Should we see the next two years as a blessing?
Tue 1st Jul 2008 – (0 Comments)
Dissent is in the air, and who blames the Labour MPs looking to capitalise on the festering carcass of their own party, when the leader of the sinking ship seems ready to hand out all kinds of shady concessions to get a yes vote? A 9 vote majority on the illiberal 42 day legislation, saved only by the DUP, the hint of rebellion on the most recent planning bill and now concessions are being called for on the long coming plans to tax people more, and retrospectively, for their cars
Now is possibly the best time for fair policy construction and implementation, not ideal by a looong way, but the best we could hope for with a government and parliament structured the way it is
Many see the government as it is as a danger, quite rightfully the policies they come up with while under pressure are illiberal and knee-jerk, they are devoid of expert input and/or they do too little to warrant parliamentary time spent on them. But along with this they also have to actually fight for each piece of legislation they wish to implement, and face more scrutiny by people that feel there is an opportunity to make a difference.
Forty Labour backbenchers have signed a motion opposing the tax, which they say will hit low-income families when fuel costs are spiralling."
Like with elections held in marginal seats bringing a higher turn out, a smaller majority in parliament with the prospect of rebellion in the air draws more people to essentially do their jobs as intended. While a hung parliament is arguably a negative situation where policy remains undecided and too tough to get through, this kind of majority that is slashed by constant rebellions does much to keep governments as clean as they can be.
In fact another example of this, potentially, is Ministers now backing down on plans to impose more targets on young children in education due to...shock horror...expert opinion opposing such measures!
But of course many will read this sporadically so I attempt to ensure that I don't get jumped on again, this isn't perfect by a long shot...but we should be thankful that there are enough MPs in the Labour party ready to stand up and be the integrity that Labour have lost so catastrophically over the last few years, and we should keep encouraging those MPs to keep this government accountable.
If this can continue, then the next two years might not be quite so bad as the sense of foreboding suggests, and certainly will look like a dream in comparison to an unstoppable steamroller of legislation, good or bad, after the next general election.
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About Lee: Former students' union president and intermitent blogger since the turn of the century, who's aim is to promote objective thinking and a break from partisan politics when discussing the issues of the day. 


