Unusual Year?
So far 2007 has been a curious year.There has been the spectacle of a clutch of cabinet ministers leading protests against cabinet enforced cuts in hospital services — step forward Hazel Blears and John Reid.There is an almost audible gnashing of teeth from Leicester West, constituency of Patricia Hewitt ,the Health Secretary , particularly as her own area suffers from some of these projected changes.
Then there is Ruth Kelly’s decision to take up the opportunity of private education for one of her children– a decision for her,of course, but it really does go to the heart of Labour’s division.At least half the party seems intent on taking away that opportunity; the remainder of the party believes, as I do, that the choice should be there.
Then we have all this praise lavished on Margaret Thatcher by Gordon Brown.I hope incidentally that he had tipped off Rhodri Morgan who regularly tries to conjure up Margaret Thatcher’s memory with the opposite intent.The problem for Rhodri is that his guru seems keen to plough a different furrow.
Stranger still is the revelation that La France, a country I love, sought union with the United Kingdom in the 1950s. Now I have always believed that differences between France and Britain were overstated and obscured great similarities in the national character of the two countries but since one of those similarities between the two is a proud patriotism and pretended distrust of the other the news came as a surprise.
Two items of news deseve special mention.The first is a pebble in the pond which has certainly created ripples– the dreadful Jade Goody.The racist bullying that the Hogarthian grotesque which is Jade Goody subjected Shilpa Shetty to demeaned a nation and also threatened to damage good relations with India and impair community relations at home.This has been offset to some extent by a decisive vote to eject the Goody. Thank goodness that there is a basic decency amongst most people in the country which was horrified by the ignorant and racist outbursts.Still there are serious questions about the broadcaster Channel 4– headed now for my Room 101 along with Jonathan Ross.
I suspect that the most significant news of the week is the emergence of Barack Obama as a likely presidential contender.A young and relatively inexperienced senator, the junior senator for Illinois he would if he becomes President still be older than JFK was but considerably less experienced.What is heartening is that the main obstacle for him seems to be his inexperience and not his colour.Indeed he offers hope and a fresh start and despite his relative inexperience is clearly able and engaging.Sounds familiar. We could even see a Cameron- Obama axis.
And well done Andy Murray!
