Cameron Delenda Est

Before concluding our look at the exploitation movies I watched the other weekend, I thought I'd take some time out to look at some current popular phenomena.  Namely the fact that #cameronmustgo has been trending on Twitter for what seems like an eternity now.  I have mixed feelings about this.  Obviously, like any sane person I agree with the sentiment, but another part of me is asking: why has this taken so long to happen?  It's been obvious since the day he became Prime Minister that Cameron is simply a puppet for the vested interests of the City and big business, asset-stripping the UK's public sector for their benefit.  So, I'm inclined to tell those behind the hashtag to stop trying to jump onto my bandwagon - they're just a bunch of Johnny-come-lateleys trying to grab the glory at the last minute. Joking aside, whilst it is always gratifying to see the likes of Cameron being publically skewered in this way, one still has to ask what those involved in the hashtag hope to achieve?  It certainly won't bring either Cameron or the government.  Nor, I suspect, will it leave them feeling embarrassed or humiliated - the policies they've pursued with regard to the poor, disabled and unemployed  alone show that they clearly don't care that people perceive them as evil scum.

At best, it can raise awareness of the effects and failures of the government's policies, although I'd hope that these would be obvious to everyone anyway.  I know that with the aid of the right wing press and other friends in the media the government have pursued a propaganda war to try and influence public perceptions, trying to re-write history so that the Labour Party, immigrants and the less well off are responsible for the recession rather than the greed and recklessness of the financial sector, but really - surely nobody but the most deluded knee-jerk reactionary Daily Mail readers out there believe this stuff?  The sad fact is, good though they might make us feel, stuff like this hashtag won't unseat the government and win elections.  Which brings us to another problem - who would we want it to win the election for?  The Labour Party, right now, isn't offering any coherent alternative to the government's economic policy of austerity - they're just saying they'd make spending cuts too, but wouldn't be as nasty about it.  They also don't seem to be offering any kind of alternative on things like civil liberties, constitutional reform, employment law or any manner of other crucial areas, for that matter.  Don't worry, after this bout of despair, we'll be getting back Lindsay Shonteff films next time.