2010: the dawn of reality

So far we have faced up to our appalling financial crisis like those cartoon characters that keep running long after they have passed over the edge of the cliff. But soon grim reality must surely dawn, and we will all plummet downwards amid a resounding crash of tax rises and spending cuts.

Before that we are doomed to months of relentless point-scoring in the run-up to the General Election, as each party seeks to demonstrate that things would be even worse under the other lot. Then, whoever wins, we will face the shock revelation that things are far worse than expected, and that drastic emergency action must be taken.

For this reason, the General Election of 2010 will surely be like that of 1992; one not to win. Our electoral system almost guarantees that the winning party will have been backed by only a minority of the electorate, so at least most of us will be able to derive some grim satisfaction from watching the new Government rapidly sink to record depths of unpopularity. Personally I would like nothing more than to consign him to the book of Great British Failures; but, for poetic justice, surely that poisoned chalice has got to be Gordon’s?

Originally published in The Journal, Newcastle upon Tyne.