A Sea of Blue and a Niggle.

I have a love hate relationship with politics. I am currently active in a political movement (not the subject of this blog) because I feel have no choice but to be involved and because, deep down, I suppose I am drawn to it. I am broadly socialist, yet a strong individualist, with a very strong belief in a social democracy which offers care and social benefits to all citizens on the basis of need.  So I am saddened by the results of last week's general election and the particular model of capitalism it espouses, one in which greed and austerity are like the hands of a very mean monster.  In my daily life,  I do not dislike Conservatives on an individual level. Political beliefs and opinions are only part of what makes a person who they are, and I have met snobbish, unkind and  blinkered socialists, and kind, gentle and quite lovely conservatives - something my more left wing friends would describe as oxymoronic but which I do not; I have friends and colleagues who I value deeply who have conservative leanings - yet I cannot support austerity politics and the outsourcing of public services and I am concerned for what the future holds in terms of the welfare of the people, especially those in England and Wales.

As I write this, I struggle to come to terms with the fact that while England has gone blue, Scotland has embraced the SNP. The Scots seem to be merging strong  nationalistic pride with a social democratic model and a progressive agenda; so what is wrong with that? Nothing on the face of it,  yet my gut is starting to give me really strong niggles. The niggles link to Cameron's desire that English MP's should vote on English things, at a time when the Scots have ousted Scottish Labour for an SNP platform that offers the promise of the best of both worlds: National Pride and progressive social polices.  My fear is that this could be catastrophe for the English and the Welsh.  England and Wales could end up with elitist policies and more privatisation of vital services, whilst the Scots continue to have free university tuition fees and other benefits. Nicola Sturgeon is already looking to set her own taxes to fund the promises she has made. Once parliament is formed and the voting starts, will the SNP give a damn about the poor and disadvantaged of England and Wales? I cannot help but feel that the social welfare of the people of these two countries was partly tied up with Scottish Labour. It will be interesting to watch things unfold.

I was never convinced Labour would get a majority but the failure of the polls was surprising. Reading on-line yesterday, I found a link to this article. It suggests significant numbers of conservative voters tend to be coy about sharing their voting preferences and how this may have impacted on the polls. In a typically English way, there are lots of people who quietly and privately vote for what they believe is the best option and keep that entirely to themselves or those they trust.

Will England forever be conservative?

http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/commentandblogs/2015/05/08/why-are-people-afraid-to-admit-they-voted-conservative/