Here is a reflective summary of my personal political journey.
I have an unusually long memory where tory policy is concerned. I was featured on the front page of a tabloid newspaper the day after Thatcher’s government proposed a 50 percent cut to the RNIB’s public funding. I began to take an interest in British politics in the mid 90’s and remember wishing I could vote in 1997.
I had a GCSE exam on the day of the 2001 election. At the time, I remember saying that I would probably have voted Lib Dem, but that I liked Gordon Brown.
I doubt my personal political allegiance has changed much. It is possible to like or respect politicians from alternative political persuasions. I had more time for John Major than Tony Blair. However, I hope my final vote will be decided primarily on policy. No election manifesto has ever been fully implemented in a Parliament. The question is, which assortment of politicians are most likely to take their responsibility of governing this country seriously, in respect of us, the British public who put them there. Is there a party with a past Parliamentary record of anti corruption legislation? When we read between the lines, do any of our politicians appreciate the damage to their authority caused by the last Parliament’s blatant dereliction as exposed by the expenses revelations? Of course it’s in every politician’s interest to convince us that they are squeaky clean, so I intend to look beyond contemporary rhetoric when deciding where my vote goes.