We can seek the root cause of the turmoil in the loss of a generation of young men in the trenches of WWI which resulted in a gender imbalance. This and the ongoing fall-out from the Enlightenment gave us a society created by a vocal but active minority intent on implementing and imposing an extreme, intolerant, feminist, liberal, secular agenda.
Tony Blair puts the social problems of the UK down to the 1960’s generation, with anything goes liberal tendencies, setting their children a bad example. They are berated for not being responsible parents while at the same time having their parental rights undermined and taken from them by an increasingly interfering State.
If the rot set in during the 60s, then an earlier generation of politicians was to blame as they presided over the introduction of legislation during the 60s that has brought us abortion on demand, made divorce equally available on demand, legalised homosexual acts and destroyed family values.
In response to the selfish Conservatism of Margaret Thatcher and John Major, mired in sleaze, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown put New Labour before the British people as the answer. This was a poor imitation of Franklin D Roosevelt who brought hope to the people of the USA with the New Deal, and John F Kennedy and Robert F Kennedy who inspired people worldwide with the New Frontier and modern Camelot.
Labour sold its soul for power when it symbolically abandoned Clause 4 in its Constitution and is itself now identified with spin, deceit and dishonesty. The solution according to David Cameron is a modern and compassionate Conservative Party. At their 2006 Conference he offered cleaner politics and a New Direction with no going back to old policies. Sounds familiar! His symbolic clause four moment was to redefine the family. He is also selling their soul for power and disowning the Thatcher legacy.
A visionary warning by George Orwell in 1948, anticipated in 1984, was a little late but firmly in place by 2004. So why was New Labour returned to power by the people in 2005? By all the previous criteria and experience it should not have happened. A feeling that there was no real alternative and nothing would change anyway prevailed. Despite a slight increase in the overall vote the turnout was, for the second time running, pathetic. With the support of just over one-fifth of the electorate and one-third of the votes it was a hollow mandate. This has not prevented New Labour from embarking on a draconian legislative programme.
The real mandate given by the people to New Labour in 1997, while not truly reflecting the voting result and more an example of the distortion of our electoral process, was genuine. But once in government they confirmed the legal opinion that manifestos are not legally binding but only an indication of intent. The mandate was frittered away and abused with broken promises and sleaze.
