WAKE ME UP WHEN THE ELECTIONS OVER

Even those with a short political memory can remember Labour’s tendency to self combust when it comes round to electing deputy and full leaders of the Party. Tony Benn, Michael Foot and Neil Kinnock all inspired a very public and very acrimonious punch up and knock about. However, with John McDonnell struggling to get the required number of nominations, why all of a sudden has the election of Tony’s successor turned into nothing short of a women’s institute tea party? The sarcastic view would be that under the Blairite tutelage MP’s had no free will and were told what to do, hence their reticence and inability to apply the notion of choice. However, the truth could be nearer to the view that most MP’s would consider an internal battle to be extremely damaging with the electorate. Blair delivered 10 years of uninterrupted government, and hopefully Brown will be more of the same; better the devil you know and all that! The deputy leadership battle is equally mundane, the roster looking moor like a Brady Bunch family album shot than the potential second most powerful position in UK politics. In some ways then Brown’s little tour around the country is immaterial; nobody is going to stand against him and its pointless trying to impress the electorate because we can’t unseat him. His time would be better spent at home planning his new government, hopefully including people who will raise British politics from the pit of boredom it currently wallows in.