Zampa, you talk a lot of sense. I would question whether or not we ever really know what wins and loses elections - if we did, then we'd be able to accurately predict the outcome more often.
IMHO, this country is still in a wave of Thatcher-derived capitalist euphoria. We're hanging onto that ideal, in the absense of any other, for just long enough for the full force of a USA culture to become deeply rooted. Like apes swinging from vine to vine, we'll keep grip on the old ideal until we're sure that the next one is firmly within our grasp, and by then we'll all be 24-hour-TV-watching, burger-munching, profit-obsessed, xenophobic t*ssers, gaining weight without moving off the sofa. Anyone and everyone will be a "professional property developer", proud that they can 'earn' money without doing very much
What I find curious is that we have, reputedly, half as many unemployed people as at the peak of the Thatcher years, and yet I don't see half as many people complaining about it. Could it be
that those who are unemployed are not really that badly off?
"New Labour" has become known, satirically, as "New Tory", but TB appears to operate without the honesty of Old Tory. However, the government, IMHO, doesn't ever lead, it merely reflects the mood of the nation. I hesitate to mention it, but the Third Reich ruled by the same means - the electorate wanted it, and deserved it.
Those who don't vote at general elections should have their license to voice an opinion utterly revoked. We deserve whatever we get.
That's my Easter Monday rant; it's at moments like this that I respect the French
