maketheworldbetter

In the recent Queen's speech there was a lot of speculation about what was to be included and what was to be left out. There was a greater focus on the areas of immigration and welfare, however there were some notable exceptions. Little mention was given not only to the subjects of gay marriage and foreign aid but there was also no talk of the rebranding of cigarette packages and a minimum price for alcohol. The government have been keen to state that they are still in the consultation process and no overall decision has been made but to many this seems another U-turn and another decision the Conservative Party and the coalition party has got wrong.

This Queen's Speech was very much designed to work as a counter strike against UKIP. The tone that Cameron and the party were trying to strike over immigration and other topics showed they had become increasingly worried about UKIP and Nigel Farage. Nigel Farage is undoubtedly a charismatic leader and has played on his image as being one of the people. A man who likes the simple pleasures of life like having a pint and enjoying a cigarette. Again this has been used as something that differentiates him from Cameron and other political leaders. I think it is noticeable since the rise of Farage and UKIP there has been far less focus on these issues. The leadership have sought not to alienate their base and have run scared on this issue.

To be fair I may be giving a bit too much credit to Farage and his ordinary man appeal. One of the other questions that I think must be asked and needs to be answered is the role of Crosby in this process. Crosby in some of his previous roles has worked as a lobbyist (very successfully) for some major tobacco companies. The government and the party leadership have to make ot clear what role he has played in their decision making and whether or not he has leaned upon them. I do hope this is not the case but it is clear to see the co-incidence that a short time after he joins the Conservative ranks this issues is suddenly dropped.

Let me make it clear I am not against people having a drink. I too enjoy a drink and as long as people drink responsible and don't cause a lot of trouble, I don't see the problems. I do think the minimum alcohol price would reduce the levels of binge drinking which can only be positive and will reduce the negative effects that alcohol has upon society. I have stated before that I am disappointed that this coalition government has dropped this policy, but the policy that has angered me even more greatly is the u-turn on the rebranding of cigarette packaging. The research continues to show that if cigarette packages have no branding on them then less people will be encouraged to smoke.

I thought we were now in an age where people accepted that smoking was bad for people's health and that we should be doing everything we can to limit the amount of people smoking. The rebranding of cigarette packaging seemed to achieve this aim, but for some reason in their wisdom the government have decided not to follow through on this policy. This sends out totally the wrong message and signal. Any government of whatever political leaning should be doing all they can to stop more and more people smoking. I would have thought that was an aim for all political parties. Let's make it clear smoking is not cool and shouldn't be encouraged and any leading figure should be stating this and not trying to underplay the effects of smoking.

On certain issues I think the government has a duty to act regardless of the political consequences. If the rumours are to be believed the only reasons why these measures have been dropped is because Cameron feared that he could not take his party with him and did not want to rely on the Labour Party. However when we are talking about public health and a policy that could have a significant effect on this a government has a duty to act. The government would not be stopping people smoking, all they would be doing is trying to limit the affect of smoking. Cameron and the government instead of opting for a policy that could help many has run scared from his party. This is systematic of a leadership and a government that lacks backbone and follows rather than leads.

On Thursday Labour made 291 gains in the local elections. Given the state of the economy and the fact that they are in opposition these gains were to be expected. However I do not believe these gains necessarily show that Labour is on course to form the next government and that actually they should be doing a lot better. With about 2 years until the next government I believe that Labour should be performing a lot better in the polls and should be doing a lot better in these elections. I think Ed Miliband and Labour still have a long way to go yet.

I am a fan of Ed Miliband. I believe he is a very talented politician and given the chance he could be a very good Prime Minister. He still has a long way to go and still has a lot of learning to do but I believe he can be a great leader. However at the moment he is struggling to make an impression in the polls, the ratings on him are still very negative and he does not compare favourably with David Cameron. I think these ratins if they do not start to improve soon will cause those at the top of the Labour Party a lot of headaches and questions may have to be asked about whether the public ever believe that Miliband can be a Prime Minister. To make it more simple, do the public see him as a Kinnock or a Blair.

The economic plans of this government have failed. All of the major tasks they have set themselves they have failed and yet they still enjoy a lead over Labour on this issue. Voters do have long memories about the economy, but given the state the economy is in and the slow recovery and cuts that have been made you would have thought Labour would have made more of an impact. Labour still do not have a convincing economic argument. This was shown in the disastrous interview Ed Miliband gave to Radio 4. Any politician can have a bad interview (ask Boris!) but what this interview highlights is that Labour still have little idea about the economy. I am not asking for a detailed budget just simply an idea of where the economy would go under Labour. Until they have a plan like this they are never going to be seen as a party of government.

As seen by the recent success of UKIP there is an apathy towards the political mainstream at the moment. Many voters feel let down by all of the major parties and have decided to cast their vote elsewhere. Ed Miliband's plea to re do politics and his one nation rhetoric has yet to really hit home with voters. This shows that many who are unhappy with the current coalition government (and there are many) are not finding solace with the Labour Party but are actually choosing to vote elsewhere. These are the voters that Miliband needs to reach out to and that Labour need to regain. At this time in a parliamentary term you would expect Labour to be the main beneficiary of any protest votes, but there seems to be little evidence of this.

Historically an opposition party needs to be further ahead than the Labour Party are. When Blair was in opposition before winning in 1997 he was a long way ahead of the Conservatives, something Miliband cannot claim to be. The poll lead Miliband and Labour have over the Tories and Cameron is quite weak. I believe as their economic strategy becomes further analysed the Labour Party's lead will fall away. There is no evidence that this lead is nothing more than a soft lead. Labour should be given everything that is going on at least 15 points ahead in the polls, they are not and I think this could be costly.

I still believe that Labour will probably be the biggest party in terms of seats at the next election, just because of how our system works but I believe it is becoming more and more unlikely that they will win a majority. They have failed to capitalise on the weaknesses and mistakes of this coalition government and should be a long way ahead. They have no clear economic policy and until they do they will continue to be a laughing stock. Miliband and Labour still have a long way to go and behind the scenes the Tories must be delighted at how poorly Labour is performing.

This weekend we saw a number of high profile attacks on UKIP. Ken Clarke branded UKIP politicians as clowns and stated that no-one really knows what the party stands for. This came after some of the left leaning newspapers on Sunday in this country published information about some of the views of councillors standing for UKIP in the upcoming local elections. These series of attacks show for the first time maybe that UKIP is being taken seriously as a political party and that no longer are politicians and the media as a whole willing to give them the easy ride that they previously have had. This of course is the weekend before potentially crucial local elections take place, something that would not have been lost on those attacking UKIP.

UKIP is a party that campaigns mainly on two issues and they are immigration and Europe. Currently there is a lot of apathy towards much of the political mainstream and UKIP have exploited this. They are seen as an attractive proposition to many who believe they have been let down by politicians and are now looking for someone different. However their main campaign issues and their position on the Right of the political spectrum means they may attract people and candidates with unsavoury views. Previously these candidates and their comments may have gone unnoticed but now there is a lot more focus on UKIP and what they say and therefore some of their less positive elements have come to the fore.

UKIP have complained this week about a smear campaign from the Conservatives. This may well have an element of truth but to be honest it is to be expected. The sort of attacks that have been imposed on UKIP this weekend are a regular part of politics. As UKIP has become a bigger threat to the political mainstream they have also opened themselves up to attack. UKIP should expect that as they become a bigger political force more attention and emphasis will be placed on them. As they become a bigger and potentially more powerful threat they are likely to gain more attention from the political mainstream and are likely to face greater attacks from these parties. I actually think these attacks should be taken as a back handed compliment as they are now considered a big enough threat to be worthy of attack. 

I have no problem with the greater attention and focus that is being placed on UKIP. I think if they want to consider themselves a part of the political environment they should expect greater scrutiny on their policies and the party as a whole. This is something that happens with all other political parties and I do not see why UKIP should be any different. I think it is about time a bit more focus is placed on their ideas and what they believe. If you analyse a lot of UKIP's policies as a couple did on Question Time on Thursday night they tend to unravel. As a political party they are fair game to attacks from other political parties and the media. As they come more into the spotlight they should expect more of this and we will learn a lot more about them and whether they can stand up to the attacks.

I believe that UKIP will do well in the upcoming local elections. They have established themselves on the political scene and their widespread appeal has been shown in their recent by-election performances. I think they will win a few council seats in the traditional safe Tory shires where their policies have a level of attraction. This will be another step forward for the party as they seek to establish themselves further on the political scene. I do not believe that UKIP will maintain their current level of performance going into the next General Election and though they are polling high at the moment, when the next election comes I think a lot of support will go back to the Tories. You would expect UKIP to perform well in the mid-terms, I still believe the true test will be whether or not UKIP are still a force come the next election.