Just a week ago the United Kingdom woke up wondering if it still existed. A momentous occasion as the nation reached out for its radio or TV "On" buttons.
To the relief of those who saw the split as a potential disaster for all concerned, the Scottish pro-independence vote was confined to the western end of the Clyde-Forth Valley, surprisingly perhaps not even extending as far as Falkirk in the middle. The only other "Yes" outpost was the city of Dundee, encircled by the "No " voting rural areas of Angus and Fife and the rest of Scotland.The "Yes" maths were fatally wounded by only 75% of "Yes" voting Glasgow turning out against 84.4% of "No" voting Edinburgh. Most "Don't Knows", freed from the at times less than friendly attention of their neighbours and SNP activists revealed themselves as "No". Game over. Alex Salmond's proposition was decisively defeated by 55/45. % .All the scares and very likely the generous special offers made since Mr. Murdoch's Sunday Times' one off poll suggesting a possible "Yes" majority proved to be unnecessary.
Most of Britain rolled over and quickly moved on to enjoy the weekend as if the danger of a split were over for all time. Mr Salmond lost no time in reminding everyone that "No, it isn't" and then , surprisingly to many just when a top flight SNP negotiator is needed to extract the maximum from David Cameron (not difficult), falling on his sword. Salmond accused the devious ( usually true) people of Westminster of trickery before also taking a day or two off. The immediate drama is over but there's a lot to play for and for Scotland to gain over the next few months before the final deal is signed. That might be a bit painful for the rest of Britain as, true to form, Gordon Brown signed the three terrified "leaders " up to giving away the shop in their moments of blind panic.
Why the panic?
For Cameron it was the possibility of going down in history as the man who agreed to gamble the future of the United Kingdom in a Referendum dictated by Salmond. The over lengthy timescale, the phrasing of the questions so that "Yes" was for independence, the agreement that 16 year olds could vote all favoured Salmond far more than Cameron seemed to even begin to understand. He won but it could easily have gone the other way.
For Miliband Junior and New Old Labour the loss of 40+ Scottish MPs could have scuppered dreams of imposing socialism on England in the forseable future.
For Clegg, well, who knows but he joined in anyway.
Putting all that aside, the Scottish deal and now the bombing of the bad guys in Iraq, will at least give MPs something to do in what was looking a decidedly thin legislative period between now and May's General Election.
No sooner had the visiting leaders and their entourages fled the Highlands and Lowlands and returned to their laagers inside the London Congestion Zone , never mind the North and South Circular or, at its extremity, the M25 than the Labour contingent had to pack their bags again and go to Manchester. Presumably most went by train devoid again of First Class branding. It is doubtful if many went by coach via a refreshment break on the M1. Too many common people there and no photo ops though it might have given Ed the ideas for a few more "I spoke to real people and they said to me..." quotes for his dreadful conference speech.
Ah, that gathering and that speech. Both were true Labour and true Ed even if the leader substituted the word "Friends" for the much loved "Comrades". The false bonhommie for the cameras, the minders, security zones, Trade Union sponsors and masters. The carefully planted "real people" for the media. The moving of less photogenic disabled people to make way for for others more in keeping with the desired image. And then, on Tuesday, THAT speech. 2.30pm is the dreaded slot for any speaker especially after a party or three the night before. To his credit, Ed spoke without notes other than a few headline prompts on the lecturn. It would have been helpful if these had included words like"The Economy" or "Immigration". Maybe they did, in which case he should have gone to SpecsSavers.
We were promised Labour's great 6 point plan to change and save the nation . This was offered in exchange for giving the party which only four years ago brought the country to the edge of ruin not just five, but ten please, years to weave their magic. Borrowing from an American Presidential theme and more recently the Scottish "No" ed intoned more than fifty times that "Together" we can do all sorts of things and the hated Tories would just do whatever in a dark corner on their own while ignoring the desparate plight of the rest of society.
What else did we get?
Sixty five minutes of the tedious , downbeat ,"It's all awful", part preaching, part hectoring, totally moralising style that is Ed's trademark. Lots of dreary tedium. Politically incorrect cameras picked up pictures of afternoon nap taking,fidgeting or pure boredom. Only Harriet Harman, famous for her nodding at everything Ed says , managed to look adoringly and with glistening eyes at her leader throughout,- and nod of course.
Yes, Ed did set out his stall only too well . It's not a pretty sight. The most significant feature was the Freudian omission of any agenda to fix the economy or sort out immigration. He really doesn't want to talk about these things. What's wrong with tax, borrow and spend after all. Far better than new thinking, reform, re-energising.
Ed's stool has just two main legs,- First the NHS and the mythical threat to it of the Tories and use of private facilities , now about 6% of total activity, originally sensibly introduced by Labour during his time as a Brownie. Second the Class War, an essential creation which must be kept alive if socialism is to have any appeal to anyone. There is no third leg other than a mish mash of odds and ends. There is certainly no vision of a better, greater Britain achieved by really tackling the issues.Nothing to excite, inspire or really get people going. Just more of the dreary old same.
In the real world the Tories have pumped much the same amount as he proposes ,-£2.6 billion,- into the NHS this year. It is not clear what the additional money has achieved in terms of output or performance. Ed intends his bung to pay for personal health plans for all and 36,000 additional front line staff by 2020. No mention where all these people are to come from in just 5 years or of the root and branch review and redesign of almost everything the huge organisation does which almost everybody knows has to happen. No mention of dreadful inefficiencies, waste, the legacy of Labour's disastrous high cost/lower productivity deal with GPs and Consultants. The Labour answer to it all is unchanged,- lots more people as demanded by the unions and lots more money.
The class war will always attract and inspire Hampstead socialists in the Miliband mould. They grew up with it, know that they have to perpetuate it, and they love it. It's what the singing of the Red Flag at the end of "Conference" every year is all about and it gives them nice warm feelings. Dangerously it reminds non believers that Labour not only dislikes some other sections of the electorate but more actively loathes them and will do all they can to land blows upon them. Hence Ed's claims to be gung ho for entrepreneurs rings hollow. Shrewd minds know that once they are successful despite all the personal risks of bancruptcy, unending hard work and the obstacles in their way and have made a bit of money, bought a nice house , paid private medical insurance, put their children into private schools and gained a few other deserved goodies they will morph from being heroes to despised class enemies. So much for encouraging and supporting an aspirational society. Labour doesn't and in its current form never will.
There were a few passing titbits during the 65 minutes. One was the complete removal of carbon emissions from electricity production by 2030. No how or by whom of course. That's down to the pariah power companies whose incentives to invest diminish by the minute. Another was the appointment of a global lesbian, gay and trans gender ambassador. Ed managed to remember those things but not fixing the economy or immigration. Freud was on form. Ed was not.
All this in just a week. Scotland has saved itself,- and the United Kingdom,- for now at least. Labour has saved us from getting excited about its offerings. Dave has got us back into the Middle East just as we thought we were getting out. Nigel Farage and UKIP are having their conference in Doncaster, while, cleverly Dave, the media are busy with Iraq. Next up is the Conservative Conference in Birmingham which is almost becoming a suburb of London. North(ish) but safe. About as far as a London Tory can safely go,- or wants to go. More on the proceedings there later.
To the relief of those who saw the split as a potential disaster for all concerned, the Scottish pro-independence vote was confined to the western end of the Clyde-Forth Valley, surprisingly perhaps not even extending as far as Falkirk in the middle. The only other "Yes" outpost was the city of Dundee, encircled by the "No " voting rural areas of Angus and Fife and the rest of Scotland.The "Yes" maths were fatally wounded by only 75% of "Yes" voting Glasgow turning out against 84.4% of "No" voting Edinburgh. Most "Don't Knows", freed from the at times less than friendly attention of their neighbours and SNP activists revealed themselves as "No". Game over. Alex Salmond's proposition was decisively defeated by 55/45. % .All the scares and very likely the generous special offers made since Mr. Murdoch's Sunday Times' one off poll suggesting a possible "Yes" majority proved to be unnecessary.
Most of Britain rolled over and quickly moved on to enjoy the weekend as if the danger of a split were over for all time. Mr Salmond lost no time in reminding everyone that "No, it isn't" and then , surprisingly to many just when a top flight SNP negotiator is needed to extract the maximum from David Cameron (not difficult), falling on his sword. Salmond accused the devious ( usually true) people of Westminster of trickery before also taking a day or two off. The immediate drama is over but there's a lot to play for and for Scotland to gain over the next few months before the final deal is signed. That might be a bit painful for the rest of Britain as, true to form, Gordon Brown signed the three terrified "leaders " up to giving away the shop in their moments of blind panic.
Why the panic?
For Cameron it was the possibility of going down in history as the man who agreed to gamble the future of the United Kingdom in a Referendum dictated by Salmond. The over lengthy timescale, the phrasing of the questions so that "Yes" was for independence, the agreement that 16 year olds could vote all favoured Salmond far more than Cameron seemed to even begin to understand. He won but it could easily have gone the other way.
For Miliband Junior and New Old Labour the loss of 40+ Scottish MPs could have scuppered dreams of imposing socialism on England in the forseable future.
For Clegg, well, who knows but he joined in anyway.
Putting all that aside, the Scottish deal and now the bombing of the bad guys in Iraq, will at least give MPs something to do in what was looking a decidedly thin legislative period between now and May's General Election.
No sooner had the visiting leaders and their entourages fled the Highlands and Lowlands and returned to their laagers inside the London Congestion Zone , never mind the North and South Circular or, at its extremity, the M25 than the Labour contingent had to pack their bags again and go to Manchester. Presumably most went by train devoid again of First Class branding. It is doubtful if many went by coach via a refreshment break on the M1. Too many common people there and no photo ops though it might have given Ed the ideas for a few more "I spoke to real people and they said to me..." quotes for his dreadful conference speech.
Ah, that gathering and that speech. Both were true Labour and true Ed even if the leader substituted the word "Friends" for the much loved "Comrades". The false bonhommie for the cameras, the minders, security zones, Trade Union sponsors and masters. The carefully planted "real people" for the media. The moving of less photogenic disabled people to make way for for others more in keeping with the desired image. And then, on Tuesday, THAT speech. 2.30pm is the dreaded slot for any speaker especially after a party or three the night before. To his credit, Ed spoke without notes other than a few headline prompts on the lecturn. It would have been helpful if these had included words like"The Economy" or "Immigration". Maybe they did, in which case he should have gone to SpecsSavers.
We were promised Labour's great 6 point plan to change and save the nation . This was offered in exchange for giving the party which only four years ago brought the country to the edge of ruin not just five, but ten please, years to weave their magic. Borrowing from an American Presidential theme and more recently the Scottish "No" ed intoned more than fifty times that "Together" we can do all sorts of things and the hated Tories would just do whatever in a dark corner on their own while ignoring the desparate plight of the rest of society.
What else did we get?
Sixty five minutes of the tedious , downbeat ,"It's all awful", part preaching, part hectoring, totally moralising style that is Ed's trademark. Lots of dreary tedium. Politically incorrect cameras picked up pictures of afternoon nap taking,fidgeting or pure boredom. Only Harriet Harman, famous for her nodding at everything Ed says , managed to look adoringly and with glistening eyes at her leader throughout,- and nod of course.
Yes, Ed did set out his stall only too well . It's not a pretty sight. The most significant feature was the Freudian omission of any agenda to fix the economy or sort out immigration. He really doesn't want to talk about these things. What's wrong with tax, borrow and spend after all. Far better than new thinking, reform, re-energising.
Ed's stool has just two main legs,- First the NHS and the mythical threat to it of the Tories and use of private facilities , now about 6% of total activity, originally sensibly introduced by Labour during his time as a Brownie. Second the Class War, an essential creation which must be kept alive if socialism is to have any appeal to anyone. There is no third leg other than a mish mash of odds and ends. There is certainly no vision of a better, greater Britain achieved by really tackling the issues.Nothing to excite, inspire or really get people going. Just more of the dreary old same.
In the real world the Tories have pumped much the same amount as he proposes ,-£2.6 billion,- into the NHS this year. It is not clear what the additional money has achieved in terms of output or performance. Ed intends his bung to pay for personal health plans for all and 36,000 additional front line staff by 2020. No mention where all these people are to come from in just 5 years or of the root and branch review and redesign of almost everything the huge organisation does which almost everybody knows has to happen. No mention of dreadful inefficiencies, waste, the legacy of Labour's disastrous high cost/lower productivity deal with GPs and Consultants. The Labour answer to it all is unchanged,- lots more people as demanded by the unions and lots more money.
The class war will always attract and inspire Hampstead socialists in the Miliband mould. They grew up with it, know that they have to perpetuate it, and they love it. It's what the singing of the Red Flag at the end of "Conference" every year is all about and it gives them nice warm feelings. Dangerously it reminds non believers that Labour not only dislikes some other sections of the electorate but more actively loathes them and will do all they can to land blows upon them. Hence Ed's claims to be gung ho for entrepreneurs rings hollow. Shrewd minds know that once they are successful despite all the personal risks of bancruptcy, unending hard work and the obstacles in their way and have made a bit of money, bought a nice house , paid private medical insurance, put their children into private schools and gained a few other deserved goodies they will morph from being heroes to despised class enemies. So much for encouraging and supporting an aspirational society. Labour doesn't and in its current form never will.
There were a few passing titbits during the 65 minutes. One was the complete removal of carbon emissions from electricity production by 2030. No how or by whom of course. That's down to the pariah power companies whose incentives to invest diminish by the minute. Another was the appointment of a global lesbian, gay and trans gender ambassador. Ed managed to remember those things but not fixing the economy or immigration. Freud was on form. Ed was not.
All this in just a week. Scotland has saved itself,- and the United Kingdom,- for now at least. Labour has saved us from getting excited about its offerings. Dave has got us back into the Middle East just as we thought we were getting out. Nigel Farage and UKIP are having their conference in Doncaster, while, cleverly Dave, the media are busy with Iraq. Next up is the Conservative Conference in Birmingham which is almost becoming a suburb of London. North(ish) but safe. About as far as a London Tory can safely go,- or wants to go. More on the proceedings there later.
