The arrest of Ruth Turner this morning at 6.30 (6.30 - what's that all about?) throws us back into the shenanigins of the cash for honours affair. Vince Cable today rightly drew a parallel with the dying sleazy days of the Major government, but it leaves me pondering, what on earth will ever finish off this discredited Prime Minister? Rather like a wasp that you think has been well and truly swatted, he just seems to start wriggling again and get up and fly off as if nothing has happened! Maybe I'm just a tad miffed - what an inspired idea - I should have just got myself a £1 million bank loan, loaned it to the Labour Party at the same interest I was paying, and Bob's your uncle or Betty's your aunt - a Lib Dem seat in the Lords by default, why didn't I think of it???? And it wouldn't have cost a penny!!!
But for me the serious point has to be - this is not just damaging to the Labour Party, it damages us all. It demeans and discredits what should be seen as a noble endeavour............OK so I am one of the rose tinted specs brigade, but I do still think there is something honourable and worth fighting for in a democratic process which encourages people to ask what they can do for their country rather than what their country can do for them. And so, rather like a corrupt police officer, a corrupt politician is beyond reproach.
During the last local elections I knocked on the door of a family we had down as a P. The guy virtually screamed at me, no, I can't be bothered, you're all the xxxx same. Being the world's most useless canvasser/knockerupper - this was a red or blue rag to an orange bull. What do you mean we are all the same? I retorted, If we were all the same what on earth would I be doing in the Lib Dems - I'd have a far better chance of getting elected in one of the main parties! I went on, as I am want to do, in the same spirit, until the guy surrendered and invited me in to meet his partner.......(I have to confess my local party had sent a search party out for me by this stage).........OK so maybe half an hour to harvest two votes (I checked and they did vote) would be seen as a waste of valuable knocking up time, but the conversation I had with them is a conversation we as a party need to have with this country. NO WE ARE NOT THE SAME - perhaps we could start with Trident?!
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