There was no need for Lord Young to resign

By Bryony Victoria King / @bryonyVK

Lord Young made a significant faux pas this week by claiming that most Britons had “never had it so good” during the “so-called recession”, an unfortunate and ill-judged choice of words perhaps but worth him resigning over? No, not really.

When I first heard the highly quoted remarks my main thoughts were something along the lines of ‘what a stupid and insensitive thing to say considering the circumstances’ although I was also slightly amused, mainly because of the blatant ludicrousness of it and lets face it – because it was a good anti-Tory story and showed some of the real thinking of their party. My other thought was ‘who on earth let him say that?’ because I find it very unlikely that Lord Young woke up in the morning and suddenly decided to use that choice of words all on his own. Just as I find it highly unlikely that he took it upon himself to resign.

His statement seems to me an attempted piece of spin that was completely misjudged and did not work out the way it was expected. I’m sure that prior to making these remarks it was thought by many involved that a significant amount of people would believe them and in fairness some people probably have “never had it so good” recently. Bankers, loan sharks and Nick Clegg, for example, seem to have done rather well out of the recession. Depending on your job and your mortgage, you too could be considered as having a “good” recession.

The outcry that erupted over his remarks and the celebration by many that Lord Young had “resigned”, however, was rather a waste of time. Rubbing our hands together and saying it is a good thing that he has gone is not going to change anything. It is not going to change attitudes within the Conservative Party, it’s not highlighting their current dangerous cuts agenda and it is not going to change the circumstances of those who really aren’t having it so good due to the recession. Lord Young is simply a scapegoat who made Dave look bad so he had to go. What this incident does emphasise are the attitudes within the Conservative Party that are unacceptable. Lord Young’s comments like “there will be people who complain, but these are people who think they have a right for the state to support them” are rather reminiscent of Thatcherism, but getting rid of one man does not eradicate these views. In reality, he was just giving an honest opinion, however much you disagree with it.

The real guilty party in this whole sorry arena of political theatre, I feel, is David Cameron. He has happily accepted Lord Young’s resignation, condemning and distancing himself from his comments, sticking the metaphorical knife in his back whilst privately, more than likely, agreeing with all of his comments.