With every passing day we witness a climb down/u-turn/’listening exercise’ from this shambolic coalition. The latest would appear to be a decision to ditch the ridiculous part of the Localism Bill which threatened to force ‘shadow Mayors’ on 12 major cities without even doing the courtesy of consulting the voters about whether or not they wanted one.
I consider the whole notion of ‘elected mayors’ to be just one of those anti-democratic measures which Blair tried to foist on people, and which Cameron was hoping to force through by creating Mayors and then asking the electorate later if they wanted to keep them.
The Cabinet system of local government concentrated power in small cliques of councillors, the subsequent amendments which effectively allowed Leaders to pick their own tame councillors for Cabinet members made it worse, and substituting the whole shebang in the hands of a single individual is even worse still.
The u-turn is to be welcomed, and now democrats should unite in opposing the mayoral system when the referendums come round.
This “shambolic coalition” as you judgementally call it, is cleaning up the mess left by the last labour government who as usual spent completely outside their means and created more public sector jobs (that add no value) than one could shake a stick at.
Nothing judgemental in that comment then, eh?
It does not surprise me that you merely answer with a flippant comment. Perhaps you could concentrate on helping solve the huge mess Tony and Gordon left in their wake?
I must have been inspired by your rapier like repartee. Like Long John Silver’s parrot, repeating over and over “it’s all Labour’s fault… it’s all Labour’s fault… it’s all Labour’s fault!”
You’ve been watching too much PMQs, because it is Cameron’s stock response as the coalition stumbles from cock-up to cock-up. Vary it a bit… give us the old Winter of Discontent… dead not being buried guff!
Surely, Bomoh, you have realised by now that councillors’, MPs’ and politicians’ positions of influence are earned simply by how well they can trade insults and belittle each other and any opposing views? How I long for the day when our country is governed by people with a desire to achieve mutually beneficial results via constructive dialogue, and who take pride in their ability to reach ‘the right decision’. These ego trips are tiresome…
Yes, because you wouldn’t dream of making such meanspirited generalisations would you? Oh, sorry, you just did!