Firstly it's worth me pointing out that I am no political commentator or politics expert. I am a pretty average bloke, I am a Yorkshireman, I have my moments of been grumpy, been happy, been sad, but right now I feel very emotional.
I was born a Labour voter and I will die a Labour voter, I consider myself a socialist and as I write this post it looks as though the Labour government has come to an end. I have been a harsh critic of the Labour government, but when it comes down to it, the thought of another tory government scares the life out of me.
My earliest political memory was the eve of the 1979 general election, when I overheard my parents discussing the possibility of a tory government. I can remember them saying that this would be a disaster for the country and how right they were.
It was not until the 1984-85 miners strike that I really become politicised. I can remember the anger I felt at the time as I read about and heard stories of the horrors of the strike. Whatever your thoughts on that strike were, it was a strike that the miners could not have won, the tories had ruthlessly planned to destroy the miners union and that is exactly what they did. This was my seminal moment in politics, it was at this point that I really understood the difference between right and wrong. Politics when it comes down to it is about how we treat the people in society, especially the people who are less able to look after themselves.
I grew up under a tory government and became more and more angry about the direction my country was taken. The tories sold off all our assets by privatising everything they could get there hands on. They turned our society into one that is selfish and about what you as individual could get for yourself, not about looking after everyone. The tories ran down manufacturing and in so doing destroyed working class communities all over the country. The country was turned into a cesspit of deprivation at the bottom and an orgy of opulence at the top. Everyone at the bottom was encouraged to stand on everyone in order to try to get to the top. For those reading this who are too young to remember the last tory government, then beware. This is not just a tale of what the tories were like, no, this is what the tories believe in.
I lived through several attempts for the labour party to mount a victorious challenge to the tories, but it took the election of Tony Blair to bring this to fruition. I was horrified by the election of Blair to the leadership of the Labour party, as it was clear to everyone he was not truly Labour. One of his first things he did as Labour leader was to abolish Clause 4 of the Labour constitution, but Labour were so desperate for power, they let this man lead them to the promised land of victory blindly, hoping he would change once in power, this never happened.
I can remember the build up to the 1997 general election, when it became obvious that Labour would finally do it. Despite my reservations of Tony Blair, I was so excited at the prospect of having a Labour government, as I had waited all of my life for a Labour government and now I was going to get one. I was living abroad at the time of the 1997 election, but I made sure that I voted, I arranged to vote by proxy. I also ensured that I followed the election on my short wave radio. I also made sure that I bought an English newspaper on the morning of the election victory so I could read all about it. I still have this newspaper and it is one of my most prized possessions.
Then the Labour party took office on a wave of such optimism. They did lots of great things, they addressed poverty in society, they improved the NHS, they made a great change to society for the better. They also did a lot of things which I for one was very critical of. Foreign wars which we had no right to fight, PFI and draconian laws, but I had a Labour government and I knew that however bad the Labour government was, it could not be as bad as any tory government could ever be.
And so now in 2010, I have just heard the news on the radio that Gordon Brown is about to visit the Queen to tender his resignation and open the way for a new tory government.
So I am left to reflect on what we have now lost and what we are about to have. I feel fear about what is to come. The country is still dealing with the damage done by the previous tory government. Many parts of the country have not recovered from the devastation done to it, attitudes have been formed that take a lot to break down. We will have a tory government that will make life easier for the rich, harder for the poor and punish people more for having nothing. This is not an opinion, this is what tories believe in, no matter what they might tell you.
As I finish this post I feel a sense of anguish and worry about what the future of our society may be. I also feel a sense of great sadness to see the end of a Labour government. I only hope that the coalition government which it appears likely to be formed will not last long and we will have a Labour government again in a short while.
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