Labour - Preparing The Ground For What ?

I despair of this Government. I'm starting to get a John Major impression, that the policies get more and more short term and less and less thought out. The decision to liberalise drinking hours while simultaneously worrying about violent assaults being one example. But there are many more. Remember Prescott's pledge about the number of cars on the road ?

One particularly depressing story was the news that Labour want to introduce votes by text, in an effort to get more young voters involved. Not because the higher the turnout the better the democracy, but because "If the proportion of young voters increased, experts believe it would benefit Labour. One opinion poll earlier this year showed a majority of three to one in favour of Labour against the Tories."

Going for the Pop Idol vote in this way may have unintended consequences. What happens when a politically radical teen idol emerges ?

If Labour get their wish, half of all eighteen year olds will soon be in higher education. While this may (or may not) be a good thing, they will to some extent be insulated from the real world and therefore more attracted to a utopian, radical programme. Just think back to your student days. This effect would be greater still if we had votes at sixteen. And I'm sure that's just what some young Labour policy wonks would love.

But you may find your young texters are attracted to a different kind of radicalism and utopianism.

I wrote some months back "I see no sign at all of any (similar) youth movement on the Right. When the coolest kids in school self-identify as nationalists, when their bands are in the charts and girls wear 'My Boyfriend Is An Englishman' shirts - that'll be where the kind of fascism the Left disapproves of begins.

So if you want to prevent fascism, stop creating the objective conditions for it."

I hadn't read this article then.

"The most startling revelation of the report, entitled 539 voters' views: a voting behaviour study in three northern towns, is that, in the areas studied, the younger one is the more likely one is to vote BNP. Around one in three of 18-25 year-olds said that they voted for the BNP. 46 per cent said they had voted for the BNP on a previous occasion. While the Labour Party had strong support among older age groups, hardly anyone in the 18-25 category voted Labour. In this age group, large numbers of young men have been attracted to the BNP's message - making it the only party whose support is predominantly male.

The report suggests that other parties are failing to engage with this group of young men."

539 voters is not a large sample. But this is not necessarily a comforting message. When the girls come on board - that could be the pivotal moment. We shall see in a month. They are ringing their mobiles. But soon they will be wringing their hands.