Imbued With Arrogance

Some may have noted that UKIP this weekend have come under heavy fire from the Conservatives, an ill-disguised act of desperation by a party who are worried about Thursday's local elections. Of course if the main parties truly wanted to negate the UKIP threat then actually listening to the voters might help. But that would be too inconvenient.

In true Cameronesque style though it looks like the Tory tactics in the main are backfiring. It is rather amusing, and informative, however to watch the establishment squirm as they perceive a real threat to their comfortable status quo.

With that in mind, we note that the so-called buffoon Boris Johnson has waded in. I've made my feelings clear about him before. He's not a man to be underestimated in terms of power and ambition - the facade of buffoonery may have fooled Ken Livingstone during the London Mayoral elections - but it shouldn't fool us. In this we have further evidence in his latest article in the Telegraph - effectively titled "c'mon along chaps everything is all ok:

[Farage]’s a blooming Conservative, for heaven’s sake; and yet he’s in our constituencies, wooing our audiences, nicking our votes, and threatening to put our councillors out of office.

Behind the floppy blond hair we have assertions of "our constituencies", "our audiences", "our votes", "our councillors". None once does it occur to him (or does he care) that it is the electorates' votes, the electorates' constituencies, the electorates' councillors. I mean how dare other parties "steal Tory votes?" Boris Johnson articulating exactly the arrogance of the Tories, and indirectly also of the establishment. And he does it because he can.

Perhaps the Tories think he might make a better replacement for Cameron but if even he does become leader, for the rest of us it will be more of the same. We need another way.