Political Followship

Once upon a time, we had political leaders who were 'conviction politicians'. They decided what they believed in, nailed their colours to the mast and we prolls were able to make an informed choice: vote for them or not. Examples are many but much of Thatcher's legacy was thus and Blair had his 'conviction politician' moments in the early days too, viz Clause 4.

But since Blair, and the breakdown of the simple Left versus Right choice, we now have politicians who have no ideological anchors and thus set their so called 'beliefs' by what they think us prolls want to vote for. Yesterday gave us a wonderful example.

Boris Johnson, in his campaign for the London mayoralty, understood that the western extension to the Congestion Charge zone was unpopular in his west London Tory stronghold. But he would be criticized by the Lefties and also the Greenies in his own Party if he got rid of it. Did he nail his political colours to the mast? No. He is a fine example of the modern breed of politician, who are all exponents of political followship. No, he said he would 'carry out a consultation exercise on the issue and let the people decide'.

('Political follower' leaders always love consultation, because they can claim they are listening to us prolls when really they are just asking what is popular so that they can support it. They love dressing that up as 'letting the people decide'. What is the point of having all these expensively taxpayer-funded politicians and political parties if we are turning into fucking Switzerland and holding a referendum on every tricky decision, I ask you?)

Now everybody knew the outcome of this new consultation exercise even before it started. Why? Because the previous Mayor, The Great Newt of City Hall, had already carried one out when he instigated the whole western extension thing and the outcome was pretty overwhelmingly against having it in the first place. But he ignored that inconvenient fact, good man of the people that he is.

So yesterday, in a fanfare of blonde pompousness, The Buffoon announced that the results were - shock horror - overwhelmingly against and so he would scrap the much disliked western extension at best speed, ie in 2010 - don't cha just love the speed with which these muppets work?

Political followers win again, their political arrogance so naked and bulletproof that they don't realise that we can see through them. We poor prolls are once more treated like assholes.

Woolies Bites the Dust

(See, I really am back and posting).

So the alledgedly much beloved retailer, Woolies, was pronounced dead today. And all I have heard all day is people moaning on about how sad it is.

Sad? WTF? Woolies is bankrupt because:

1. It sells absolute crap in a very fast moving, highly competitive, consumer savvy marketplace.
2. Other more efficient retailers (many online) have therefore beaten it to death.
3. None of the over emotional sentimentalists I have heard all day on radio and TV bemoaning its demise actually bothered their asses to shop there, principally because of 1 and 2 above.

Business is like nature. Small trees grow into large trees and then die.

The same will happen in turn to the current darlings of the high street and Internet: Tesco, Lidl, Aldi, Primark, Asos etc.

The current terrible market conditions (aka the banks pulling the plug on some of the walking dead) on top of the previous rise of the supermarkets and online retailers will mean some household names in the mid-market will die this Christmas.

I'm Back. Did You Miss Me?

OK so I flunked the 'can he keep his blog going' test. But having 'rested' I am now back with renewed ranting venom. There is so much to rant about. I just don't know where to begin.

But, to ensure I keep my rant up, I am setting myself a cast iron rule by which I will now live:

'Little and often'.

That is my route to blogging heaven. Shorter, sharper, more focus. Bring it on.