Simply Smith

BIG Ben is in danger of crashing to the ground. The structure that houses the famous bell has been undermined by subterranean blunders.

The new Jubilee Underground Line is being constructed only fifty feet from the clock tower, and engineers are concerned that emergency work will have to be carried out to reinforce its foundations.

Personally, I couldn't care less if the whole building, including the Houses of Parliament fell to the ground. For me it represents Establishment, and to those bent on maintaining that Establishment democracy appears simply to be a bolt-on annoyance.

We believe, don't we, when we elect our Members of Parliament that they are there to look after our interests. Call me cynical, if you like, but Lord Hailsham was right when he warned of an Elective Dictatorship.

New Labour, with its huge majority, has, since May 1997, made little difference to Joe (and Josephine) Bloggs. We don't have Government, we have uncertainty and poor leadership.

Uncertainty in that I cannot tell the difference between New Labour and Old Tory. Tony Blair talks a great deal about his Third Way but I've got the nagging feeling that he's lost his way.

The integrity that previously underpinned socialist ideals seems to have been replaced by sound bites and slogans that look more like doggerel than policy.

Current policies contain more sand than cement. It's been nearly eighteen months since the last election and Tony Blair's leadership of the country seems to be like the tower that's holding Big Ben; it's becoming detached from the main building.

We never see the Prime Minister engaging in dialogue with the man-in-the-street, he's always listening to this or that expert.

The opposition parties are no better. The Tories have a leader who consistently fails to inspire and the Lib-Dems seem to be hiding in the shrubbery in order to get Electoral Reform.

No one is maintaining an effective opposition; the mortar is again being starved of cement and we all know what happened to the house that was built on sand. Every time a new Government is elected I think to myself: is this going to be the fresh start that's always promised?

For as long as I can remember it's been 'jam tomorrow', the message is monotonous: nothing ever changes. Perhaps it's time for the structure sustaining this boring monotony to collapse and then new ideas will be allowed to emerge.

One thing is certain, the Establishment hates change. However, change is good, it may not be painless but the society that evolves is healthier than one that stagnates or wallows in its past.

Of course, history is necessary but it cannot, of itself, maintain a nation's integrity. Every so often there has to be a fresh start.

The people, like Big Ben, need a new democratic structure. Let's not simply prop up the old one, let's design a system more fitted to the needs of all Her Majesty's subjects: Government of the people, by the people.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.