Monday, March 31, 2008
Out of touch?
A junior minister has gone on record as saying that Gordon Brown’s Government was losing touch with voters’ concerns and risked defeat at the next general election:
Ivan Lewis, a Health Minister with an impeccable record of loyalty, told the News of the World that the Government needed to show people that it was on their side.
He said that voters grew angry “when they feel the Government is losing touch with what fairness means to the majority who work hard, play by the rules and are feeling squeezed by rising bills and rising council tax”.
He called for a string of populist policy measures, including minimum ten-year prison terms for possession of a gun or knife and immediate deportation for illegal immigrants.
Although collective responsibility indicates that Mr. Lewis should be hauled over the coals for speaking out so far there has been little or no reaction from the government. Presumably, they have calculated that allowing some dissent mitigates against the image of Gordon Brown as a control freak. They will also be quietly pleased at the criticism as it gives the impression that the government is listening to people's concerns after all, even if they do not act upon it.
Ivan Lewis, a Health Minister with an impeccable record of loyalty, told the News of the World that the Government needed to show people that it was on their side.
He said that voters grew angry “when they feel the Government is losing touch with what fairness means to the majority who work hard, play by the rules and are feeling squeezed by rising bills and rising council tax”.
He called for a string of populist policy measures, including minimum ten-year prison terms for possession of a gun or knife and immediate deportation for illegal immigrants.
Although collective responsibility indicates that Mr. Lewis should be hauled over the coals for speaking out so far there has been little or no reaction from the government. Presumably, they have calculated that allowing some dissent mitigates against the image of Gordon Brown as a control freak. They will also be quietly pleased at the criticism as it gives the impression that the government is listening to people's concerns after all, even if they do not act upon it.
