One day the 'Bubble' has to burst

Richard North, EU Referendum, has already posted on Benedict Brogan's journalistic effort in the op-ed piece which appears in today's Daily Telegraph. Those within the 'Bubble', both politicians and journalists, will one day have a rude awakening as this bubble, like all bubbles, will surely burst. Brogan, we are told, is a Deputy Editor and his blog is supposed to bring us news, gossip, analysis with the occasional insight into politics. It is becoming evident that missing from that list, in place of the word 'analysis', is the word 'crap'.

I differ from Richard North's view where he writes that one can only look pityingly upon Brogan's effluvia, in that I have no pity, just disdain for a supposed professional journalist who is guilty of moistening one of Cameron's orifices so much it is fast becoming an embarrassment.

Brogan lauds the new Tory intake at the last general election who, he writes, are:

"both robustly Eurosceptic and acutely aware of the electoral damage the feuds over Maastricht did to the party. To its members, power matters just as much as principle. Mr Eustice is also clear that the group will not be a front for a secret withdrawal movement, even if plenty of MPs would now – privately at least – be happy to see Britain pull out."

That new intake are so robustly Eurosceptic that come divisions in the HoC, the vast majority troop through the lobby supporting the Coalition, guided of course by the Whips. Brogan also exposes the sham of our politicians when he writes that to these politicians, power is as important as principle. If those supposedly Eurosceptic Tory politicians had any principles they would not be in Parliament whilst sailing under the Tory flag.

The fact that Brogan swallows the argument put forward by George Eustice that his new group would not be a front for a secret withdrawal movement, in my opinion shows Brogan's naivity. George Eustice has voted for and against further EU integration, so it would not be surprising should it appear, in the future, that forming this group is but a plan to assist Cameron by diluting any further calls for withdrawal. This view is backed by the thrust of this article which appeared in the Mail, reputedly written by an anonymous Tory politician. In the context that Eustice's group is but another smoke and mirrors operation, it is worth quoting from the Mail article:

"Thwarted, Cameron deployed new tactics against the Right. He  invited the new intake of ambitious Tory ‘modernisers’ to cosy briefings for them alone at No 10. His aim was to use them to divide and rule – and attack the ’22. Tory MPs who entered Parliament at the last Election behave as if they are the first-ever intake, oblivious to the unspoken rules of the Commons, the subtleties that it takes years to learn. Instead, they arrived with a born-to-rule arrogance and tossed aside these courtesies. For example, there is a longstanding custom in the tea room that after you buy your food you take the next vacant seat at the first available table. It is designed to ensure no MP has to eat alone. Parliament can be a lonely place.  This went out of the window with the 2010 intake, who walk past members in search of one of their own clique, or snub someone they feel is out of favour with the whips or Cameron. The same happens in the bars, as they kept to their own group, openly nervous about whom they are seen talking to."

What is markedly obvious is that, nowadays, honour and principle are not the first requirement for a politicians, but the ability to 'spin'. Digressing slightly, we even have Douglas Carswell indulging in this new art with the thrust of his latest blog offering. He writes lauding the announcement of Clegg that local authorities will be allowed to retain the business rate levy they have collected previously on behalf of the Treasury. When also looking at the 'release of power for localism ideals', in highlighting the previous hidden 'central control' factor of the Localism Bill where recall and referenda matters are concerned; I have to ask where, in the retention of business rates by local authorities, is the catch? Where is the element of central control, something all political parties seem intent on retaining?

Is it any wonder that the latest Ipsos Mori poll finds that trust in politicians is at an all-time low of just 14%? Digressing once again, it is found that in this same poll 88% thought that Doctors are the most trusted profession - which begs the observation that, presumaby, the remaining 12% comprise the members of the Cabinet.