I\u2019m in the process of reconsidering my election campaign in the light of the leaflets that have been coming through our door. I think I\u2019ve been making a mistake. So far, I\u2019ve been telling people what my policies are, but it seems that is not normal practice. What appears to be the acceptable method of campaigning is to use meaningless platitudes which sound all well and good until you start to scratch beneath the surface and realise they don\u2019t actually tell you anything. \u2018I will give my support to the local hospital\u2019, \u2018we support education\u2019. I\u2019m now going to try a few of my own to see how they work on you:<\/p>\n
\u2018We are a party that supports freedom.\u2019 Of course you might want to ask me for some specifics such as how this affects those imprisoned for serious crimes.<\/p>\n
\u2018We are in favour of renewable energy.\u2019 Your turn \u2013 ask me what I\u2019m actually going to do about it and what sort of renewable energy I favour. You could ask me a bit about whether I\u2019ve considered the environmental impact of it too.<\/p>\n
\u2018We will provide and additional \u00a32bn of funding for the NHS.\u2019 \u2013 it\u2019s getting good now – you need to ask me where I\u2019m going to get the money from. Am I going to increase the amount of tax you pay or cut funding to, for example, education. Money doesn\u2019t grow on trees, at least not the ones I\u2019ve been peeing against recently.<\/p>\n
You get the general idea. It strikes me that politicians treat the electorate as though they’re stupid and rely on them not bothering to look beyond the niceties to what is underneath. I guess they\u2019d get a big of a shock if we all started voting for honesty. \u2018Much as we\u2019d like to give more money to education, it is wasted on most children so we\u2019ll weed out the time wasters and focus on the ones that want to learn.\u2019 \u2018We can\u2019t afford to spend more and more in the NHS so anyone whose lifestyle has contributed to their condition will be refused treatment. That includes being a smoker, being overweight, being pregnant, injuring yourself playing sport, accidents while doing DIY, illness caused through excessive alcohol or other forms of merriment and any illness caught by being too sociable such as the common cold.\u2019 Do you think it will catch on?<\/p>\n
Alfie\u2019s Diary \u2013 the Book as well as our other books are available HERE<\/a><\/p>\n You can find short stories to read at www.alfiedog.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"