It's not especially pleasant to be living in this country at the moment. The political landscape, far from being an abundant countryside or impressive metropolis, is more like your local city dump. Those in power sit there uneasily, like someone who thinks they've just taken somebody else's seat, unsure on how long it'll last. Meanwhile, those who crave power act more like flies round a pile of shit; doing a necessary task but still spreading crap wherever they go.
I can't imagine being a Liberal Democrat is all that fun at the moment. After the dizzying heights of "Cleggmania" before the election, it's been an ever decreasing shit-slide of bad press from one day to the next. Thursday's by-election in Oldham East and Saddleworth, the constituency of ousted Labour MP Phil Woolas, may have seen the Liberal Democrats share of the vote increase. However, overall votes for the party dropped by almost 3,000 votes. Indeed, it's rather telling that the Lib Dems will take this as a positive. Afterall, with YouGov listing the publics voting intentions for them at a lowly 8%, it's no wonder they're glad to see that 11,000 people are willing to vote for them in the first place.
Whilst the situation for the Lib Dems is dire (and in many case, rightly so), it's hard to see any way in which the political situation in this country will change. The current Government is so appalling bad that the fact we're lumbered with them for the next 4 years at least is reason enough for me to jump in front of a bus. Ideally there would be a strong Opposition leader across the floor to hold this Government to account for some of its frankly shocking policies (more on them later). Instead, we get Beaker from The Muppets. Ed Miliband lacks perhaps all the necessary qualities important in an Opposition leader. He has no charisma, no charm, no oratory ability and no real sense of passion in what he's doing and saying. He makes Mr Bean look like Winston Churchill.
As for Government policy, well, where to begin. I'll start with the positives as they're shorter. The raising of the income tax threshold to £10,000 was an admittedly good move. The increase will see millions of the country's poorest citizens escape the grasp of the tax man, which can only be a good thing really. Then there's the proposed, much needed changes to the British libel system, which are such a complete mess it's untrue. Although quite why they need a new public interest defence I don't know, considering the Reynold's defence, so long as you fulfil its criteria, covers you just fine.
The bad, oh dear Lord the bad, really is extensive. I'll start off with perhaps the most well covered; tuition fees. This is the area that has seen Lib Dem support dry up like a puddle of piss in the desert. Despite a pre-election pledge to abolish tuition fees should they get into power (which leaked documents later revealed to be bogus as well), the Government has trebled the amount students will have to pay in order to go through University. Add to that the slashing of the education budget and a recent Home Office Tweet which invited people to come up with ways in which to cut the number of (higher fee paying) international students, there's going to be a massive financial black hole due to lack of funds. Now some might say it's unfair to level too much criticism at the Lib Dem for this. Afterall, they're part of a coalition and it's a Tory minister in charge of education policy. However, this doesn't explain why, when it came to the vote, many Lib Dems threw their conscience by the wayside and blindly followed the Tories.
Next, and perhaps most shocking of all, is the slashing of benefits for the disabled. Chief amongst these is the planned phasing out of the Independent Living Fund, which pays out around £300 per week to carers in order to ensure the people they're looking after are able to live at home as opposed to being left in a care home [BBC]. Most shocking of all is that the Government seems well aware that the impact such draconian cuts to these benefits will see an increase in suicides [Telegraph] for those people who feel they can no longer carry on with the situation in which they have been forced to live.
Then there's the Government's plan to sell large amounts of Britain's historically and environmentally important forests to private developers [BBC, The Guardian, Greenpeace]. Labelled as: "environmental vandalism" by Caroline Lucas, Green MP for Brighton Pavillion, the move could see Britain's fragile eco-system damaged beyond repair as private developers cherry-pick the best land for the development of golf courses, Centre Parcs Resorts and residential areas.
It's these sort of short-sighted, ideologically driven policies that threaten to derail this country even more than it already is. Most of them done in the name of fixing a deficit which isn't as bad as the media would have you believe.
Unfortunately for the public, there's nowhere to turn to. Labour are weak, the Lib Dem's are the Tories bitch and the Tories themselves are, well, the Tories! Should this coalition fail, and I really think it will sooner rather than later, the resulting General Election will be the most depressing thing since...the last General Election. Voter apathy will be through the roof and I can't see many people coming out to vote. The ones that do I think will be so disaffected with the main parties that fringe parties such as the Greens and (unfortunately) UKIP and the BNP may get a good look in. If not with Parliamentary seats, then certainly in councils up and down the country.
I honestly wish I knew there was a way of fixing this. If I could, I'd move abroad. Normally retreating to Europe or America would be order of the day, but with the Euro not exactly the most buoyant of currencies at the moment and America tolerating such fuckwits as Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck, those are out. Possibly Scandinavia. They tend to do things right.
Failing that, I hear the International Space Station is nice this time of year...
