Transport Policy

‘AND they’re off!

The 2001 Labour battlebus remains stuck in traffic

David Blunkett may have wandered off rather aimlessly on his own and other MPs may not be as sure of their footing as they once were, but the bulk of the Labour Party is treading the Third Way with gusto.

And there’s no need to push and shove because, as the Times reports, there’s plenty of room in the front line of the election campaign for anyone and everyone.

You see, Tony’s done away with the battlebus, the garishly liveried vehicle in which the leader travelled the country in the company of a team of well-oiled journalists.

This time round, Tony’s has told his Cabinet that he wants to “bypass the national media” and to meet and speak to the voters.

As Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Alan Milburn puts it, Labour’s strategy will be “more about people, less about issues”.

Oooh, that sounds good, doesn’t it? That’s a neat turn of phrase, a sound-bite, if you will.

What it means, we have not the foggiest, since it can be argued that issues affect people. Perhaps, Milburn means that Tony and Co. will no longer be talking about non-people, like foxes, asylum seekers and that Quinn woman?

But that’s not all, and over in the Telegraph Milburn has another line for the voters.

He tells the paper that the party’s slogan will be: “Britain is working – Don’t let the Tories wreck it.”

Granted, not as neat as his first salvo but there is just enough in it to instil a modicum of fear in the electorate and monster the opposition.

And it might just help us to understand another reason why the battlebus is going.

Well, you can’t talk about a dynamic Britain if you’re stuck in a traffic jam on the M25, can you?’

Posted: 21st, December 2004 | In: Uncategorized Comment | TrackBack | Permalink