I’m going to be a little bit naf and say that 48 hours is now a long time in modern day politics.On Wednesday morning this week before work I was out delivering agenda's for our local Labour Party ward meeting on Thursday. While I was doing so I was listening on headphones to the Radio 4 “Today” programme.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown was being pretty comprehensively rubbished - especially during the round-up of the morning papers headlines and the G20 was also seen as going to be a bit of a disaster. The dastardly “Anglo-Saxons” - the United States and Britain, were going to be humiliated by the new big shots, Russia and China. While the ever perfidious French were going to walk out and their Germany allies’ reborn fear of hyper-inflation would result in a resounding “Nein” to any expansion budget. Wide spread rioting during the G20 was also predicted with relish by the tabloid press.
I travelled through central London on Wednesday and Thursday to meetings and saw neither signs of swampy nor the self proclaimed “Whitechapel Anarchists” - even in my beloved East End of London. The radio interviews of these posh sounding middle class kids pretending to be fighting on behalf of the working class was an absolute treat.
On Friday morning partially in order to pay penitence for a visit to the “Fox and Hounds” after the previous nights Ward meeting, I went for a jog (very, very slow) around the lovely Wanstead flats and listening to the radio I found out that Gordon is now once again the hero of the hour and the “broker of massive financial aid for global aid deal”.
Unionstogether the campaign organisation of the 15 trade unions who are affiliated to the Labour Party have organised a petition to congratulate Gordon on the success of the G20 - while reminding him to put jobs first in the domestic recovery programme.
There have been some moaning Minnies (red-baiters and witch hunters) who don’t actually want Gordon to succeed since they prefer oppositional politics and enjoy the luxury of being ideologically pure.
Personally, I am really pleased that the Tories were writing off Gordon’s chances of having a successful G20 conference - yet he pulled it off. There are a number of things you can criticise the Government about but when they are successful and do the right thing they should be congratulated. This agreement will mean more jobs will be saved and created in the UK.
Real Trade unionists know that there is no choice whatsoever when it is between either a future Labour Government “warts and all” or “do nothing Eton Tories”.
