Monthly Archives: March 2005
Who do you think you are kidding Mister Hain?
Howard courts Daily Mail readers
Michael Howard makes another pitch for the Dail Mail vote. This time the target is the travellers. Nice plan! Let’s face it – I don’t suppose there were too many of the travelling community who were thinking “I must register to vote so I can vote Tory”. But it does seem frankly unnecessary as most Daily Mail readers would vote Tory whoever they put in charge!
Tories love to portray Lib Dems as soft. They like to show the face of toughness. Labour, under Blunkett seemed to find it necessary to try and compete on the same turf.
But toughness isn’t as simple as it seems. For example, Michael Howard is famous for once saying “prison works”. It sounds tough and at first glance it seems to make sense. But the plain fact is that prison doesn’t work. We have one of the highest prison populations in Europe. Our re-offending rate is high because many people in prison can see no other way forward when they leave. If we do not try to help them address issues like literacy and numeracy, should we be surprised that they soon return to crime again?
It isn’t always about being tough – it’s also about being pragmatic and seeking solutions that work. Politicians talking tough on issues like immigration or drugs are not offering workable solutions – they’re just trying to win cheap votes.