Vote For The Policy Not The Personality

I had quite an interesting discussion with a mate of mine in the pub last night. We were, as is inevitable at the moment I suppose, discussing the upcoming election and my friend put forward the view that while he could not, under any possible circumstances, vote for Gordon Brown he didn’t feel that any of the other leaders were worth voting for either.

This got me thinking. After thirteen years of Central Soviet style governance we have all been brainwashed to the acceptance of the myth of the presidential cult of the uber-ego personality. The problem is that the late and unlamented former Prime Minister, Tony B. Liar as I prefer to think of him, ruled alone, imposing his will on his party, the Cabinet and the poor old lobby fodder of mindless drone MPs who were whipped to do his will. This arrogant narcissist was unfortunately succeeded by another brutal dictator who has bullied the whole parliamentary system, the Civil Service and the country into accepting his word, thought and deed as not only law, but almost as some sort of divine and absolute truth.

We have I think been bludgeoned to the point where we now find it difficult to remember Cabinet Government where decisions and policies were reached by consensus. I am therefore of the opinion that we should stop choosing our government in a leadership “Beauty Contest” and go back to voting for a party whose policies we agree with. It should not really matter who is the leader of a party is as their job, as a “First Amongst Equals”, is really only to be a figurehead or mouthpiece.

Unfortunately with Comrade Brown this is not possible as his Stalinist tendencies mean that voting for him means that we will get exactly that, i.e. him, him, and nothing but him. Let’s hope however that with the Conservative and perhaps the Lib Dems this time aroundwe will be able to move back to policy instead of personality in government?