We are on the eve of heading to the polls and Scottish Labour still do not get it.
For a good many people in Scotland, in particular the old industrial belt across the centre, a new game has hit town. Forget your policies, it is deeper than that.
For many years the majority of the working class across the central belt
has been born into Labour families, generations of them.
Hell would freeze over and they would still drag themselves to the polls to defeat the hated Tories. That meant, in the main, voting Labour, in their droves. Margaret Thatcher simply reinforced that whole movement and her 'influence' as the years passed only served to strengthen the hatred of Tories. Illogical or not, she was hated and still is in many quarters, as is the whole Tory movement.
So what has changed? The polls are predicting a complete Labour meltdown and they seem at a loss as to why.
I am not a pollster, but I am connected and I listen. Today I listened to five died in the wool socialist and lifelong Labour voters. Just ordinary folk, not political activists, just folk, who coincidently would never, in any circumstances, bring themselves to vote Conservative.
The first thing that struck me was that every one of them said that for the first time in their lives they were excited about voting. Yes, excited, could not wait to get to the polling stations. Why?
Everyone of them said they wanted to destroy Labour in Scotland. I have heard a lot of these same sentiments this last few months.
It is as if they have stumbled out of the unthinking darkness, blinking, but not for long.
Years of listening to various Labour politicians berating the house of Lords, committed to destroying that unelected house of privilege. McConnell, Prescott and more. So where are they now, jings, is that them and their pals wearing ermine robes? It is you know.
Then there was the expenses theft. “ Oops, sorry folks, just a mistake, didn't understand the system”. Will try not to let it happen again. Well, just to remind you, it was not confined to greedy Tories, a few 'confused' Labour members had their noses in the same trough. A Labour Home Secretary managing to mistakenly claim a hundred thousand, another Labour cabinet member snaffling £30,000, mind you she did apologise and eventually paid it back. Another buying a house on the grant, our money, then renting it out for a fortune and moving into an hotel to stay. Oh, forgot to say, at our expense. And on and on. Lest I forget, we are still waiting on the £100k being paid back, but don't hold your breath.
Then Labour cheerfully supported the Tories vote through their various austerity measures. But how could they do otherwise, they were in Government when our economy went down the tubes in the first place. Not only that, but the then Chancellor screwed thousands of working people out of their pension rights. Yes, a Labour Chancellery.
In many of Labour's west of Scotland fiefdoms the employment rate is woeful and the life expectancy is lower than many in third world countries.
Then there is the whole issue of invading and bombing our way across the East.
And they sold off huge tracts of our land, our family silver, to international corporations so these corporations could develop the land they had been given. What did we get in return, oh the schools and hospitals that had been their and in our ownership were demolished and rebuilt and leased back to us. And we borrowed £50 billion to pay for that and by the time we pay it back in twentyfive years it will have cost in excess of £300 billion. Oh and that is called PFI or to give it its more modern name PPP. And so we have been bought and sold for some shiny baubles. Hmmm! Is that not what we did when we invaded the Americas two or three centuries ago? By the way, we won't own any of the schools or hospitals and will have to seek new leases.
So the penny is slipping out of their hands and dropping to the ground and not before time.
But despite all that, the ordinary Labour supporting folk stuck by them because their was nothing else, because their grannies and grand dads would turn in their graves if they considered putting their hard earned cross anywhere else.
Then last September, a glimmer of light, was it hope, was cast across them. Their was an other option, another choice and they awakened from their slumbers and looked forward with anticipation of a new day. And on the eve of that new day, out from the barricades came the old guard, Brown, Darling, Blair and more and they warned them to get back and stop dreaming. Then the old guard was joined by more 'old guard', but these were Tories and they stood shoulder to shoulder with their 'old guard' and together they were warned to forget the dream, their will be no new day. Trust us, you are valued and we will look after you. And time past and their anticipated new day, their hopes and the light were quashed.
But under the ashes there was still an ember and it grew and it was ignited and the folk, yes the ordinary folk, the ones who had been weaned on Labour, gradually and with increasing confidence emerged from the ashes and a peaceful revolution was afoot. And they looked back and realised, we have been duped we have been used and we are sick of it. And there was only one cry, and Labour did not hear it, because they were not listening, because they are arrogant, they had forgotten where they came from and they preferred ermine robes and they had become unworthy, and the cry was simple and unequivocal, 'Destroy Scottish Labour'.
And tomorrow they will.
