Sunday 15 December 2019

The Election Dilema

I was taking Holy Communion to an elderly parishioner (aged 99) on Monday. We were talking about today's vote and he said that he had voted in many elections and he could not recall when we had such a poor lot of potential prime ministers. He said that there was not a statesman (or woman) amongst the lot of them. I must admit that I agree with him I cannot say that I want any of them as the head of government. 
As for the would be members of cabinet, they are mostly a pretty poor lot. I know that in the UK we vote for a constituency MP and that the sovereign asks the person most likely to command a majority in the House to form a government. In reality it is becoming more like a presidential campaign - how many of us can name the would be Chancellor of the Exchequer, Home Secretary and Foreign Secretary of the major parties (without the use of google)?
If I lived in Stockport I would vote for my daughter Hélèna, but here in Bromley I am really stuck. Neither Johnson or Corbyn are fit to be Prime Minister; this is a great pity as I think that Bob Neil is a good local MP but a vote for him will help enable Johnson to be PM. Jo Swinson strikes me as a pretty ineffectual leader but I guess a vote for the LibDems may help prevent either Labour or the Conservatives from gaining an overall majority. So with a heavy heart...........!