Happy New Year

Happy New Year!

As we say goodbye to one decade and enter into another one, we immediately encounter a problem. What will we call it? Because everything these days has to have a name. Suggestions have included “2010s”, “teens” and even “ten-sions”. No doubt someone, somewhere will get paid millions to think of something suitable.

Political tensions will certainly be evident in 2010 though as the election campaign gathers pace. Gordon Brown is promising a decade of “shared prosperity” if you vote Labour. I seem to recall the same person claiming to have ended the boom and bust cycle, so forgive my scepticism!

Meanwhile, David Cameron is claiming that a hung parliament would be a bad thing, yet is advocating consensus politics. Now I would have thought that the best way to ensure consensus politics is to have a hung parliament.

Alex Salmond is talking hot air. More specifically, about Scotland becoming the energy powerhouse of Europe.

The Lib Dems are saying that Leaders should show their convictions. Whatever that means!

Anyway, these are the opening salvos in the run up to the General Election, the date of which will no doubt still be giving Labour a problem. With the sad unexpected death of North West Leicestershire MP David Taylor, Labour will be under pressure to call a by-election. However, they will not want to potentially hand any momentum to the Tory party, who could easily take this seat. So does this make an early election more likely? Or will they want to hold off until their budget changes (bribes!) begin to kick-in in April?

We should begin to get answers to these questions in February.