2010: A Political Odyssey

Another year beckons as we exit 2009 with relative ease; perhaps looking to 2010 to provide us with new found hope, increased confidence in our position as a world-leading country, and maybe, just maybe, the prospect of change in British politics. Though it is not solely a change in politics, but rather a change in the public's attitude towards it that is what is most needed in order to salvage some good from all of this rocky and turbulent ride in politics we have all been a party to throughout 2009. After the whimsical, irresponsible and largely inert responses of the Labour Party to some of the most pressing matters of our times; who can blame us? To lose faith in something that is so ingrained in each and every one of our lives on a daily basis, is dangerous. The expenses scandal and its' subsequential effects on the British public and, to some extent, the image of British politics that will now be carried by foreign politicians the world over will not be easily reversible(I could just as easily write 'scandals', but I believe the whole topic needs to be looked upon as gross misconduct within the paradigm of politicians, rather than individual cases).

Of course, we still have the war(s) in Iraq and Afghanistan; for this, readers should delete where applicable the aforementioned 's', as it could be argued that the media coverage of both of these conflicts conjures images of Wooton Bassett and British flags draped over ceremonial coffins - the final resting places of 108 soldiers this year: these conflicts do not seem like wars, but rather appear as isolated incidents in which British soldiers perish each day. We rarely hear of successes in these danger-zones, where our soldiers have trained and professionalised what are best described as militia into an organised and reputable law-enforcement service. And don't forget our efforts as a nation battling climate change in 2009 at Copenhagen. 190 countries signed the agreement; with China agreeing to steeply decrease its greenhouse gas emissions over the next decade. However, the summit raised questions over the timescale to which nations would have to declare their emissions as in keeping with the terms of the treaty - Ed Miliband's anxious comments over China's 'hijacking' of the Treaty, and claims over the Summit potentially becoming a 'farce' raised concerns that the summit was a media  gratifying stunt rather than a real climate change initiative. Thus more must be done in order to secure and hold in place a lasting agreement, which is more specifically tailored to suit the needs of each country that is a part of the summit, rather than a one-size-fits-all promise to reduce emissions by 50% by 2050: the original proposal of the summit before a last minute repeal which saw each countries pledge written into the appendices of the document after the summit itself. Promises should be made and negotiated on the table, with real results being promised by  member nations in front of others; hopefully spurring less confident nations on to commit to similar efforts to decrease their outputs on a definite timescale. The summit should be a pivotal meeting, both politically and historically and should finalise with a landmark mutual global agreement brokered between the leading countries of the world.

And then, by far the worst crisis of 2009: the great economic recession. In American history classes, I'd often wondered how it would feel to live in the midst of an economic downturn - this, unfortunately became a reality, as word of 'banking bail-outs' and rising unemployment reached those of us largely unconcerned with how banking and financial speculation was to conduct itself: were such things usual, was this not the usual way in which the 'Fleet street' operators worked? As people rose up angrily in protest outside the banks in central London; I felt the resentment as all manner of people called for resignations and cut bonuses, at the time it felt as if capitalism was itself being threatened. In any event, was there enough being done to counter all of this? Well, we saw the VAT rate fall to 15%. Did this really make any difference to us? Of course things became cheaper for the average consumer at first; I expect most people felt like they were making back 2.5%, what a way to make people feel like they were getting a return on their purchases. The more shrewd of us realised that this missing 2.5% was inevitably going to reappear somewhere else; and sure enough it has. The 49% 50% 52% tax rate that Alistair Darling has slapped onto those 'higher earners' with an income of £150k per year will no doubt see to paying off the 11 billion deficit caused by VAT reduction. A friend of mine speculated that we would have to 'spend our way out of this mess'. Of course, this is a reasonable judgement, the marketplace needs confidence at times like these. It would not be surprising to hear that a lot of people took money out of their own banks and hid it under their own beds in order to stamp their own kind of 'confidence' on their money; and when the banks decide that it is time to cease lending money, who can blame them. In such a very finely tuned and delicate system, things must be offset and balanced. As such, it is no surprise that we see prices rising higher on essential everyday items, however, with so many people's jobs sitting on tender-hooks, some found this pinch indicative of a failure in government in response to the crisis. 

So, enough reminiscing, is it too late to make a change? With a probable general election upon the not-so-distant horizon in May, we have the chance to bring the Government to account for its evident lack of reactionary response to such crises as the recession and conflicts in both Afghanistan and Iraq. Vote, make a difference and give us all the chance to experience something new: real people listening and reacting to real issues. Of course as the Labour party quickly and vainly try to change the flag hanging above the mast of H.M.S. Gordon Brown (two brave seamen hang from the bow at present, trying to repaint the ships name to what they do not themselves know - fellow crewmen could not decide...) we are forced to ask ourselves, how low will they stoop before they float into the harbour too late in a small dingy, the vast majority of crew lost at sea.