The Great British Soap Opera

And so it rumbles on.

Yesterday saw two of the worst of what Nu Labour has offered being served with political papers by no less than Guido Fawkes and Tory Bear. Of course, this is a great stunt and an embarrassment for the left that those two bloggers, and many others, would relish. In his video, Tory Bear seems to be beaming with excitement. Yet I can't help but think that this would mean a lot more if those papers were being served on people with continuing influence within the Labour party. And it would also be better if they weren't being served on behalf of Nadine Dories - the enemy of abortion and shrill defender of MPs over the expenses saga. As a result this comes across as little to do with democracy and justice. Instead, it is simple (but entertaining) political point scoring.

Then we have the news that David Cameron has demoted Alan Duncan. I suppose this is meant to represent decisive action on the part of David Cameron. Yet - as egregious as Duncan can be on occasion - his crime was to make self-pitying comments about MPs having to live on rations. Yeah, he should have kept his dumb mouth shut. But really, does his demotion change the fact that almost every MP in the Commons - including a lot of Cameron's posse - have been tainted by the MPs expense scandal? No, it is a minor diversion, an attempt by Cameron to take attention away from just how much our MPs have been on the take in recent times. This demotion is meant to say that Cameron cares. Yeah, he cares just enough to deal with one embarrassing loudmouth.

And against this backdrop of noticeable and/or headline grabbing stunts, the reality of British politics rumbles on. Against the soap opera element to British politics of sacking, legal threats and general sniping, there is the all important undercurrent of modern politics. That is being studiously ignored. Take the Labour party. Punishment for the sins of McBride and Draper is irrelevant as the party gears up for what might be another self-destructive attempted coup against Brown. Which means that the Prime Minister - who even at the best of times struggles to be pro-active - will be forced into a reactive, defensive position yet again. He won't be able to do anything except fight for his own political life. As a result, the already stagnant British government will shudder to a grinding halt once more as the schizophrenia within the Labour party becomes a form of paralysis for the country as a whole.

Then we have the Tories. What does Duncan's sacking actually mean other than Cameron doesn't have a completely deaf ear to public opinion? It tells us nothing about who Cameron is, or what the Tories stand for. They are now the government in waiting. Yet they don't seem to have opinions or an identity beyond not being the Labour party. As they stand on the cusp of being elected, the Tories run the risk of being just as ideologically empty as the party that precedes them.

Politics always has been and always will be about a mix of day to day flash-fights and much longer term debates about ideology and policy. Unfortunately, the balance in British Politics at the moment is resolutely towards the former - the soap opera, sitcom side to politics. We actually need a party with ideas and we actually need a debate about the future. Unfortunately, neither seems to be forthcoming from the political elite at the moment.

Still being sued will learn that Draper good and proper, eh?