PMQ: What a load of old S***
I watched PMQ today. I had to, with all the exciting stuff going on in politics. Everybody loves to watch justice served, but i have to say that i don't feel it is being served to the right person. Everyone is turning and slinging mud at Gordon Brown but as far as i am concerned, that's just the Apprentice syndrome. You could have mixed sandalwood with cedarwood and it will still be the project manager's fault because they should have "delegated correctly".
Let's face it, when Gordon Brown stepped in he was doomed. Everyone was pissed off with Blair, then pissed off we didn't get an election when Blair left, then pissed off by corrupt bankers causing a recession, then pissed off by corrupt MPs. Everyone was pissed and so it all rained down on Brown. I actually feel quite sorry for the bloke. He quite clearly gets next to no sleep, his supporters are queuing up to dig the knife in (some are getting a complimentary twist) and he can't seem to do anything right.
Being a politics student i can look at the situation objectively (then again, where's the fun in that?) and from doing so i can see the fault in all. Should any MPs happen to come across this, please have a read and take heed.
First all, i shall begin with the Conservatives. Part of their job as Her Majesty's Opposition Party is to scrutinize the government and they act like they are, but they aren't. NOT AT ALL. Throughout PMQ they said what rubbish the government are doing and how much better they would do it. How is the Government supposed to improve from that? Have you ever heard of constructive criticism? Except these conservatives don't WANT to give constructive criticism, they want to dish out the destructive stuff to try and turn voters against them. While this may help them in the election that is not going to help the recession, that is not going to help fix your corrupt politicians and it is not going to give the public more faith in politics. If anything, constantly pointing out the flaws in our government is taking away our faith and so when the conservatives take the stage, next to no-one will have any faith in anyone anymore and they would have simply won because they were the lesser of two evils. This is starting to happen already, with BNP getting two seats in the european elections. It's because you are BOTH doing an unsatisfactory job and people are starting to feel like they have nowhere else to turn. It would be strange for conservatives to agree with labour and i am not suggesting they do any such thing, but instead of jumping down their throats at ideas which, in my opinion, are pretty damn good (GET RID OF THE WESMINSTER VOTING SYSTEM!!!!) you should be trying to mould the policy proposed into something better for the public. Save the mud slinging for election time.
Now for the Labour party. WHERE THE BLOODY HELL ARE YOU? You are dishing out your soundbites on how great Gordon Brown is but are you actually bloody doing a bloody thing to properly help him? I haven't seen anything and it's me, the general public (and voters in the next election) who NEED to be hearing and seeing that Labour is doing things to support Brown and showing that we have a united Government with a supportive party. I was glad to see some Labour MPs standing up to question and doing their job of scrutiny and not just succumbing to the party hacks and keeping shtum but i haven't heard a word from my local Labour MP on anything (then again i rarely do). Keep us informed in what you are doing, in what the PM is doing and how it is helping everyone and don't just flash your "We heart Gordon" badges once in a while.
Cabinet, you get your own paragraph too because, frankly, i'm ashamed. Good for those of you who resigned because you didn't agree with Brown, i believe that no one should follow what they don't believe i. However, the lot of you that are staying haven't helped him a sausage. You are all too scared to step out into the arena and help Brown fight the lion. Instead you stay in the shadows and hope to survive another day. If you could just band together and start working with him then it would make a huge difference. To clarify, i mean work with him in PUBLIC. I'm sure you're all doing your bit behind the scenes but the public don't see that, do we?
Now for all the MPs that sit in the House of Commons. Grow up. When Nick Clegg stood up and spoke, you all talked over him and i could barely hear a word he said. In school we are constantly taught to "not talk while someone else is talking because it is rude", can you not do the same? Show a bit of respect for your fellow politicians even if you may view them as "below you" for being from the third party. You may not all be the same party but you are all people and all deserve to have your voice heard. Afterall, is that not the point of MPs? To ensure that everyones voice is heard? Even the speaker had to ask people to behave, like a teacher in a classroom telling off the naughty students! You are all educated, intelligent grown men and women so start acting like it. As for the expenses business, i shall not tarnish you all with the same brush because i am sure there are many of you who did not exploit the system for every penny you could get. For those that did: I am pretty sure you did not go into politics to start theiving taxpayers money. I'm sure that at one point, perhaps when you were a fresh-faced twentysomething year old just out of Uni, you actually wanted to help people and make a positive difference. Go back to those days. Go back to the basics. Stop thinking "must win election must win election" and start thinking "ok, how can i help at least one person in my constituency today?" Believe me, it will make a huge difference because we may actually start to feel like you give a toss.
Lastly, Gordon Brown. Ha, i bet you were all thinking i was just going to insult everyone else and act as if our PM is perfect. Well he is not. He is as unperfect as every other human being on this planet and makes mistakes just like every human being on this planet, except his mistakes have a far worse impact. I agree with your critics, your leadership style has to change. Your cabinet reshuffle was definitely a kick up the backside for some but your fellow Labour MPs still do not respect your authority. I don't doubt that in your last meeting with them you told them to support you or bugger off but it isn't enough. You need to take away second homes for those that already live around bloody London and can take the tube or bus. You need to raise their salary and cut what they can claim expenses for. You are very right to change the voting system but you need to put more controls on the nationalized banks. You own majority in them so they should be putty in your hands. Make them cut bonuses and control salaries. Show these snivelling backstabbers whose boss. Cameron is good, i shall not deny, but people are still reeling enough from the Thatcherite days to vote Labour so use that and show the people that they can be in control. Show them you are as tough and terrifying as your (possible) future Enterprise Tsar. Then you will earn back that respect.
And can i just add one last thing i noticed in that PMQ? You constantly referred to the public, which was great it showed you are trying to help. One problem though; We were percentages. Such a percent have been moved into new housing, such a percent are catching the superbugs. When did we stop being people and become numbers? You need to remember that we aren't just facts and figures that you can manipulate to increase or decrease. We are people with hearts, well educated minds and, most importantly, ballot papers in our hands.
Let's face it, when Gordon Brown stepped in he was doomed. Everyone was pissed off with Blair, then pissed off we didn't get an election when Blair left, then pissed off by corrupt bankers causing a recession, then pissed off by corrupt MPs. Everyone was pissed and so it all rained down on Brown. I actually feel quite sorry for the bloke. He quite clearly gets next to no sleep, his supporters are queuing up to dig the knife in (some are getting a complimentary twist) and he can't seem to do anything right.
Being a politics student i can look at the situation objectively (then again, where's the fun in that?) and from doing so i can see the fault in all. Should any MPs happen to come across this, please have a read and take heed.
First all, i shall begin with the Conservatives. Part of their job as Her Majesty's Opposition Party is to scrutinize the government and they act like they are, but they aren't. NOT AT ALL. Throughout PMQ they said what rubbish the government are doing and how much better they would do it. How is the Government supposed to improve from that? Have you ever heard of constructive criticism? Except these conservatives don't WANT to give constructive criticism, they want to dish out the destructive stuff to try and turn voters against them. While this may help them in the election that is not going to help the recession, that is not going to help fix your corrupt politicians and it is not going to give the public more faith in politics. If anything, constantly pointing out the flaws in our government is taking away our faith and so when the conservatives take the stage, next to no-one will have any faith in anyone anymore and they would have simply won because they were the lesser of two evils. This is starting to happen already, with BNP getting two seats in the european elections. It's because you are BOTH doing an unsatisfactory job and people are starting to feel like they have nowhere else to turn. It would be strange for conservatives to agree with labour and i am not suggesting they do any such thing, but instead of jumping down their throats at ideas which, in my opinion, are pretty damn good (GET RID OF THE WESMINSTER VOTING SYSTEM!!!!) you should be trying to mould the policy proposed into something better for the public. Save the mud slinging for election time.
Now for the Labour party. WHERE THE BLOODY HELL ARE YOU? You are dishing out your soundbites on how great Gordon Brown is but are you actually bloody doing a bloody thing to properly help him? I haven't seen anything and it's me, the general public (and voters in the next election) who NEED to be hearing and seeing that Labour is doing things to support Brown and showing that we have a united Government with a supportive party. I was glad to see some Labour MPs standing up to question and doing their job of scrutiny and not just succumbing to the party hacks and keeping shtum but i haven't heard a word from my local Labour MP on anything (then again i rarely do). Keep us informed in what you are doing, in what the PM is doing and how it is helping everyone and don't just flash your "We heart Gordon" badges once in a while.
Cabinet, you get your own paragraph too because, frankly, i'm ashamed. Good for those of you who resigned because you didn't agree with Brown, i believe that no one should follow what they don't believe i. However, the lot of you that are staying haven't helped him a sausage. You are all too scared to step out into the arena and help Brown fight the lion. Instead you stay in the shadows and hope to survive another day. If you could just band together and start working with him then it would make a huge difference. To clarify, i mean work with him in PUBLIC. I'm sure you're all doing your bit behind the scenes but the public don't see that, do we?
Now for all the MPs that sit in the House of Commons. Grow up. When Nick Clegg stood up and spoke, you all talked over him and i could barely hear a word he said. In school we are constantly taught to "not talk while someone else is talking because it is rude", can you not do the same? Show a bit of respect for your fellow politicians even if you may view them as "below you" for being from the third party. You may not all be the same party but you are all people and all deserve to have your voice heard. Afterall, is that not the point of MPs? To ensure that everyones voice is heard? Even the speaker had to ask people to behave, like a teacher in a classroom telling off the naughty students! You are all educated, intelligent grown men and women so start acting like it. As for the expenses business, i shall not tarnish you all with the same brush because i am sure there are many of you who did not exploit the system for every penny you could get. For those that did: I am pretty sure you did not go into politics to start theiving taxpayers money. I'm sure that at one point, perhaps when you were a fresh-faced twentysomething year old just out of Uni, you actually wanted to help people and make a positive difference. Go back to those days. Go back to the basics. Stop thinking "must win election must win election" and start thinking "ok, how can i help at least one person in my constituency today?" Believe me, it will make a huge difference because we may actually start to feel like you give a toss.
Lastly, Gordon Brown. Ha, i bet you were all thinking i was just going to insult everyone else and act as if our PM is perfect. Well he is not. He is as unperfect as every other human being on this planet and makes mistakes just like every human being on this planet, except his mistakes have a far worse impact. I agree with your critics, your leadership style has to change. Your cabinet reshuffle was definitely a kick up the backside for some but your fellow Labour MPs still do not respect your authority. I don't doubt that in your last meeting with them you told them to support you or bugger off but it isn't enough. You need to take away second homes for those that already live around bloody London and can take the tube or bus. You need to raise their salary and cut what they can claim expenses for. You are very right to change the voting system but you need to put more controls on the nationalized banks. You own majority in them so they should be putty in your hands. Make them cut bonuses and control salaries. Show these snivelling backstabbers whose boss. Cameron is good, i shall not deny, but people are still reeling enough from the Thatcherite days to vote Labour so use that and show the people that they can be in control. Show them you are as tough and terrifying as your (possible) future Enterprise Tsar. Then you will earn back that respect.
And can i just add one last thing i noticed in that PMQ? You constantly referred to the public, which was great it showed you are trying to help. One problem though; We were percentages. Such a percent have been moved into new housing, such a percent are catching the superbugs. When did we stop being people and become numbers? You need to remember that we aren't just facts and figures that you can manipulate to increase or decrease. We are people with hearts, well educated minds and, most importantly, ballot papers in our hands.
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