24 Hours is a Long Time in Politics

Or, How Theresa May Shot Herself in the Parliamentary Foot?

So let’s do the maths here before we go anywhere else! The House of Commons, platform for those elected to speak impartially for the ordinary citizen of the United Kingdom, regardless of age, gender, sexuality or religion; is our seat of Government. On a 4 to 5 yearly basis we have the complete freedom to elect 650 representatives of whatever political leaning we choose to fill them. In order to elect a fully-working Government that democratically speaks for the people and allow them to come into being, they need to be drawn from one party and gain 326 seats. That is what is called a first past the post, majority Government. So, how then do we have a Prime Minister who started an Election Campaign 51 days ago with a 20 point poll lead, now having to stitch together a coalition in order to hold what now appears to be a very shaky mandate indeed.

No matter how you try to dissect what happened, you are left with the one stark and simple reality: The Conservative Party may have blown it, but Theresa May blew it totally! She, at no time during the campaign fully connected with the voter, and at times coming across as dictatorial and certainly with the attitude that this is my ball and I, and only I know how to kick it. Her fundamental mistake was refusing to attend any televised debates with any of the other party leaders. This made her appear aloof with certainly no connection with those she expected to back her. The second mistake was the Party Manifesto, no matter politics, in anything in life it never pays to bite the hand that feeds you. Turning their back on the grey vote was a costly mistake, and certainly raising the whole spectre of the ‘dementia tax,’ spooked the horses in the coral. And where pray tell was the second most important Minister in her administration the right-honourable, Chancellor of the Exchequer, the disappearing Phillip Hammond? A man who should have been by her side, backing her to the hilt was made ghostly by his complete absence from any political discussion.

A deal has now been tentatively made to shore up the foundation of a frankly crumbling building, and to climb into bed with the DUP, the only feasible option that was open to her. Though to align yourself with a party who at present has no definable purpose – The power sharing Government of Northern Ireland is currently suspended because no one can agree a reasonable way forward to establish a status quo – is an extremely risky move indeed, and one that has a very limited lifespan at best.

During the campaigning Mrs May’s mantra was the same wherever she went, she wished to establish, ‘a strong and stable government, whose intention was to have a clear and distinct voice on the problem of Brexit;’ that is why she called the election after all? Clearly though she failed.

There is one troubling detail that has been overlooked. Since the referendum last year it has been obvious that there has been a vast amount of back-tracking, mind-changing and heads scratching. Did we do right? Did we do wrong?   Even a recent poll within the Market Traders of Romford in Essex who voted 90% to leave, shows that almost 60% of them say they were wrong to vote us out of Europe. If so many are changing their minds and we do not want to leave the European Single Market, or face a hard Brexit, then the question has to be asked, why leave the EU at all?

The solution to all this uncertainty is quite simple; (a) either have another referendum on EU membership, or (b) have another General Election. Let’s face it folks it is going to be one or the other before the end of the year.