Brave New World?

It’s possible that many of you won’t be aware that there was a by-election yesterday, and that it could be very important to life in this country.

A by-election happens when an MP gives up their seat (either by resigning, retiring, or something more permanent)

In the case of Rochester and Strood it was because the MP changed teams.  The people of Rochester and Strood elected a Conservative MP, Mark Reckless, in the 2010 General Election. So when Mr Reckless decided he wanted to be in UKIP instead, it automatically triggered the need for a by-election.

Well, the people of Rochester and Strood have chosen to re-elect Mark Reckless, and that’s a big deal because it’s the second time in as many months that it’s happened.  Douglas Carswell defected to UKIP and was re-elected in the Clacton by-election, in October.

So what does that mean?

Well, it means the major parties in UK politics are nervous.

It’s a bit like a new company coming to Whitehaven selling burgers: McDonalds aren’t going to be happy. They’d probably do all they could to stop the new company from getting set up in the first place. But imagine the new company do get set up, sell their burgers and get loads of people through the door.  Imagine the new company let’s young people hang out inside for as long as they like. What do McDonalds do then?

Come on in, burgers on me...

Whether they like it or not, I reckon they’d start making some very attractive offers — that’s what market competition really means.

And that’s what could happen in politics.

Until now there have been two main parties — Conservative and Labour, and one or other of them would end up being the government and being in charge of the country. But what if there starts being a third choice, or a fourth, or a fifth? The political parties would be much more likely to make those attractive offers

“Vote for us and we’ll lower taxes”

“Vote for our party and we’ll keep your hospitals open”

“Elect us and get a free pony”

(That’s a real campaign promise from Vermin Supreme)

Local News

The observant among you will have noticed there was no blog last week. That was because we had 20 students from the Whitehaven Academy for the day.  It was a good day and we all learned something — that you can safely house 44 people in a four-bed bungalow and not call it over crowded.