I am so bored by the politic of absence

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I am so bored by the politic of absence.

What I mean is I have really had enough of politics where the best we dream of is a prime minister who is not a liar, a cheat, a criminal, an international law breaker, a philanderer, and so much more.

What I wish for is a news cycle is not about what mess the government has created now, and about how it is trying to make excuses for it.

And I am bored by Conservative leadership debate when everyone knows there is not a single person in the Tory partly able to be prime minister: they are entirely absent of talent.

But I am also bored by Opposition, at least in England and Wales, where ideas are absent - most especially from Labour.

Yesterday's non-event from Labour was embarrassing for the scale of the cowardice on display. The parallel announcement in Scotland was almost irrelevant: Labour has very little influence on debate there now.

Of course I know why Labour makes this supine announcements. It is living in fear of the swing voter in the marginal constituency who might cost them power, in their imaginations. People, like me, in other words, who could very easily be alienated by their timidity, if only they realised it.

So let's face some facts. First, the Tories are dead in the water. A dire administration may stagger on, but its chances of winning again are low.

Second, the LibDems are a genuine anti-Brexit party. Labour really does need to take note. Amongst Remainers this issue remains very important, and key to many voting decisions. To assume that people will vote Labour because they do not like the Tories is, for Labour, a very big mistake right now.

Third, the Greens are not in the parliamentary running in any serious way.

Fourth, Labour should be listening to its own membership and a growing number of unions and be promising PR to tackle that. The current leadership stand against this from Labour is unforgivable. It is anti-democratic.

But, fifth, most of all Labour needs to come out fighting rather than be apologising for its very existence. It should be saying Brexit has failed, because it has. It should be saying that this was because the decision was made to leave the single market and it will seek to reverse that. It should say that leaving he single market was never discussed as an option in 2016 and so this option was never endorsed by the electorate. It should say it was Tory hardliners who created this crisis. It should say that it is confident that the EU would have us back in that market. It should commit to rejoining that market now.

All of this is possible. It is correct. And it all makes sense. And it does not say we will rejoin the EU - for reasons which I understand are not possible as yet.

However, it does create a plan to deal with a crisis. It resolves the problems many businesses face. It supports employment. And it is is positive, and people are desperate for positivity.

Why it cannot say all this I do not know.

But instead all we get is an absence of initiative. And I really am very bored by it.


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