GORDON BROWN's PRE-ELECTION WINDOW DRESSING

The next general election has not been lost yet, which also means to say that it has not been won either. Both the Socialists and the Conservatives have a lot of manoeuvering to do in order to reassure the electorate and obtain votes.


Gordon Brown has started to detail his intentions and plans for the next five or ten years in areas like prison capacities and nuclear reactors for electricity production. He neglects to explain that these urgent problems in Britain today are the direct result of years of neglect by his government.


The gravity of this negligence is highlighted by the fact that in France more than 80% of its electricity requirements are produced by nuclear reactors. France exports electricity to all its neighbouring countries, including England.


In these areas and others the long term plans he now proposes should have been started ten years ago, when Tony Blair was Prime Minister and he, Gordon Brown, was Chancellor of the Exchequer.


The cost of these plans and others are never revealed, nor where the finance required is coming from. In fact the next election, whatever the date, will take place just before or just after the financial year-end on the 5th of April. Hard official figures for the Year 2009/10 will therefore not yet be available; but there will certainly be unofficial estimates or guestimates.


It is hard to believe that such guestimates will be allowed to embarrass the Government. Socialists in fact already have the experience of how to win an election.


Political pre-election window dressing is not to talk about past failures but to talk about dreams for the future. Do not talk about increasing taxation: talk about redistributing national wealth. Politicians should not frown or look worried: they should smile, look happy and be confident. They should talk a good story when they are addressing electors.