Monday 17 May 2010

A natural at rebelling in opposition

I am a child of New Labour. I was 10 years old when Tony Blair became Prime Minister, and I have only the vaguest memories of the Major years. Most of my gut instincts about the Tory Government of 1979-1997 come from my brief anecdotes or recounts of my parents' experiences of that time. I've only really been properly politically conscious for the past four years or so, awoken by a university where almost all the students were apathetic, right-wing, raving lefties and/or liberal democrats.

Being a small-c conservative, in the sense that I am used to defending decisions and policies of The Powers That Be, has been my political apprenticeship: Tuition fees -- It's only right that we students pay our share! Selling off the gold at low prices -- But they made billions from the 3G auction! Alienation of the proletariat by lack of ownership of the means of production -- What the hell are you on about?!

It's only been in the past few months that I've realised that perhaps this small-c attitude, trusting that those in charge generally make the right decisions, is just a facet of my personality. Maybe I'm just the kind of person that makes a rubbish firebrand and an excellent school prefect (I can only, by the way, assume there was a conspiracy against me among the teachers of Porthcawl Comprehensive School. It is the only possible explanation. The only explanation.)

The only way to conclusively decide one way or another was to wait until the Labour Party were in opposition. Would I still roll my eyes at Any Questions audience members who rail against some supposedly inept and/or corrupt Minister or hopeless policy proposal? Or would I be shouting at my radio with them, condemning the Government for their failures and betrayals?

I think my answer has come. I have been watching much frothing at the mouth amongst political amateurs on facebook and political professionals in the media at the proposal that the dissolution of Parliament should require a super-majority of 55%. It's a travesty that rides roughshod over our constitution! It's a piece of cynical politicking to entrench the Tories/Liberal Democrats/Both/Neither in Government! etc. etc.

The policy seems, to me, to be none of these things. It is not changing the fact that a simple majority can support a no-confidence vote and bring down the government. It will require slightly more for Parliament to dissolve itself, which at the moment it has no power to do. These two things, the no-confidencing and fall of a government and the dissolution of Parliament, did use to be joined at the hip. In the days of two-party politics it is difficult to envisage a scenario when a government could fall and a new one be formed without a general election to alter the makeup of the House. This situation no longer holds: the post-election media coverage told us exhaustively and tediously that there were numerous possible governments that could be formed from the same parliament. Still, though, the same media commentators seem unable to understand that parliament and government are not the same thing.

This, more than anything else, has demonstrated how firmly the executive and the legislature are wedded and blurred in the culture of our country. Even some of our most politically aware citizens are, apparently, not able to tell the difference.

Or, perhaps, they just prefer being firebrands to school prefects...

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