Shades of Grey

This is Hazel blears MP, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local government.

She looks as though she has done a bit of a double-take in this photo and I reckon that she has been snapped in a moment of cognitive dissonance, where her brain hemispheres have just reconciled themselves to holding conflicting opinions. George Orwell called the concept Doublethink.

A couple of days ago, Hazel blears made a speech to the Hansard Society conference on political disengagement.  
There were two headline points she made. The first one was about political blogs:

There are some informative and entertaining political blogs, including those written by elected councillors. But mostly, political blogs are written by people with a disdain for the political system and politicians, who see their function as unearthing scandals, conspiracies and perceived hypocrisy.

Unless and until political blogging adds value to our political culture, by allowing new and disparate voices, ideas and legitimate protest and challenge, and until the mainstream media reports politics in a calmer, more responsible manner, it will continue to fuel a culture of cynicism and despair.

But, she also said…

Politicians must not live on ‘Planet Politics’ and behave in ways which are alien and strange to the electorate.

This happens partly because there is a trend towards politics being seen as a career move rather than call to public service. Increasingly we have seen a ‘transmission belt’ from university activist, MPs’ researcher, think-tank staffer, Special Adviser, to Member of Parliament, and ultimately to the front bench.

Now, there’s nothing wrong with any of those jobs, but it is deeply unhealthy for our political class to be drawn from narrowing social base and range of experience.

Yup. Hazel, pet, cannot you grasp the causal relationship between the latter and the former?

Matt Wardman has found the text of the speech and it is actually OK, except the bits where she blames bloggers and the Press for them being basically, statist authoritarian useful idiots to the EU.

Lots of excellent blogposts on this, here are a choice few across the political spectrum- Ellie Seymour, Bob Piper,  the Guardianistas at CiF, Lib-Dem voice, Alex Mortimer, The Thunderdragon and Underdog.

I’ve left a comment on her own blog:

“Dear Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, would you like to put up a posting up on how bloggers are not “adding value” so that we can add some value?

Regards,

Shades”

It is awaiting moderation and I noticed that as I’d typed it in a hurry, there is a redundant up, but I’m not holding my breath that it’ll get past the censors. (”They don’t like it up ‘em”, as Corporal Jones used to say).

Meanwhile, if you want to hear how a blogger blagged his way into the conference and well, shall we say, disagreed with her robustly whilst dressed as Guido Fawkes. check out b’staard old holborn.

Now I’m not certain that I’ve actually added any value here because much of what I have said has been made already elsewhere (and probably without the author being distracted by a pressing charity accounts deadline) but, as Ed Balls says, So what? It’s my blog and no business of the Government, particularly not this one.

You know these BBC feelgood stories about 9 out of 10 people being happy, people wanting to sign up for the ID card as soon as possible and the Glenrothes by-election result being a strong mandate for the leadership of Gordon Brown? They must live somewhere else because I haven’t met any. Most people are happy, but not with our politicians.