New Labour broadband promise, say something, do nothing

Well the government is leading the way again, with a promise that we can all have broadband by 2012, with speeds up to a earth shattering 2mbps. Wow, this is likely to be news across the world, isn’t it? Well no, of course not.

But once again this government of spin is making promises way before the detail has been agreed. Such as, how it will be achieved, who will be responsible, who will pay etc. We are told it will be a combination of fibre optics, upgraded copper, mobile and satellite communications. So where is the big story then? Other than the fact that the government has demonstrated a lack of any real ambition. I mean 2mbps, the average in the UK is currently only a measly 3mbps, despite unrealistic promises from Internet service providers to the contrary. But really, everyone knows that technology moves apace, how can this government be taken seriously when all they can promise (as empty as their promises invariably are), is 2mbps by 2012. By then, it is highly probable that the majority of homes will already enjoy speeds of up to 50mbps, in spite of this governments promises, not because of them.

Now admittedly this is just an interim report, but please, what was the point in an announcement? It demonstrates either a complete lack of ambition and/or a failure to understand the subject matter. Reports like this should contain a strategy, numbers, justifications, challenges and so on. Instead, it has just been taken at face value by government ministers and turned into a bit of opportunistic political spin.

Gordon Brown and New Labour have demonstrated, if any further proof was necessary, that not only are they completely out of touch, but that New Labour is the say something, do nothing party when it comes to anything other than spending our money or attacking our civil liberties.

Has Hazel Blears been reading our blogs?

Based on an article written by Communities Secretary, Hazel Blears for The Guardian newspaper, it is a reasonable question. Especially given she naively attacked political bloggers a couple of weeks ago. Now she appears to have used these same blogs for her own research into what is wrong with politics. In this particular article, she was specifically taking a swipe at the BNP, no doubt because they make an easier target than other mainstream political parties. But, as we know, her comments could apply to any party that is gaining votes at Labours expense. Here is a summary of some of the points she made.

• Politicians from all parties must work hard to win back the trust and confidence of disaffected voters by proving that mainstream politics has the answers they seek
• Politics required a revival of local political culture, a significant shift of power from the centre to the community and politicians who look and sound like the people they represent
• Estates have been ignored for decades; voters taken for granted; local services that have failed; white working-class voters who feel politicians live on a different planet

Now of course, delivering rhetoric is one thing, delivering solutions is quite another. As we know, Hazel Blears may be vocal and enjoy getting her name in the press, but lets face it, not many people hang onto her every word. So whilst it is a pity that a more serious politician did not make these comments, lets hope one of them can read, because she does get to the root cause of why so many people feel both disenfranchised and disaffected with politics.

Of course there are many other issues, such as the creation of a nanny state, the constant waste of taxpayers money, the government’s introduction of Big Brother, voyeuristic, privacy invading, civil liberty busting programmes designed to control and oppress the people of this country, as well as, of course, the complete screw up of our economy. However I believe there are two comments that she made that are particularly relevant today and those are ‘politicians need to look and sound like the people they represent’ and ‘voters feel politicians live on a different planet ‘ . 

These two comments could not be applied exclusively to the Labour Party, although that would be an excellent start, they would apply to MP’s of all parties. With only a few exceptions, once our members of parliament are elected, and they enter the house of commons, they really start to believe that they are a cut above everyone else and power goes to their heads. The only time they become ‘human’ again, is when they are begging for our votes! Most MP’s are, or become in a very short period, pathetic self-serving, self-righteous, self-obsessed dickheads, interested in the position, rather than the responsibility or why they were put there.

Nonetheless, as always, Hazel is keen to highlight problems. However as with most Labour MP’s (and David Cameron), short on ideas of how to address them. May I suggest therefore, that a good start is for the main political parties to start selecting the person they want to represent them at election time and in parliament, from ordinary citizens, rather than career politicians or party activists? Party activists and career politicians lose their personality or individuality on the way, learn to do as they are told, rather than what is right and more often than not, are the very people that see getting the job as more important than doing it. Better surely, that prospective MP’s are selected based on a passion for their local community, values and making a difference, rather than simply seeking a political career?

Anyway, at least we know that whilst Hazel Blear may not like the home truths that arise from those prepared to take the time to comment on political issues, at least she is prepared to accept some of them may be quite pertinent. Even if she is not capable of making a difference.