Bob Piper has been a Labour Councillor for the Abbey
Ward in Sandwell, West Midlands, for 10 years. He is a lifelong supporter of Aston Villa Football Club and a follower of Yorkshire County Cricket Club.
The views expressed here are mine in a personal capacity, not those of the Labour Party, Sandwell MBC, Aston Villa or Yorkshire County Cricket Club. Get it! Mine... just mine!
The good old days are good and gone, that's why they're good, because they've gone » Permalink | TrackBack (0)
I won't restrict these comments purely to David Cameron's latest pathetic publicity stunt, but who dreams up this barrage of nonsense for political parties? Like Gordon Brown's 'Britishness' idea, or Tony Blair's Respect agenda, Cameron is doing no more than appealing to the audience who may have been impressed by John Major's warm beer and cricket on the village lawn rot. It is trying to get people to harp back to the days when they were young, the sun shone every day in summer, England ruled the world on the high seas and the cricket field, boys wore their school caps and played conkers in between swapping stamps from their collection in between games of conkers whilst the girls giggled, tucked their skirts into their knickers and played jolly hockey sticks.
It is a fictional world that only ever existed in the minds of those who have led a very sheltered life, or read back editions of boys' magazines... or wasted too much time in focus groups trying to think of a big idea that won't cost much so you can't be pinned down on it.
Update: Iain Dale has been at the substance abuse again. He thinks this is an idea "everyone (i.e Cameron sycophants) can unite behind". A quick reading of the comments section shows that not even the majority usual gang of nutty Tory commentators on Iain's site have united around it.
Gary Elsby stoke said:
September 6, 2007 1:02 PM | permalink
Im my day we could go down the pub, leave our car keys in the egnition and leave the doors open and unlocked to our houses.
When we arrived home after being discharged from the hospital (because we were stabbed in the pub) we would go home to find our cars nicked and torched in a field and our houses ransacked and burned to the ground.
I note that this only applies to those leaving secondary schools and not public school toffs, and that it is going to save the country money even though they have not yet worked out the financial costs...
C'mon Bob - you know I'm not shy in pointing out the lunacy that sometimes comes from my lot but can't say I see much wrong with this (and much to commend it).
Just because something has an air of nostalgia or popular appeal doesn't mean it's wrong (or right) - I know detailed policy critique is not the general thrust of this blog but you can surely do better than this - what's actually wrong or unworkable about it? Why would it be a bad idea...?
Haven't got any, Hughesy. Thinking he is a Prime Minister with more integrity in his little finger than Tony Blair had in his entire body is not nostalgia.
Cassilis, I'm surprised at you. If you can't see the fundamental flaw of a voluntary system like this, you just aren't trying. It doesn't require deep analysis. You don't have to be Unity to realise the boy scout types will love it, the 'yobs' will just take the piss out of them and have nothing to do with it. It is a joke, a gimmick, a cones hotline for the new millennium.
I must say I am enjoying that old fraud Iain Dale slobbering over Cameron's recent endorsements in The Sun (no doubt a result of his recent lurch to the right) and passing by copy like "Bookish swots will be shown there is more to life than just exams." without so much as a stifled giggle.
I'm still banned from Iain's website, BTW. I've asked him to explain which part of his ever-changing comment policy I've violated, but he won't reply to my emails. The result is a largely secret ban (for reasons that remain a mystery) that will last as long as his latest hissy-fit does. Hooray for Mr Transparency.
September 6, 2007 1:02 PM | permalink
Im my day we could go down the pub, leave our car keys in the egnition and leave the doors open and unlocked to our houses.
When we arrived home after being discharged from the hospital (because we were stabbed in the pub) we would go home to find our cars nicked and torched in a field and our houses ransacked and burned to the ground.
Ahh the good old days.
Beat that!
Gary