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| Janus the Two faced God |
Residents in Medway towns who have not heard of the on going sagaof Boris Island or the Grain hub have either just moved to the area - in which case; Welcome to the area- or just woken up from hibernation - in which case; Morning and welcome to 2012!
Various Political groups are trying to keep this in the public eye for numerous reasons (good and selfserving) and especially as the London Mayoral election reaches its climax.
The latest cries from the opposition is that Two faced local Tories are backing Boris in the election so putting the party before local electorate seeing as Boris wants the Hub and Ken doesn't.
On the face of the matter they're right, but life is just not that simple.
I've got a background in studying Military history. Years of studying and writing about the Luftwaffe and British Army in the Colonies and the facts are Black and White.
The Commanding officer gives their orders and the Pilots or Soldiers carry out their orders and it has a cause and effect.
Marshall Ney ordered a mass Cavalry attack on Wellington's right flank at Waterloo. Wellington's officers order "Form Square," Battalion's form square and their officers order standard Infantry firing drill and the attack was repulsed... Quick, Dry, Simple.
Politics is not black and white but so many shades of grey.
Unfortunately it is not as simplistic. In this case it is easy to say the Conservatives are backing Boris before considering their own voters in Medway. Boris is indeed the original proponent of the Airport hub, no denial there. However the proposal has moved forward and there are many other supporters that will continue to push for the airport IF Boris goes in May.
The Proposal has also passed to the Ministry of Transport and is going to be put through the Aviation contingency plan and the whole thing is going out for Consultation - It is now completely out of Boris' hands in the same way as it would be out of Ken's hands (as he has promised to oppose the idea.). Damage has already been done by Boris.
Further to that, Boris has promised things that would benefit the Medway resident, including promising to review and cut Tube fares which would be a massive benefit to commuters like myself. There is also the green legacy of the Boris bike and.... I'm going to be honest now, I've not really looked into Boris' record as I'm not that interested in either of the key proponents but I do prefer Boris to the somewhat odious Ken. More importantly though this is not a single issue election.
I'm a Libdem, I agree with Nick and a lot of the things the Coalition and the Parliamentary party do But I don't agree with everything they do, which is why I continue to disagree with the Airport and will fight it all the way through consultation and beyond. I also do not agree with the Tuition Fees hike, I thought we were wrong to vote for it in the numbers we did but... I would still vote Libdem again locally and nationally because they have come through on other issues and not because I am a party member, I've not always blindly voted Libdem for everything.
Local Conservative Councillors back Boris because they believe (airport aside) that he has done a good job overall as Mayor. Is that so terrible?
Local Labour, who have called for tightening the tax laws to stop people skipping what they owe but back Ken because they believe he did a better job. Surely that could make them two faced as well over the tax issue?
The fact is, there is no harm in backing Boris now as the damage is done. Ken's promises to oppose the airport on his election is merely grabbing the opposite side of the debate to attract votes and nothing more.
Should Boris win and the airport get built he gets praise.
Should Boris win and the airport isn't built he gets praised for doing the best for London.
Should Ken win and the airport gets built then it was the Tory Government who let us down.
Should Ken win and the airport isn't built he gets praised for stopping it.
It is all a haze of overlapping interests and Party and issues. It is in no way as simplistic as the "Two faced Tories" claim makes it sound. In my opinion its disingenuous and is playing the electorate for fools. Why not be honest? Why is Politics full of these games?
You have this fairly well sussed out, but are starting from a false premise by falling for local Labour's lies and spin. Many if not most or even all local Conservatives have not been aiding Boris' campaign this time.
ReplyDeleteA few have stated so publicly, in fact (many are not particularly vocal types, unusual among politicians but there it is!)
This is a diversionary tactic to hide Medway Labour's unconditional support (including campaigning, which is on the public record) for the ghastly Ken Livingstone, whose behaviour on a number of fronts has been revealed recently.
I'd suggest that even if one were to support Boris – who has no power regarding an airport and was only raising an issue left unresolved by Labour who devised the whole idea – that would be a billion times better than having anything to do with Red Ken.
Local Labour know this, but are 100% tribal, and no doubt my own 'blog posts and tweets prompted them to try to deflect attention away from their own really low and despicable stance by (as usual) lying about their political opponents.