THE GENERAL ELECTION - BEWARE OF THE BLEUGH!

I posted this in January 2015, before the last General Election and I thought I'd give it another go.                                                              

We get out of the Christmas love and best wishes seasons, we get through the New Year, new you, new hopes and dreams and here, in 2015, we are on the long haul to a UK General Election.

Now, I don't know about you but I am struggling to find a single politician to inspire the nation, to inspire me and, critically, to inspire young people.

Unless someone can point me to a brilliant, sincere, genuine leader, I despair.

The political party platitudes, palaver and points-scoring journey has begun and it is not the politicians talking, it is their script writers and spinmeisters.

Every word, phrase, sentence, nuance, trigger-word, body movement, facial expression, hair flick, nose-touch, eye-twitch et al is choreographed and rehearsed to perfection.

Politicians in democratic systems rely on votes and, clearly, voters are extremely important at election times.

But as soon as votes are counted, politicians couldn't give a flyer about the public. They tear up their manifestos, declare that things are worse than they predicted and proceed to work an agenda that is completely different to the bleugh they promoted during the election campaign.

We, the voters, want a safe country, a pulsing economy, fair taxes, job opportunities, an efficient health service, a creative education system and a voice not just at election times but all the way through the process of government.

We are ignored too often in, for example, decisions about going to war.

We elect MPs who continue, in some cases, to disappoint with bad behaviour, in various forms.  They fail us and, guffaw, they get away with it, unlike poor old Joe Soaps who get banged up for sneezing at the wrong times.

As the leaflets are posted through my front door, I'll be looking for commitments - not airy-fairy promises - to be worthy of my vote. My vote is precious. Politicians see it just as an X but I see it as permission to act on my behalf, and I will hound any elected person if they dilute my gift - my gift - to them. If any campaigner knocks on my door and I choose to discuss matters, I'll grill them until the cows come home about the quality of life and the values of a decent society. They will not be able to satisfy me because they are full of prepared answers and unsubstantiated pledges. They will have been sheep-dipped in party lore.

This General Election, take the bull by the horns and do not let candidates off the hook. Fight for what YOU want, for what YOU need and for what YOU desire.

They work for US!