Monday 7 May 2012

Distracting Issues

Mr Osborne added that the Government would "learn" from the verdict delivered at the ballot box on Thursday.
He told BBC1's The Andrew Marr Show: 'I think what people are saying is focus on the things that really matter, focus on the economy and on education and welfare.
'Focus on those things, don't get distracted by too many other issues.'
A tiny flicker of realisation from one of our Westminster wallies. Do we believe that these 'distracting issues' might include minimum pricing and plain packs and that they should be ditched? Nah, course not, they only got a slight spanking at the polls, not a brain enlargement operation.

On the futility of banning colour schemes to make health warnings more visible and frightening, for example, if only Gideon would listen to anti-smoking advocate Gerard Hastings.
Fear messages are important. The first step in tobacco control is to inform people of the dangers of smoking. But repeating this to a population that knows it, two thirds of whom already want to quit, is of questionable value. To return to our initial example, there comes a point where the theatre-goer shouting “fire” is reduced to the irritation of a malfunctioning alarm. Furthermore, searching for evermore powerful warnings is fruitless. There is no ultimate deterrent in smoking, no mother of all health warnings that will finally alert smokers to the error of their ways.
Though written a while ago, his conclusion is strangely ironic.
All we have to do is be a better friend to the smoker than the tobacco industry. Surely we can manage that.
One might say the same about Cameron and Clegg's government.

If they can't manage to be more popular than a Labour party which ripped up civil liberties, bullied its public, signed away vast tranches of our sovereignty, engaged in two unpopular wars, and bankrupted the nation for decades to come, there really are no limits to their ineptitude.

UPDATE: Cameron agrees.
The message people are sending is this: focus on what matters, deliver what you promise – and prove yourself in the process. I get it.
He 'gets it', does he? Deliver what was promised, eh?

Forgive me for asking, but can anyone point to the part in either the Tory or Lib Dem manifestos which mentioned minimum pricing or plain packaging?


2 comments:

junican41 said...

"The message people are sending is this: focus on what matters, deliver what you promise – and prove yourself in the process. I get it."

No, Cameron. Your words are just meaningless sound-bites. The message is that you are liars and thieves and incompetent opportunists. The message is that you are being advised by Holy Zealots, not only in the Health Dept, but everywhere in the government. You need to get some hard-headed MINISTERS - not servants of the Holy Zealots. Clear out the Holy Zealots from every department. GET REAL!!



















""

truckerlyn said...

You pathetic policitians, sitting in the lap of luxury on God only knows what planet, but it ain't this one, WAKE UP to the REAL WORLD and then, just maybe you will start to see what really needs dealing with in order to get this God forsaken country back on its feet!

What it most certainly DOES NOT NEED is any more bloody personal interference from a load of puppets whose attitude seems to be "We're all right Jack, so sod the rest of you".  No more nannying, no more telling us what is best for us - this could only work in Cloud Cuckoo Land and only then if everyone of us were exactly the same, BUT WE ARE NOT AND NEVER WILL BE!

As for the majority of voters in this country, you too need to wake up and no matter that you have always voted for the same party, these parties are no longer what they were, they no longer stand for what they did even 20 years ago.  Stop burying your heads in the sand and look at the alternatives.  The only way to stop the rot is to NOT vote for any of the main 3 parties because no matter what they say in their manifestos they are too bloody arrogant to give a toss about any of us, unless we fund them well financially!

Thanks, DP, rant over and boy, that feels just a little bit better!