistake, Vox’s party name is not chosen in vain
and its equivalent across the westernised, socialised world is growing in
confidence. Socialism sounds so good when you only hear the aspirations, but
humans have a habit for acting in their own interests. When a political party
promises milk and honey the do-withouts are naturally drawn to them; why would
they do otherwise? But when they realise that the left is just as authoritarian,
if not far more so, than the right, many find the promise turning sour.
Yes, of course, if you are at the bottom of the heap, of
course you should want better. And from that position there appear to be far
too many who sail through life without lifting a finger; inherited wealth,
cushy positions, more money than they can spend in a lifetime, etc. The sort of
people who openly display their good fortunes (boastfulness also being a human
trait). But they are just the visible targets, largely because the rest of us
are quietly toiling away, getting by and hoping not to be rinsed by the system.
For the fact is, tax and welfare is a zero sum game. Just
as you can’t borrow your way out of debt – no matter what Jeremy Corbyn might think - you can’t tax yourselves into prosperity. Yes it could be fairer, yes
some people could and possibly should pay more tax, but the reality is that profligate
governance got us where we are now and the election of an uber-profligate
replacement will do nothing to improve the situation apart from some highly
visible, highly popular, but ultimately doomed redistribution.
But it won’t be taxing the rich to feed the poor it will
be – as always – taxing the coping to prop up the needy and – as always – it won’t
be enough. The only outcome of same-old-socialism will be even more support for
the right in the future; and it will come from the very people on whose side
the left always claim to fight. Instead of the moderate right who are currently
winning support, socialists will embolden and empower the sort of ignorant far-rightism
they are currently crying wolf over.
The voice of the people - coming to a country near you.
So, this Thursday and quite rightly, the Conservatives
are going to take a hammering in the local elections, but will they learn from
it? Of course not. Labour won’t suffer so badly, but will they understand why?
Almost certainly not. Brace yourselves for your council taxes to increase
again, your potholes to go unfilled, your street lighting to splutter and die and your town centres to decline still further... yet expect no realistic solutions to come
from any quarter. Politics as usual.