Gary's views

Gary's weekly views

Each week an article by Gary has appeared in the Plympton Plymstock and Ivybridge News in South West Devon. The articles are published here

REAL POLITICS

I guess the start to the year has simply reinforced most people’s attitudes towards politicians. George Galloway’s starring role as a hand-licking cat on Big Brother has captured the headlines, followed closely by revelations of drinking problems and now a lurid rent-boy scandal, causing resignations and distress. We’re all at it surely? The country is going to the dogs.

Its probably enough to make you want to join the growing list of 200,000 Brits who are leaving this country every year to live abroad, although I suspect the weather may have something to do with it. But before you reach for your passport, I would like to put in a plea of mitigation for the defence:

1) Although politics seems to attract more than its fair share of people with energy to burn in strange ways, the plain truth is that most MPs are just ordinary people, working hard, doing our best, and worrying about bringing up our kids like everybody else. Sorry, to report this, but most of us are very boring. The system has to be big enough to accommodate the odd maverick, and in the end it is the local electorate that can boot someone out.
2) It may not feel like it, but when you consider that we have a media literally trawling through our rubbish bins looking for snippets and offering cash for stories on us elected types; when you consider that there will by now be precious few skeletons that have not been weaselled out and splashed on gory front pages, the numbers of real scandals is mercifully few.
3) Although the personal antics of a few might catch the headlines, in fact the real work at Westminster is very serious and everyday important decisions are made by intelligent people trying to do the right thing.
Over the next few weeks we will be grappling with: whether the government gets its education reforms through to improve the schooling of our children; how we should make sure that paedophiles are prevented from working with children; what will we do if Iran gets a nuclear bomb and tries to wipe out Israel; whether we should replace our aging generation of nuclear power stations and if not how else we will keep the light bulbs on; how to tackle anti-social behaviour and the scourge of drug and alcohol related violent crime.
Well, I would say that wouldn’t I? Yes, because I believe it to be true.

posted by Nigel on Tuesday, January 31, 2006