David Vance SubstackRead More
Today sees the people of Gorton and Denton go to the polls to decide who will be their MP and it appears to a battle between the Greens, Labour and Reform, all the other parties are irrelevant. And in the run up to voting day, on the Left we have witnessed “last minute polls” showing it is “too tight too call” and exhorting tactical voting. I don’t believe a word of any of this since the truth is no one knows exactly how close it is but this is now a favoured tactic that we saw at the Caerphilly by-election last year. And it speaks to the nature of modern politics – it is all about deceit.
The pursuit of power is the real game in play here and in order to win, many politicians will say and do anything to win that power. I have to tell you that I find it nauseating and a reminder to me why I was right to remove myself from the political scene. Offering people honeyed lies that they want to hear might work in the short term insofar as you obtain office but it’s built on treachery.
The political Left in the UK seem to be going through an evolution where they share a single aim – stop Reform. I believe this will become more and more obvious as we approach the May elections and Reform should brace for what will be a massive hostile campaign designed to smear them and ensure it is really hard to win. Now I have my reservations about Reform BUT I hope that Matt Goodwin wins this by-election as a loss is a loss for the Country.
Politics is said to be the art of the possible, which I fully understand. That means making all sorts of compromises along the journey. At the moment, Reform is tacking right to head off the challenge from Rupert Lowe and his Restore GB, but it could equally tack left in order to unbalance the Conservatives. Meanwhile, Labour and the Greens compete for the Muslim vote in constituencies like Gorton and Denton where is it significant.
I’ll be honest and I say I don’t care for the way politics works. I hate the idea that I need to tell you what you want to hear to win your vote. Am I puritanical – maybe? But at least anything I write here I passionately believe and I don’t care if it offends.
Tomorrow will bring all the detailed analysis of the By-Election but for today I will leave you with my enduring belief it is better to tell hard truth and risk rejection than honeyed lies and garner victory.
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