Same Old Song and Dance

…is the title of the Aerosmith classic which has just been served up to me by iTunes.  It seems quite appropriate for the title of this post.

It may surprise you to know that I am not David Cameron’s biggest fan, and despite the nice blue you see in this corner of the Blogosphere I remain an undecided voter.   You see, I am also sceptical about the Conservative’s campaign for change.  Cameron seems as full of silly gimmicks as Mr Blair and Mr Brown, and look at the mess that’s got us in to.  What I really want is someone who honestly tells it how it is, has the guts to make difficult decisions (which may be unpopular in the short term) and can bring about real change.

What I really want, then, I hear you say, is Nick Clegg.  Someone who claims to want real change.  Someone who is clearly trustworthy and honest.

Really?  It’s alright, there’s no need to sit down with a strong drink – I’m not about to come out of the Lib Dem closet.  The fact of the matter is that the Lib Dems are more likely to end up alongside the BNP on JP’s decisive list of people not to vote for.

But why? Firstly, there’s the issue of policy.  Like all parties, they have some good ideas. Like all parties they have some ideas I disagree with – and the latter outweighs the former.

Secondly, if I’m going to disagree with someone, I don’t mind as much if I can actually trust them.

However, when I look at the local election leaflets, I see no evidence of “real change” or “trustworthiness.”   For example, look at this little snippet (from http://www.thestraightchoice.org/full.php?q=1612#l3814): 

“Labour Can’t Win Here” is a lie, for a start.  Obviously, it’s extremely unlikely that they will, but until polling commences it’s very much a level playing field.  Do we really want an MP who plays on the ignorance and stupidity of some of the electorate to win votes?

Looking closely, you might be able to read that “this time the result could be even closer” and “more and more people are switching to back [Lib Dem] Sandra Gidley.”

Do we really want someone with logic like that to run the country?

One of the first Lib Dem leaflets which came through the door spent most of the time haranguing either the Labour Government or “the ruling Conservatives.”  By “ruling Conservatives,” they evidently mean the council, because Sandra Gidley is the incumbent MP.  If she’s worth voting for she should be able to speak about her own record without blaming everyone else.

Things have, admittedly, improved in the latest leaflet, but she still takes a cheap shot by noting that the “Conservative candidate has no record of effective action.”  I don’t know about you, but I’m not entirely surprised given that she’s not been an MP before – and it doesn’t mean that she would be ineffective if elected.

Anyway, all political parties do it, I hear you say.  It’s true – I can’t single out the Lib Dem literature as the only example of this behaviour.  But it’s because it’s true that you should not be conned in to joining Nick Clegg’s shiny bandwagon.

Labservative for 65 years? Maybe.  But where’s the evidence that the Lib Dems will offer real change from that status quo?  Your future may be orange, but it’s not necessarily that bright.