A few random thoughts about the Norwich North by-election
Lots appears to have been said about the Tory success in Norwich North, won by 27-year-old Chloe Smith.
At various times in the past, Tory boss David Cameron has been likened to Tony Blair - style of substance, king of substance, faux man of the people and so on.
Now, Tony Mk II has a Ruth Kelly Mk II by his side - Chloe Smith not only sounds likes her, but also has many of her mannerisms.
But that slur to one side, is 27 really old enough to seriously represent a constituency in parliament?
I'd argue not. Just think about the vast array of issues she'll have to face from constituents. To be able to actively campaign on their behalf inside the bubble, Chloe needs to be able to empathise with those issues.
At the age of 27, has she had enough life experience? Has she experienced enough to be able to empathise with people facing those challenges. Are issues such as hospital waiting lists, redundancies, tax credits, impact of crime on quality of life and so on anything more than "the things which upset people" which MPs suddenly claim have been solved by her party?
Does entering parliament at the age of 27, hell even getting selected to stand for parliament at the age of 27, make Chloe anything other than just a career politician who will get sucked into the political bubble which is controlled by spin and strategy?
Maybe that is doing her a terrible dis-service but time will tell.
A few other things, starting with David Cameron:
- It's not an historic election result for the Tories, despite what Cameron says. The Tories have benefitted massively from the ill-feeling towards Labour as a result of the way they treated Ian Gibson, who stood down after the expenses scandal
- There's no point complaining about negative campaigns or lies from the opposition, ie Labour, if you don't actually tell people what your plans are. On one hand, Cameron complained that Labour claimed the Tories would scrap free bus passes, various tax benefits and other OAP government support. But on the other, he won't stipulate what he means by "reigning in public spending." By coming out with wishy-washy statements like this, Cameron leaves himself open to people doing the sums for him. That's politics.
- The Tories claiming they can be the party of change won't work as a general election strategy - after all, there appear to have been as many Tory snouts in the trough over expenses as there were Labour ones.
And as for Gordon Brown:
- Don't decry the Tories success. Yes, they might have got in on fewer votes than it took to make them second last time, but where is your vote?
- Perhaps if you'd done a Cameron, and actually faced the voters in Norwich North, you'd have done better.
That's all for now.
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David Higgerson - David Higgerson has covered local and national politics for much of his career as a journalist. This blog aims to look at Westminister from the outside in, at a time when it appears very few are looking out from the inside.
A Pratt at 27 is normally a Pratt at 57. on the other hand a wise women at 16 is normally a wise women at 57.
Age has sod all to do with being an MP because you learn pretty quick, or are you saying we are wiser at an older age, if thats so what the hell went wrong with Brown....
Hi Robert. I'm not saying wiser at an old age, but I am saying that life experience should make you a better MP because you're more likely to have a better understanding of what your constituents talk to you about. If you go "into the bubble" too early, then it's only to be expected that your view of the outside world becomes distorted, and more likely to be based on statistics, government initiatives, reports and party politics.