Just place your cross

So where do we go from here?

The local election looms. The Tories are in power. We use the word in its very broadest sense. The Tories are in charge? No, that certainly won’t do... The Tories are……………….in the Council House. That’s better but doesn’t really do justice to the complexity of their relationship with the general public.

The public actually vote. In large numbers in each ward for nominated Tory. Tory accepts votes and allowances, more or less graciously, and beaches up in B1 for several years. The intriguing question is Why?

Their best friends would hesitate to describe Tories as industrious. MP comes up every so often with phrases like ‘hardworking councillors’ or ‘very hardworking councillors’ but everybody understands the code. Rough translation is “these are local erks whom noone in their right mind would entrust with running a whelk stall “. It is necessary however to declaim these sentiments regularly to reinforce the generally accepted tenets of democracy which is that this party is as together as Pete Docherty and exotic substances.”]

Are they influential ? No. They are routinely ignored by public, by MP, by newspapers, and by large numbers of domestic animals routinely fouling the park.

Do they make their presence felt? No. They are reliably rumoured to live in holes in the ground coming out only to buy the Sutton Observer the better to understand from Rob Pocock what public responsibility looks like.

Are they shining examples of incorruptible public servants anxious only to fulfil their democratic mandate…………..’Taxi!’.

But the voting public do not share this view of the world as it is lived in B74.

They do not see erks failing to run whelk stall. They see sturdy bulwark against Socialist hordes lead ably from the front by Rob Pocock.

They do no see indolence, the see sturdy bulwark……..

They do not panic at not seeing the Invisibles – they see sturdy bulwark……..

They do not look for influence, for erudition, for enthusiasm, for imagination, for any ability to get things done. – they see sturdy bulwark ………..

Calling this narrow minded is politically unacceptable – one might go as far as hazarding the adjective ‘curious’. But the result of, shall we say a cyclopean preference for a very long line of Tory candidates is becoming obvious.

The Town is in decline. We have done the short stagger down the mild hump. We are starting to toboggan down the precipice.

It is time to deplane the navigators.

Nightwatchman