This election gets me thinking that it's time for something radical to be laid out before the electorate. We don't seem to have any choice, except some kind of beauty contest where we're expected to choose on the basis of who we fancy, like a miss world contest. The prospective politicians just slag off each others policies, but in the final analysis you can't get a Rizla between them.
We seemingly owe about £50,000 each to somebody or other but then I hear that we've been owing money to whoever since about five hundred years ago, so what's new, and anyway it's only money, and money's only a concept isn't it? I honestly don't understand how the world economy works, and to consider it just makes my head hurt. Fiddling around the edges, cutting a bit here and a bit there is not going to make a bit of difference.
Some say we should scrap Trident, but living round here that sounds like a bad idea because we build the bloody things and it provides work and therefore income into our area.
But then again we're probably never going to use them so it's a pointless waste of money, but do we care, if it means we can use the money to put on a nice conservatory or buy a new car made by workers at the Nissan factory in Gateshead. That means that the people of Gateshead can also buy a new conservatory, which keeps the conservatory workers employed so they can afford to have us build a Trident sub. to protect them from some future threat, from Al Qaeda who may have a dirty bomb. At least our bombs are clean, now that's a reason for Trident don't you think, our Barrow bombs are clean.
The way I see it is we should have a choice between a communist style party, a dictatorship, or maybe a radical green party state. Give me a real choice because this present state of politics is no choice at all. So I will be voting for Gordan the big engine because I think he's cuddly and misunderstood, and a man with an eye to the future, although only one eye so they say. I think he's had a bad press and I don't like the idea of a Prime minister called Dave, it's not British, too familiar.
I wouldn't be surprised if no one voted at this election, and that we ended up with no one in parliament, or in Downing street and the country was run by bureaucrats. The civil service could quite easily cope without all that interference from politicians. It would be like when all the traffic lights go out and the traffic flows more smoothly than it did when the lights were working, know what I mean?
No I don't know what I mean, but quite honestly the machine has taken over, I realise this from being a humble town councillor. I thought I could make a difference but in six years all I've managed to do is get half a dozen lamp posts painted grey in the centre of town. Not exactly a radical shift in community well being.
I only hope that somehow the new electronic media, like this can throw up some radical way of making our communities work more effectively because quite honestly what I'm hearing on the radio and TV from our incumbent representatives is in all honesty a load of bollocks.
Come on Colin , you can do better than this.
ReplyDeleteYou're a man of ideas but this load of meander through alternatives leaves a lot of thinking undone.
Considering the alternatives and making a clear choice and give your reasons. This is I believe what people look to people like you to provide.
It's a time for the people who see an alternative to speak out loud and clear.
I think you could have done (and still can) far more for Ulverston by taking a fighting stance on issues that concern you and getting the public behind you instead of whispering on the fringes.
Set yourself a target like sorting out the parking in the town; getting more facilities for young people; better monitoring of the spending of our money (you pointed out the rediculous £430/ per week per public toilet. Examine alternatives; make proposals; ask why not - not in the council chamber where no one listens but in the public arena starting here with your blog (the way of the future) and then on forums of the local newspapers, then the press and TV itself. Aim high - get the Guardian to run a series. Give us a rallying cry that we, the public, can follow.
I'm with you on any initiative you want to take that I could back. There will be many that I could agree with you over . . . .
May I make another point.
ReplyDeleteWe are not voting for Gordon Brown who I admire for his personal policies but not his choice of ministers (Ed Balls for Education has been terrible with his Nat Curriculum enforcement and testing, testing,testing and Mandleson is not in my view to be trusted).
No, we are voting for John Woodcock who I went to hear at the Kings Arms.
He had no Ulverston Labour Party supporters with him, not even Colin Pickthall or even you!. His pitch was "I've come to listen to you" when asked to share his vision for the future directions for Ulverston business. He admitted that he's only come to live on Walney with the aim of getting elected. His experience of work in general seems to be as a "special adviser" to John Hutton and before he would appear to have only worked one year as a journalist for The Scotsman.
The impression given is that he was parachuted in by Headquarters against the wishes of local Labourites. As that true?
Overall he comes across to me as very inexperienced and doesn't know Ulverston at all well.
Do we want an ineffective person to represent us even though he has a good leader?
The Liberal team impress me as do their policies but I would much prefer a real fighter and person with as wide an experience as possible - still looking.