As fencing goes, the season began well. I made 25th at the Essex Open — one of the UK’s 4 top competitions — and came third in the Shropshire Open. The result was, as of 1 October, I finally made the UK top fifty for men’s foil, and am currently ranked 42nd.But enough of fencing, and back to politics. What about General Election fever? Will Brown bite? And does he need to?The truth is that every day that goes by increases the discomfiture of David Cameron’s Tories. They don’t have any policies, and the increased pressure of a likely General Election exposes this. This week we have seen a promise of massive cuts to inheritance tax paid for by a £25,000 levy on people who work in the UK but don’t pay UK tax. It’s certainly true that these people profit from legal loopholes. But there are not remotely enough of them, confined as they largely are to the London Square Mile, to pay for enormous tax breaks across the entire country. If it shows anything, it shows that Cameron’s advisors have virtually no understanding of the Britain outside London. And, of course, it also shows that they have given up on any hope of ever being in a position to make good on their promises. Brown may have the Tories dangling nicely, but he is not above criticism. It may be all very well (actually, in my opinion it isn’t) for opposition parties to constantly play low politics and stoke up rumour for the sake of causing trouble. The government, however, has a duty to the country. If Gordon Brown believes he does not have a mandate, or believes that his majority is insufficient, he should call an election. If he believes that he does have a mandate, and he thinks he has a working majority, then he should announce that there will be no General Election until the parliamentary cycle is complete. General Elections are not a free good. There is an economic cost to the country and a direct cost to the taxpayer. When we have just barely ridden out a financial crisis in the markets, and additional uncertainty is not going to benefit anyone. The uncertainty of an uncertain electoral cycle is a powerful argument for the oldest of Liberal Democrat policies: constitutional reform. Blair came to power promising to reform our constitutional affairs. After several abortive attempts to reform the House of Lords, and a single attempt to examine a fairer electoral system, and a very severe mauling on the notion of regional government, Blair left office with virtually no constitutional achievements to his name. He proved just one thing: half-hearted reform is doomed to failure. For the sake of Britain’s long term democratic future, it is time for a written constitution, a fair voting system, fixed term parliaments, and a bill of rights. Any less, and we sell ourselves short.Brown may continue to play games with the electorate. For now. But he would be better to end the confusion and announce an election. Or no election.
Stratford on Avon's Lib-Dem Parliamentary Candidate
Friday July 30th 2010
