Big Brother - Poor Politics

I am sitting here watching the closing moments of Big Brother.

Politicians moan and complain about how they wish they could get as many people interested in politics as they are in Big Brother. The fact is of course that policians do not really put themselves on the line in the same way the contestants of BB do. Open, naked honesty cannot ever suit some politicians - especially the naked bit!

But there is a difference between honesty and blatant opportunism that gives politics and politicians a bad name. Let me give you an example.

The Lib Dems have claimed that they want to give all elderly people in England free personal care. In fact a Lib Dem MP called Gidley has said: "Britain’s elderly should receive free personal care, unrestricted by discriminatory criteria." You can see it on their website - click here

And yet in Kingston the Lib Dem Council is considering implementing a means tested tax for domiciliary care; care for those with terminal diseases or those too old to run simple tasks for themselves. In fact they might charge up to £400 per week for those with most savings and the highest need for care. This is outrageous, but not only am I outraged but so is Age Concern Kingston and the Kingston Centre for Independent Living. But this is the nature and style of the Lib Dems, promising the popular knowing that it is not deliverable without pain - like the idea of a local income tax. But it is also just so damn mean. Can the Lib Dem Leader of the Council really believe it is fair to say "it is fairer to charge wealthy people for the cost of their care than charge everyone through council tax." Surely that is what a caring society is about, using taxes to care for the frail and vulnerable, not just the poor?

Instead of standing up for these people I gather from Lib Dem Watch that our own MP was leading the jeering and the abuse thrown at the Labour candidate at the Leicester East by election whilst he was trying to give his vixtory speech.

And now it has grown even worse as the Kingston Lib Dems attempt to betray an election pledge to provide a day center for the elderly in Chessington and instead build a dementia unit on the site. A centre that they might move again in a few years - what happened about caring for people!

I am sorry to sound negative, I am not personalising this, but hypocrisy should make people angry. Being elected brings responsibility and if you are not able to stand up for people: rich, poor, young, old, drug user, alcoholic, whatever, then you should not stand for election.

So what are they going to do with the Big Borther house at the end of this series? Maybe there are some politicans that ought to spend some time there and get to know what real people are like! Maybe being publicly voted out of office for the way they behave in the house might sharpen up their acts a little?