"Speak less and say more" - Sterling advice to the govt from a real Labour man

[Morris Onions]

Bob Piper, Labour councillor for Sandwell;


Greetings from the Peoples' Socialist Republic of Sandwell - Labour's stronghold in the South!

Given the events of the last 48 hours it is difficult to find much to celebrate. Ken's defeat, on the back of the local government elections, means comrades are going to feel a bit deflated for a while.

Andy Howell penned a thoughtful, if not rather gloomy piece yesterday as the results hit home, and the bit that struck a chord with me was when he said 'we really do need to stop digging.' This morning on the Today programme, Nick Robinson said that we can expect "a series of initiatives" to be announced in the run up to the Queens' Speech. My initial response is to think, Oh God, no... not more bloody 'initiatives'.

Sometimes a government that is unpopular thinks the way out of a mess is to be seen to be doing something.... all the time! That's how we end up in John Major's world of Cones Hotlines. It means all of the fresh faced graduates in red braces and gelled hair, working out of 'think tanks' and who think they are Britain's answer to the staff of the West Wing, are let loose on.... the next big idea to capture the people's imagination.

My message to Gordon Brown is... tell them to go home for a while and rest.... and you, Gordon, should do the same. Believe it or not, the nation doesn't crumble if Ed Balls or Jaqui Smith doesn't release a press release about their latest initiative. By all means work on policies, and you could try one or two socialist ones in there too, but spare us the initiatives.

24 hour News Channels crave initiatives. They need them for survival. The opposition need initiatives. They need to look 'fresh' and 'new'. New Fairly Liquid is indistinguishable from Old Fairy Liquid - it is a sales gimmick, and David Cameron is selling soap. Straight out of the Blair/Mandelson/Campbell 'How to win elections' notebooks. Come up with a new big idea every day. Hit the media... it doesn't matter if the idea is complete tosh, you get the exposure.

In contrast, Governments need to be doing something. To be in control of the economy, which might not be too easy in the next 12 months, and to be dealing with issues like health, education, anti-social behaviour, providing decent pensions and reducing the fear of crime.

Not thinking up another bloody initiative so that they can impress John Humphrys, Andrew Marr or that bloke with a Weetabix on his head on The Daily Politics. Never mind all this guff about listening. I'm a Party member. I'm a Labour councillor. And no-one's listening to us - those of us that remain, that is - never mind the rest of the public.

It's not going to happen, so let's not pretend it is. Lead from the front and...

Speak less and say more!


http://www.bobpiper.co.uk/2008/05/not_more_bloody_initiatives.php