My top ten political moments of the decade

By Julian Ware-Lane / @WareLane

As the decade draws to a close I thought I would have a go at listing my top ten political moments of the last ten years. This leaves me as a hostage to fortune as I am bound to have overlooked something truly momentous. Hey ho, here is my list anyway, in no particular order. Let me know what your list would include.

9/11
11th September 2001 and those awful terrorist atrocities which led to two wars and significant changes to our laws. I still have vivid memories of the events of that day.

2001 General Election
General elections, somewhat predictably, are always going to be in a political top ten. This was Tony Blair’s first test at the ballot box as PM, and he passed with flying colours. The Tories managed one gain (Castle Point) as Labour amassed another huge victory. The election itself was delayed from the widely perceived favourite date as foot and mouth shut down huge tracts of the countryside. Killed off William Hague’s leadership of the Opposition – now seen as being given to him too early. Did he really claim to have once downed fourteen pints?

2005 General Election
Seen against the backdrop of the two previous elections this gave Labour a modest majority. Yet at 66 seats it was still very healthy. Perhaps remembered for the low turnout, it was also the ‘vote Blair, get Brown’ election as the fallout over the Iraq War began to impact.

The MPs’ expenses row
Some of the revelations had an air of French farce about them, but far too many generated real anger. Clashing with a recession, the greed and unreality that lay behind the revelations put into stark contrast the lifestyles of the elected and their electors. The repercussions are still being felt and this will have an impact on the forthcoming General Election.

Nick Griffin MEP
Two members of the BNP now sit in the European Parliament, beneficiaries of public anger over the MPs’ expenses and of a List PR system that allows these extremists to sneak over the electoral winning line. Far right movements have had brief, and electorally unsuccessful, flowerings in the past. Nick Griffin has surpassed the achievements of Oswald Mosley and Malcolm Webster, and now has his sights on Barking and the House of Commons. Like it or not, June’s elections gave the BNP a degree of credibility previously denied them.

The 2007 election that never was
I was at Bournemouth in 2007 when everyone was talking about a late October or early November election. I never wanted it then, but many of my colleagues disagreed. That the speculation was not dampened allowed this story to grow and grow, and to ultimately label Gordon Brown as a ditherer – irrespective of whether this is actually true. It also forced David Cameron to deliver a conference speech that was widely admired (though not by me). Since then Labour has not led in the polls.

2004 Hunting Act
Many hours of Parliamentary time were given over to this act; an act that should have hit the Statute Books in 1997. To many of us it is incredible that this is still an issue, but its repeal is at the forefront of many Conservative minds, and it looks like being one of the battlegrounds in the months ahead.

The recession
After a record-breaking fourteen years of growth, a recession deeper than any seen since the 1930s assailed all major western economies. This will be the main battleground for the forthcoming election. Much that the Tories would like to lay the blame at Gordon Brown’s door, this is clearly an indictment of international capitalism and an overly light touch for financial bodies (a light touch that was condemned as being too heavy-handed by senior Tories prior to the recession!)

Gordon Brown’s leadership election
Or not. The failure of a significant challenge has cast doubts over Gordon’s legitimacy. I do not think we will see another leader gain the reins without having to face a challenge. This not only allowed the ‘unelected PM’ tag to stick, it also annoyed many Labour activists. I have no doubt I would have voted for Gordon, but I would have liked a choice.

Lisbon treaty
A highly contentious issue which says more for the attitude of the Euro-sceptics than for the content of the document. In itself, the document really only sorted out the mechanics of how an enlarged organisation is going to work. However, it is a cipher for the discontentment of those who really do not like our engagement with the continent. Now that the Treaty has been ratified, the Conservative leader had no real choice but to abandon any thoughts of a referendum. Whether this damages him and his party’s hopes for the future and whether it re-opens old wounds remains to be seen.

This post was also published at Julian’s Blog.

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