Not often that Polly Toynbee, Tim Montgomerie and Guido agree: popular anger with the political class is rising. Something that Polly wants Labour to adjust to by moving policy to the left as well as limiting public-sector fat-cat pay. Tim Montgomerie agrees on the latter but wants the Tories to wake up to popular anger by putting on hair-shirts and getting their own snoughts out of the trough. Guido welcomes both pundits to the anti-politics banner.
Democracy is broken, the political media elite distant from the people with the two main parties offering no choice and no change. Osborne is promising no change and blaming the economic crisis. Taxation will remain penal, spending will remain prolific, there will be some reforms of a failed state bureaucracy but no rollback and no radicalism. Hannan is at least making the case for a radical shift of power from the centralised state bureaucracy to people at local level.
The Cameroons can’t seal the deal with the people with pragmatism, “Triangulation Now!” is not the banner that will get people marching. Voters are angry with Brown and disenchanted with politicians offering more of the same. Bedazzled during the Blair years, Cameron, Osborne and Hilton have yet to show that they realise the times have fundamentally changed. Taking strategic advice from the wrong Danny* has left the Tories outflanked on their USP – the LibDems are now the only party promising to reduce the tax burden on the low paid. Hannan told Newsnight last night that people are fed up of being, “ripped off, lied to and ignored” by politicians. Disenchantment with politicians has never been higher, most think they are overpaid and dishonest. Hannan gets it. This crisis is an opportunity to radically change the plan.
