'REAL' POLITICS

摘要

If you didn't think politics was 'real', it is about to become so. Since the election we have had the phoney war on cuts - largely debated in political circles - but now the reality of what this means to you and me is starting to become evident. As this government undertakes the largest post-war deficit reduction, it has had consequences for all sections of society: students, public servants, police, those who work in the arts, right down to local council workers. We have witnessed levels of violence on the streets of London reminiscent of the infamous poll tax riots under the Thatcher government of 20 years ago. Anger against the cuts has also captured the wider public imagination, with the trade union movement leading a quarter of a millioi people through Westminster in protest. With the impact of the cuts becoming more keenly felt over the next couple of years, you could fairly deduce that this will play into the hands of Ed Miliband and the Labour party. It is clear that this month Labour will make huge gains in the local elections - at the expense of the LibDems. However, the danger for Labour is that, by winning a lot of votes in the short term, they fail to address long-term fundamentals, especially in convincing the electorate of their economic competence, which has been badly damaged.