Certainly not what has happened in the political arena in London. The mayor, most definitely was a good win, and probably a good thing for London.
What isn’t good is the rise of the far-right. England isn’t a country of the far-right - it never was nor, hopefully, ever will be.
For the past 10 years there have been predictions that the British National Party (BNP) could achieve a major electoral breakthrough - but at the end of each election the picture has been mixed and open to interpretation.
The BNP and its supporters are cheering the success of Richard Barnbrook’s election to the Greater London Assembly, but it was a tight race - and tighter than a lot of people had feared.
But these races, as tight as they are, are indicative of what could be happening more and more - but where do the BNP get their support?
It is mostly those who feel disenfranchised by those who are in government - this being Labour now and could be the conservatives next. The conservatives are right of centre and there does seem to be an overall swing in that direction in England. So what do we all expect of England? Will she go down a road that leads not to better working conditions and jobs for those who are lacking the basic skills, jobs which have been eroded so much over the last 25 years? Factory jobs where people could earn a weekly wage and be happy with what they did.
If the BNP can make inroads into the middle-classes the problem will be much more significant - as yet they haven’t. But until the government begins to recognise that the ‘lowest of the low’ have just as many problems as their voting constituent there will be a rise of both right and left extremes.
The British government has to get back to being a government and stop trying to micromanage peoples lives. Even a protest can go completely wrong - and this may happen if the government and opposition forgets who the British people are.
England expects more from the government - and that expectation is being missed.
All Images designed by Alison Rhodes (LastingExpressions)
2 responses so far ↓
John // May 5, 2008 at 6:04 pm
I did the little “With whom do you match up?” which appeared, I think, on facebook the week before the elections and was surprised to find that the BNP ranked quite high as a match for me (after one of the independants - don’t remember who.)
When I broke it down, I found it was because we matched policies on quite a lot except the really obvious “BNP” stuff - like interacial/gay marriage on which I abstained because I don’t think it’s the job of the Mayor of London to either encourage or discourage interacial/gay marriage. Apparently that swung me towards the BNP. :\
Not to mention, there are many people who are worried about mass immigration, the approaching European Politburo or the hoardes of thousands and thousands of Muslims who hate us for our freedoms within our midst…[Last one's a joke, k? ;)]
The failure of the main parties to address any of these issues leads people inevitably towards right-wing popularism.
John // May 5, 2008 at 6:11 pm
I’d just like to add a mild disclaimer: I’ve not voted for the BNP and probably won’t ever… unless as a very last resort.
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