Saturday 22 May 2010

Gifts, promises and confessions

At the TDC AGM held earlier this month the Opposition were given the pick of Overview and Scrutiny Chair, under the pretense of working in a more friendly atmosphere. Whether it'll last is a matter for debate but given TDC elections on May 5th next year, Im not optimistic.

We see in election literature often enough "I/We will work with others to...", a pledge which in the cold light of practical politics goes out the window pretty quickly. I should know since 3 years ago I used that very language when talking about the proposed Westwood development. Of course I wasnt successful, perhaps thats an indication why. You will hear that a lot more in months to come though.

Labour, shunted into opposition by the coalition, is still shell shocked by whats happened. This is most clear when you look at the immediate actions of the former Cabinet members now standing for the leadership and their comments on how wrong the Iraq war was. Such an admission is not enough as their keeping quiet led to the invasion. Their journey is only just beginning and they shouldnt assume that admitting guilt over Iraq will absolve them of 13 years of abusing the trust of the public.

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