Politics in the UK-Left Right Right Left
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If I’m quite honest I’m rather apolitical. I often agree with ‘the right’ only to find myself agreeing with ‘the left’ ten minutes later and then realising ‘the right’ were right after all until I suddenly realise ‘the left’ are actually right – well, not exactly right but right if you see what I mean.
As a generally apolitical person I find myself perplexed at the increasing polarization of democratic politics.
I have always considered myself as a socialist (left) with a conservative (right) heart, or possibly a conservative with a socialist heart. Either way the increasing polarization of democratic politics in the West has left me bewildered and bothered if not entirely torn asunder as it were.
In America the Republicans are ‘right’ and the Democrats ‘left’ – or is it the other way around? No, I think I’ve got it right – in a ‘right’ sense not a ‘right’ sense if you see what I mean.
Back in the day when I was young or, in my terms, ‘when I wuz a lad’ there wasn’t a huge amount to choose between ‘right’ and ‘left’ in British politics and everything ticked along quite nicely really.
The ‘left’ were the Labour Party. Socialists under Harold Wilson who smoked a pipe. The ‘right’ were the Conservatives under Edward Heath whose shoulders shook bizarrely when he laughed. Actually the Conservatives weren’t even ‘right’ back then, they were ‘centre’.
‘Centre’ in this case is equivalent to ‘right’ today mind you as the Conservatives supported capitalism whilst Labour supported ‘state ownership’ of pretty much everything which probably made them communists but they weren’t really as they were British.
Somehow democracy, at least British democracy and, I think, American, has polarised into ‘left’ and ‘right’ and never the twain shall meet.
This is rather sad really as, whilst the Conservative voters wanted the Conservatives in power and the Labour voters wanted Labour in power it didn’t generally matter over much which one’s were in power as some things went swimmingly well and some things didn’t, so a sort of ‘status quo’ was maintained – that’s not the rock band ‘Status Quo’ I hasten to add.
These days it’s getting very complicated.
Britain has the Conservatives under ‘Call me Dave’ Cameron. Labour has Ed ‘doesn’t he look just like Gromit’ Milliband and, frankly, we have no idea how to tell who from who – apart from one of them looking like Gromit of course.
I could mention Deputy Prime Minister ‘Little’ Nick Clegg but nobody else thinks he or the British Liberal Democrats are relevant so what’s the point?
I feel a little sorry for Britain’s ‘left’ really. They haven’t got anybody to be honest. I suppose ‘the Socialist Workers Party’ sort of qualify but they only get about 5 votes if they’re lucky and that tends to include the chap down the road (who talks to himself) and his dog.
Ed ‘Gromit’ Milliband’s Labour Party are currently trying to convince everyone that they’ve learnt from their mistakes – one of which included virtually bankrupting Britain which, had they been bankers might have seen them imprisoned a la Nick Leeson – and, indeed, a worrying number of people seem to have developed a form of political Alzheimers and are actually voting for them.
‘Call me Dave’ Cameron’s Conservatives on the other hand are currently in a sort of joint government called a ‘complete cock up’ – I beg your pardon – a coalition. This includes ‘Little’ Nick Clegg’s Liberal Democrats who hardly anybody voted for so, somehow they ended up sharing power with the Conservatives.
The main problem is they all look and sound identical. The fact that Cameron and Milliband and Clegg may actually say different things has become irrelevant. The political class in Britain has disconnected with the voting population to such an extent that increasingly we, the people, live here and they, the political class live in la-la land.
The result is that an increasing number of British people have either given up bothering with the mad bastards or are turning to formerly ‘fringe’ parties that have the sense to try and ‘connect’ with us.
Hence UKIP (The United Kingdom Independence Party) causing a political earthquake in Britain during the European elections.
At least in America you are polarized between Republican and Democrat so you pays your money and takes your choice.
Over here a political party accused of ‘far right’ sympathies has caused a political earthquake because our ‘mainstream’ political lot all look and sound the same.
Having said that, this particular conservative with a socialist heart voted for UKIP in the European elections.
Why not? In America I could make a straight choice, in Britain, like most Brits, I haven’t a bloody clue what the hell is going on so I voted for a formerly ‘fringe’ party on the strength of their leader likes a beer or three. Well? At least Nigel Farage has something in common with me which is a damn sight more than Call me Dave, Gromit and Little Cleggy have.
There you have it America. A brief recent history of politics in Britain.
Value your two parties people of America. It’s simpler that way.
‘LEFT, RIGHT, RIGHT, LEFT, – DEMOCRATIC POLITICS! – HALT!!!!’
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Norman, the problem over here is that the term Republican and Democrat are “general” terms. To know where people truly really stand you have to look for the other tags or code names. such as “far” right or left, progressive or Tea Party. religious. libertarian, family values, etc. There was a point in time when there was a Republican Party that focus on fiscal conservatism and pretty much hawkish and isolationism on foreign affairs. The true Democrats who were social liberals. The Southern Democrats who were socially conservatives but tended to split their votes because of the money they receive from the feds. And the Independent parties who were more regional and were really never that much of a threat. But the last time Nixon ran for president he managed to unite the Southerners with the Republicans and the world has never been the same since. The the big recession bought on the Tea Party and we have been screwed, blued, and tattooed ever since. Now that Humpty Dumpty has fallen off the wall and broken I don’t the all the King’s horses, men, women, nor anyone else will ever be able to put him back together again. We are fucked.
‘We are fucked’ Ah! So it IS just the same over there then! We are indeed old bean. We are indeed.
In the UK they are mostly homosexual these days.
When you have to conceal who you are, it means you know, at some level, what yu are doing is wrong.
When the worst insult you can imagine is “homosexual” it means you are deliberately dumb, as is abysmally stupid.
What an ignorant comment!
er….who are?…and….so????