Do you remember Neil Kinnocks Sheffield victory rally shortly before John Major's shock election victory. If you are a Tory supporter, you'd do well to take note. Some of the comments which followed John Bercow's election as speaker were very reminiscent of the attitude of Labour in the run up to that election. One MP said that it was "two fingers up to the electorate". All of the comments carry the cast iron assertion that the Tories will win. With regards to the speaker, havin campaigned to remove Michael Martin, what did they expect?
The new speaker isn't elected by the next parliament, it's elected by this one. Why on earth shouldn't MP's vote for whoever they like? Conservatives are meant to be supporters of the nation's traditions and criticising Bercow before he's even started is ridiculous. The assertion that he'll be replaced with a more "sympathetic" figure if the Tories win, sounds rather like the behaviour of a dodgy junta in a banana republic. The criticism of Bercow isn't that he's usesless, it's that he's not "one of us". The Tories should be wary of settin such a dangerous precident.
If like me, you live in the London Borough of Barnet, you'll have plenty of experience of Tory administrations. Barnet Council is a complete basket case. Regular readers of this blo will be familiar with the waste and incompetence. We also have a Tory Mayor, Boris Johnson. Recent revelations have shown that whilst he's happy to draw fat salaries & appoint his mates into well paid jobs, even such basic tasks as checking a few receipts before signing ridiculous expense claims would be nice. As to national politics, Chipping Barnet MP Theresa Villiers has been shown to be able to trough for Great Britain. How has David Cameron reacted? He hasn't, she's still front bench Transport spokesperson, despite a total aversion to getting the tube home like the rest of her constituents. All her protestations have been exposed by the revelation that Guildford MP, Anne Milton claimed nothing and lives quite happily on her salary. Which is nearer to Parliament, Guildford or Barnet.
From my little house in sunny Mill Hill, I can't see that the Tories have much to be arrogant about right now. I can't see much points swapping one bunch of useless trougheres for another. I suspect we may see a few rather perverse results at the next election. This may well derail the Tories.
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