John Marriott

By John Marriott Columnist

We are barely two weeks into what will mercifully be a relatively short general election campaign and I’m already, as a bystander, suffering from election fatigue.

I suppose that, given my background, I ought to know better; I never cease to be amazed by how the parties are capable of manipulating the public consciousness with their staged ‘events’ and promises to do this and that and their unfailing inability precisely to explain how all of their proposals will be financed. It would seem that, if previous experience is anything to go by and judging by the various vox pops currently doing the rounds, many of the public appear to have fallen for this form of deception yet again.

The idea of a General Election used to be, in theory, to elect someone to represent you in parliament. The aim was that, after all the new MPs were assembled, they then voted to form a government; but we appear to have moved on from this idealistic position. Nowadays it would seem that, when most voters enter the polling booth, the first thing they look for on their ballot paper is the party logo. It’s pretty clear how the Tories and, to a lesser extent, Labour are playing this.

To all intents and purposes what our general elections have become is a kind of quasi presidential contest. Who leads appears to be far more important than who actually governs.

As far as Lincolnshire is concerned, this election ought to be a cakewalk for the Tories, especially now that the UKIP ‘challenge’ appears to be waning. The only seat that has changed hands in living memory around here has been Lincoln. What are the chances of it happening this time, given that the Labour candidate failed only last month to win a County Council seat?

I know that voting in general elections is not quite the same; but it makes you wonder, doesn’t it? At least, for a change, she is local as opposed to previous candidates having been parachuted in. Add to that the fact that the Tories finished 4/4 with Labour in the city a few weeks ago and given the unpopularity of the current Tory incumbent in certain quarters, you could have an interesting contest here at least. As for the other county constituencies, it seems highly unlikely under our present voting system.

It’s what may happen in the rest of the country that may prove more interesting. Various scenarios are on offer, in no particular order. Mrs May could sweep all before her, basing her campaign deliberately on Brexit. Mr Corbyn could turn out to be a Michael Foot Mark Two, drawing ecstatic crowds of true believers armed with a wish list of promises, which could prove to be the second longest suicide note in history. Mr Farron, with his Boy Scout enthusiasm, trying to hoover up all those Remainers, may manage to secure the odd extra victory despite his party’s rather stagnant opinion poll ratings; but there is still a mountain to climb for a party badly and arguably unfairly trashed in 2015 that will take more than one general election to conquer.

As you can see, I’m in a bit of a quandary. What I want from a political party is honesty. In fairness, the nearest I have seen at the moment is the proposal from the Lib Dems to put 1p on all bands of Income Tax to be spent exclusively on the NHS and Social Care. However, as it is the avowed aim of the party, according to its leader, to be the official opposition, how is this proposal to be achieved in the short term? Very few people are prepared, it would seem, to countenance paying higher direct taxes, so that is why so often indirect taxation such as VAT has been to go-to option for so many governments in the past. And then, of course, there’s the overseas aid budget, isn’t there?

What is there not to like about Labour’s plans? Why, they’re even kept Trident (subject to a proposed Defence Review)! In a world of motherhood and apple pie all this would be fine; but, unfortunately, the world in which we live isn’t like that. Clobbering the rich will simply not deliver the kind of programmes that most people would find desirable. Raising Corporation Tax when we will probably need to keep big business on board when HMS Great Britain faces the high seas of Brexit may not be a sound move either.

Unless something dramatic occurs in the time remaining, the cynic in me cannot see further than a Tory landslide, and not only in Lincolnshire. Whether this is deserved is another matter; but, given the state of the opposition, who would argue against it?

However, even if this happens, there are problems to tackle at home that will not go away whether we are part of the EU or not. They certainly won’t wait for Brexit negotiations to conclude. They need sorting out now, and the only way many can be sorted out is for us all, and I mean all except those who currently earn so little that they are exempt for Income Tax, to put their hands in their pockets and pay a little more. You can blame immigration, the EU, the bankers, foreign aid etc. if you want; but until a political party is totally honest with the electorate, we are going to have to put up with this tiring charade.

John was a councillor for thirty years, finally retiring in 2017. A schoolteacher by profession, he served on the North Hykeham Town Council (1987-2011), the North Kesteven District Council (1987-1999, 2001-2007) and the Lincolnshire County Council (2001-2017). He was also a County Council member of the former Lincolnshire Police Authority for eight years until standing down in 2009. In 1997 he was the Lib Dem Parliamentary candidate for Sleaford and North Hykeham. He is currently not a member of any political party.

By John Marriott Columnist

Well, the cynic in me might reckon that it was a smart move on my part to quit while I was ahead. Quite frankly, I doubt whether I would have survived the cull of non Tory members that took place last Thursday had I decided to stand again for the county council.

At least I have a framed certificate from LCC thanking me for 16 years of “dedicated service”, which now has pride of place in my conservatory until my wife decides it has to join my other ‘souvenirs’ in the loft!

Don’t get the idea that I was the only about-to-be ex councillor to be singled out. All those departing received a certificate and the longest serving member (1977-2017) also received a small gift, a nice gesture, about which, I am sure, some council tax payers will complain.

I wonder whether those sitting members, who chanced their arm once again but met with defeat last Thursday, will receive something as well.

The Tory victory on May 4 means a return business as usual at County Hall after four years of No Overall Control. To be honest, I had an inkling that the party might be heading for virtual hegemony in the county as being a Tory is part of many people’s DNA around here.

I also had a feeling that UKIP, which started the last four year cycle as the second largest group and over the next four years gradually leeched members, was going to struggle now that its raisin d’être had to all intents and purposes disappeared following the 2016 Referendum. You could see that the danger signs were there within a few weeks of their success in 2013 when three members deserted to form the intriguingly named ‘An Independence from Europe’ Party!

The Tory supremacy in Lincolnshire has much to do, in my opinion, with the age profile of the electorate.

Many people reckon that the older you get the more likely you are to support a conservative philosophy.

The percentage of over 65s in the county, who are more likely to vote compared with those under 40 in particular, is the highest in the East Midlands if not the country as a whole. Outside of immigration from abroad, most internal immigrants to Lincolnshire have for many years been middle aged or retirees. These people tend to vote Conservative.

At the other end of the age profile we find that many qualified twenty to thirty year olds, whose political philosophy, if indeed they have one, may be more varied, are forced to leave the county to go to areas where career opportunities are greater.

I think that, with 58 members out of 70, this is the largest majority achieved by any party since Lincolnshire County Council was formed in 1974. In fact the Tories might have to create their own opposition if the other 12 members can’t get together and get up to speed.

For new members operating effectively at this important level of local government can be a steep learning curve.

And let’s not forget that not even one third of the electorate bothered to vote in the first place.

It’s galling to think that, with many totalitarian regimes still operating around the world, over two thirds of our voters, when given a realistic chance of influencing events, don’t appear to give a damn either way. Let’s hope it’s different in a month’s time.

Whatever you think about the county council, whose days might still be numbered if that consultation on local government restructuring already planned for September comes up with a positive verdict, it’s still a billion pound organisation one step down from national government.

It’s got some tough decisions to make in the next few years as the funding from central government on which it depends continues to shrink, funding which cannot be made up by raising council tax to the sort of level needed without a local referendum, which it would struggle to win.

I assume that certain opposition members will still be offered the opportunity of providing chairs and vice chairs of some of the various scrutiny committees. That could be a problem as might be the divvying out of committee places based on the number of members each party or grouping has.

The Lib Dems’ sole councillor, a new boy on the council, may not have many meetings to attend on this basis. I don’t envy him, nor do I envy the ‘Leader’ of the Lincolnshire Independents, whose empire has crumbled to one. Mind you, knowing how she operates, it wouldn’t surprise me if she isn’t already launching a recruiting drive amongst the other four Independent members and possibly the Lib Dem member as well.

As for the official opposition, all six of them, I wonder what attitude they will take. Judging by the reaction from national Labour Party members, when questioned by the media following the relative rout of their party in the local elections, perhaps that dose of reality will only kick in after next month’s general election.

So, assuming he remains Leader, the much maligned Councillor Martin Hill, possibly like Theresa May if she wins big next month, will be able to do exactly what he wants. I don’t envy either him or her. I

If the vote last Thursday really was a bellwether for the General Election then these two politicians, both local and national, face an uphill task in delivering on promises made. Given the cuts still in the pipeline for councils, which could get worse if Mrs May’s Brexit talks go wrong, Councillor Hill and his 57 Tory colleagues could be left holding a poisoned chalice.

John was a councillor for thirty years, finally retiring in 2017. A schoolteacher by profession, he served on the North Hykeham Town Council (1987-2011), the North Kesteven District Council (1987-1999, 2001-2007) and the Lincolnshire County Council (2001-2017). He was also a County Council member of the former Lincolnshire Police Authority for eight years until standing down in 2009. In 1997 he was the Lib Dem Parliamentary candidate for Sleaford and North Hykeham. He is currently not a member of any political party.