More than fingers burnt

So it came to pass, Labour suffered a mauling as the voters were determined to vent their anger. Not that this is illegitimate as some left-wingers claim - they may say that much of what Labour has done for good is taken for granted, but then that is as it should be, since, this was the bare minimum. The rising prosperity is harder for the average voter to gauge since it is incremental rather than one big windfall, but how does one assess how much ordinary hard work has boosted salaries as opposed to government policies - people might well assume that the Labour stewardship of the economy is successful in that they haven't screwed it up, rather than credibly enhanced it, hardly a massive endorsement, especially with rising personal and national debt. Or maybe some were just enraged that underlying inflation shot over the government target by 0.1 per cent prompting the Bank of England governor to write a letter to the chancellor.
This is different to 2004 when they suffered another heavy defeat in local elections. The SNP are the largest party in Scotland, Labour will be forced into coalition in Wales. The trend is shifting, but for Tony Blair to claim this is a good springboard for the next election is fallacy. Like so many of his decisions in the the second half of his premiership it smacks of hope over experience. For him, he may be in the land of the two-eyed, but the cock-eyed man is king.
05/05/07 12.32