Faith restored

I was beginning to think that everything had really changed, that politicians were going answer the questions asked of them. However little I might agree with their policies, the courtesy and intelligence shown by cabinet ministers were winning me over to the "new politics".

And then Eric Pickles appears on the BBC and everything is back to normal - questions evaded, contrary evidence scorned, questions answered that were never asked, the radio shouted at. It doesn't make me feel any better.

Awaiting the deluge (2)

So Cameron's speech is over and we are really not much further on. It's still the softening-up process and probably will be until the budget, though Clegg's message from yesterday was included. Tomorrow's instalment is a "framework" for the budget and spending review process.

All the figures he used (and there were few) could have been worked out (and often were) before the election, so the judgement that the situation is worse than anybody thought is as yet not demonstrated.

Once the budget has specified the sums available it will be up to us - all of us - to contribute to the debate about what should be spent on what, what should not be done at all, etc. He gave no idea of how this might be achieved - some sort of online process I assume - or how to convince people that they have actually been listened to.

Awaiting the deluge

Yesterday they tried to soften us up in the papers - Cameron all doom and gloom, Clegg not denying the scale of the cuts but promising no return to the sink-or-swim policies of the 80s. Keeping his members onside, or a gloss on the policy? "Progressive cuts" sounds incredible, but "intelligent cuts" may actually be the fall-back position.

So today comes Cameron's speech. The cuts will change the British way of life. There is talk of following the Canadian method of 20% across-the-board reductions. Then it is explained that the Canadians used a reform minister to rethink what government should do, and there is mention of public consultation so that we too are involved/implicated in the infliction of pain.