Every so often a new unit of measurement emerges. Remember when t-shirts started coming in S,M,L,XL and Dart Player? Or when £2,000 became known as an 'Archer'? More recently, neck ties started being displayed in Windsor, Half-Windsor and 'footballer',
Well, another unit has now joined this growing lexicon: the 'Clegg'. The 'Clegg' is a measurement of depth, one which describes a state of being completely submerged, totally unable to resurface no matter how much thrashing around takes place. If you're even half a 'Clegg' down you are in real trouble.
The first demonstration of this unit came during the debate on Student Finance in the autumn. Those M.P.'s who were in danger of falling by a 'Clegg' began to furiously back-stroke, some rowed back and almost all were in retreat. Some bravely loosened the shackles that were dragging them under and survived. Other reputations were completely drowned, which is why Simon Hughes now has a rather soggy looking sheen whenever he is interviewed on the BBC.
Of course, measures were taken to prevent people dropping by a 'Clegg'. The first employed was the 'patronise in an annoying way' defence, where a succession of LibDems dripped onto our screens and left puddles of weak explanations in their wake. "You know, Government is all about difficult decisions," complained Norman Lamb. Fair enough, get out of it, then. Fewer than one in five people thought your party capable of Governing, no-one is holding a gun to your head and forcing you into it, so stop. Get out. Don't do it. Let someone more capable take over. After a while, this defence was dropped and LibDems even began to take pride in their saturated appearances. "We're so wet, it's going to take four years to wring us out!"
But things move on. After months of keeping their fingers as tightly crossed as possible, the LibDems have got their wish and everyone has forgotten about the tuition fees debacle, haven't they? Okay, no they haven't, but the fun never stops when you're falling 'Clegg' by 'Clegg'!
I didn't really think that Thursday's 'oops, my microphone has been left on' error by the LibDem leader was such an accidental gaffe. Despite many commentators believing that he did not intend his comments to be broadcast, I suspected a far more cynical approach, one which was intended to show how 'together' the two wealthy, ex-public school, career politicians in their early 40's were (despite their wildly different backgrounds....). Friday's appearance by Clegg on a Radio Sheffield phone in was, however, a completely different matter.
For those who missed the story, here's a quick precis:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-12866465
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-12865134
Lovely, isn't it. What a great example to all in the public eye. Don't bother to read up on what you're talking about, smear those who have and then lie to cover your tracks. Clegg by Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister is showing how much he is out of his depth in the role. Ill-suited to power, yet desperate to wield it, the last ten months have seen him going more and more native, the gap between him and Cameron becoming so narrow that you could hardly fit a public sector employee's P45 between them.
Most Prime Ministers get rid of the incompetents in their cabinets fairly swiftly. Unfortunately, there are precedents where useless ministers have been retained to public incredulity. Geoff Hoon and John Selwyn Gummer spring to mind. The current Parliamentary arithmetic, though, will ensure that Clegg will stay on, making error after error, sell out after sell out and gaffe after gaffe. For four more years. It may be funny to watch. As he is going to be responsible for wrecking millions of lives, however, it's more likely to be horribly tragic.
Well, another unit has now joined this growing lexicon: the 'Clegg'. The 'Clegg' is a measurement of depth, one which describes a state of being completely submerged, totally unable to resurface no matter how much thrashing around takes place. If you're even half a 'Clegg' down you are in real trouble.
The first demonstration of this unit came during the debate on Student Finance in the autumn. Those M.P.'s who were in danger of falling by a 'Clegg' began to furiously back-stroke, some rowed back and almost all were in retreat. Some bravely loosened the shackles that were dragging them under and survived. Other reputations were completely drowned, which is why Simon Hughes now has a rather soggy looking sheen whenever he is interviewed on the BBC.
Of course, measures were taken to prevent people dropping by a 'Clegg'. The first employed was the 'patronise in an annoying way' defence, where a succession of LibDems dripped onto our screens and left puddles of weak explanations in their wake. "You know, Government is all about difficult decisions," complained Norman Lamb. Fair enough, get out of it, then. Fewer than one in five people thought your party capable of Governing, no-one is holding a gun to your head and forcing you into it, so stop. Get out. Don't do it. Let someone more capable take over. After a while, this defence was dropped and LibDems even began to take pride in their saturated appearances. "We're so wet, it's going to take four years to wring us out!"
But things move on. After months of keeping their fingers as tightly crossed as possible, the LibDems have got their wish and everyone has forgotten about the tuition fees debacle, haven't they? Okay, no they haven't, but the fun never stops when you're falling 'Clegg' by 'Clegg'!
I didn't really think that Thursday's 'oops, my microphone has been left on' error by the LibDem leader was such an accidental gaffe. Despite many commentators believing that he did not intend his comments to be broadcast, I suspected a far more cynical approach, one which was intended to show how 'together' the two wealthy, ex-public school, career politicians in their early 40's were (despite their wildly different backgrounds....). Friday's appearance by Clegg on a Radio Sheffield phone in was, however, a completely different matter.
For those who missed the story, here's a quick precis:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-12866465
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-12865134
Lovely, isn't it. What a great example to all in the public eye. Don't bother to read up on what you're talking about, smear those who have and then lie to cover your tracks. Clegg by Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister is showing how much he is out of his depth in the role. Ill-suited to power, yet desperate to wield it, the last ten months have seen him going more and more native, the gap between him and Cameron becoming so narrow that you could hardly fit a public sector employee's P45 between them.
Most Prime Ministers get rid of the incompetents in their cabinets fairly swiftly. Unfortunately, there are precedents where useless ministers have been retained to public incredulity. Geoff Hoon and John Selwyn Gummer spring to mind. The current Parliamentary arithmetic, though, will ensure that Clegg will stay on, making error after error, sell out after sell out and gaffe after gaffe. For four more years. It may be funny to watch. As he is going to be responsible for wrecking millions of lives, however, it's more likely to be horribly tragic.
It is a shame Clegg did not live up to expectations (Re: Blair / Brown) - but you are hitting the nail right on the head with "I suspected a far more cynical approach, one which was intended to show how 'together' the two wealthy, ex-public school, career politicians in their early 40's were (despite their wildly different backgrounds....)".
ReplyDeleteThere will have to be radical shift in the system to get more ordinary people into politics. It's simply not good enough to have Labour & LibDems ranks filled with 'less posh' people, privately educated, university PPE qualifications and no other life experiences than Conservatives.