Party Manifesto

You'd think that those who oppose this dreadful government would have been overjoyed at the negative fall out it is having to endure as the result of recent revelations about last December's Covid-regulation busting Number Ten Christmas parties.  But you would be mistaken.  The Corbynites are instead busy 'harrumphing' away about how it is a travesty that something as insignificant as this should be getting the headlines, rather than any of the 'real' issues they have been trying to highlight.  Which, once again, simply highlights exactly why they and their leader were always going to fail in the business of real world politics and winning elections.  'What's the big deal - I always assumed they'd dome this as it the sort of shit they do' commented one on social media, adding that people should have been incensed at all the other stuff the Tories were doing, like suppressing the right to protest, privatising the NHS and the like.  Well, the fact is that all of those things, while bad, simply don't impact the average voter directly - most people don't go on protests or need long-term NHS care.  But the pandemic has affected everyone, with all of us having had to observe the rules during lockdowns, regardless of how personally inconvenient it might have been.  Many, many people were prevented from visiting sick and dying relatives or attending funerals during the Covid restrictions.  So, when it becomes clear that those imposing and administrating those restrictions were not following them, but instead flaunting them to hold parties, the majority of voters are going to react negatively.  It's not rocket science - these are the things to potentially bring down governments.

The sad reality of politics is that specific policies rarely win or lose elections.  Most voters pay little attention to the minutiae of proposed policies.  They certainly don't read party manifestos.  They react to the broad brush ideas, the populist, but unspecific, campaigns - Brexit surely showed that.  New Labour swept to power not because voters necessarily embraced its policies in detail, but because it was able to latch on to the issue of government sleaze and corruption and present itself as a fresh, new and trustworthy alternative that could manage the economy.  Likewise, the Tories regained power, not because of any enthusiasm for their policies, but instead because a global economic meltdown happened on the Labour government's watch and they were able to convince voters that it was somehow all the result of Labour's economic policies.  So its that now the wheel has turned and once again we have a Tory government mired in sleaze and corruption scandals and, like it or not, it is how Labour exploits this which will dictate the outcome of the next election, rather than any specific policies it puts out or ideological line it takes.  

But for the Corbynites, what matters is maintaining some kind of 'ideological purity' - we have to win by having the 'right' policies, or not win at all.  Which is why they spend their time reviling the New Labour governments, despite their record on public spending, NHS funding, education, poverty reduction, even human rights, because they took us into the Iraq war, which apparently invalidates all those achievements and the good they did.  Frankly, I disagreed with the Iraq war and quite a lot of the other stuff that the Blairites were involved with, but I would still take those governments over any Tory government, as they actually did a lot of good for those in need.  If you feel differently, then you aren't any kind of socialist, as you clearly want to put principle before actually helping people, even if that means making some compromises and swallowing some shit.  I'm sorry that the voters are only turning against the Tories because of something as trivial as a Christmas party, rather than because they are appalled by their odious and destructive policies, but that's the reality of politics - people react to stuff that relates to their personal experiences.  So stop sulking and accept the gift that they are giving us.