Sunday, May 01, 2005
5 days to go
David Aaronovitch in the Observer today:
And from the election leader, also in the Observer:
In other words middle class liberals can quite happily have their protest vote and when they wake up to the Tories on May 6th it doesn't matter a jot. They can have the self satisfaction of remaining "pure" and happily pocket the tax cuts while not being adversly impacted by less spending on the NHS, education and programmes for greater social equality. Maybe Labour should start targetting these voters in a language they understand and warn them that Tory immigration controls will make it harder to get a nanny or a house cleaner that can be paid under the minimum wage. Oh but dahling, the minimum wage could be gone too.
Back to the Observer leader:
So Vote Labour on May 5th and Don't Wake Up To the Tories
Elections are blunt affairs. For example, if I want to vote for Blair, I actually have to vote for someone - Glenda Jackson in my case - who has called for him to resign. To vote for freedom for Iraq, I have to vote for someone who seems to me to be indifferent to it. And that's what I'll do. Because if you try sending messages at elections, it's quite likely that a message will come back to you. And it's this: don't mess about at elections.
And from the election leader, also in the Observer:
A problem for New Labour is that some of its most creditable achievements do not directly affect the middle classes whom Tony Blair wooed so assiduously to get elected in 1997. Since then, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, the bottom 10 per cent of society are 10.8 per cent better off while the top tenth is 4.4 per cent worse off. New Labour, despite left-wing insistence to the contrary, has been quietly redistributing income as might be expected of a progressive government. Eight years of Labour rule have reversed the effects of the Tory decade that came before.
In other words middle class liberals can quite happily have their protest vote and when they wake up to the Tories on May 6th it doesn't matter a jot. They can have the self satisfaction of remaining "pure" and happily pocket the tax cuts while not being adversly impacted by less spending on the NHS, education and programmes for greater social equality. Maybe Labour should start targetting these voters in a language they understand and warn them that Tory immigration controls will make it harder to get a nanny or a house cleaner that can be paid under the minimum wage. Oh but dahling, the minimum wage could be gone too.
Back to the Observer leader:
A general election is about more than protest. It presents a choice between competing propositions for government. It is not a referendum on a single issue, nor a choice between the incumbent administration and an ideal one.
A vote should not be cast in protest but to endorse a party, and the only party that offers progressive government committed explicitly to ending poverty and building social justice is Labour. The way to get a Labour government in most constituencies is to turn out and vote for one.
So Vote Labour on May 5th and Don't Wake Up To the Tories
