Simon's Blog

Another day, another example of just how weak kneed most politicians are. Having to face up to the fact that their world is coming to an end our great and good appear to have no idea how to deal with things – god help us if they were having to face a real crisis rather than the possibility that their political dreams are falling apart.

We are now suffering from pointless election fever where everyone appears to have caught UKIP. Each day I scan the papers in the vain hope that anyone of note has had the balls to stand up to the nonsense that is UKIP and all I see are frightened men wanting the nasty man, Mr Farage, to go away. It doesn’t really matter whether they are under the blue or red flag they seem to be so scared of UKIP as that they all are trying, in their own way, to out kip the kippers. It will never work.

So what will be the result of all this depressing nonsense? The hungest of hung parliaments when no party will come close to having a majority nor any chance of running a minority government with support from other parties (I really don’t see UKIP holding the balance of power I guess they will be lucky to get 5 MPs given the electoral maths). Which means another election or some form of grand coalition and my favourite at the moment would be a grand coalition of the left rather than some crazed mishmash of real UKIP and hidden UKIP and the rump of the Conservative party cowering in the corner. This would mean that Labour would be the largest party in this unstable government but I doubt that Ed Miliband would make a very convincing candidate for PM – whilst he might try to be I suspect that things would unravel very quickly. One of the reasons for this would be Scotland where I suspect the SNP will make convincing gains in Labour’s Strathclyde heartland. In this landslide there will be one politician who, should he stand, and there are signs coming from Scotland that he just might, would be a first class candidate for Prime Minister – Alex Salmon.

This, of course, is utter nonsense unless you are Alex Salmon who would love to be PM, partially because it is the only way that he can deliver independence to Scotland but mainly it would play to his massive ego. Would he do it? I doubt it and I also doubt that Labour would allow it – a junior member of of the coalition and a sworn enemy providing the leader of the coalition. However, stranger things have happened – especially if his pitch would also include such things as a Welsh parliament and proportional representation for Westminster parliament – thus removing once and for all the chances of another strong right wing Government – plus there are no real leaders available in the Labour party who could deliver.

Is this all fantasy? Yes it probably is but what would a weak and fearful Ed Miliband deliver? Probably no more than a pugnacious Alex Salmon who is working towards a new relationship between the countries that make up the Union. One thing for sure he is unlikely to spend millions of pounds blowing up Toyota pick ups in the Iraqi desert although we will be lumbered with those great white elephants HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales.

It is certainly going to be an interesting time over the next 6/9 months – just don’t expect any rational arguments or sensible leadership. Nothing new there then I guess.

Simon Marchini
www.simonmarchini.co.uk