'96 Of The Best!
The Tories trail hopelessly in the opinion polls, the internecine strife supposedly ended by Dear John's 'courageous' resignation as Leader more bitter than ever. On the streets, the shadow of the Reaper still looms, as the knife culture shows no sign of diminishing and respect for people and property is all but forgotten. And finally, on the games field, we witness once again the sorry spectacle of a succession of English batsmen trailing to and from the pavilion with, in between, brief exhibitions of such crass, thoughtless incompetence that one understands why their wages are among the lowest in sport!
If 1995 was a bad year for Britain, there were moments of high drama and low comedy to lighten the gloom. The summer was the best for 20 years, during which the nation commemorated VE and VJ Days in a thoroughly wholesome and uplifting spirit. Even the troubled Royals seemed able to forget their woes and display some dignity as the well-behaved crowds gathered along the Mall.
As usual, whenever the sun shines for more than two consecutive days, churlish newspaper commentators deplored the fact that people of both sexes dared to wear shorts instead of trousers and actually kiss in public! Their prurience and petulance were rightly ignored. Meanwhile, the Wimbledon tennis championship was uninterrupted by rain for the first time in living memory; and our cricketers even provided a new (albeit false) dawn by not losing to the West Indies!
In Northern Ireland, the men of violence remained inactive, and 'Buffalo' Bill Clinton strode into Belfast and Dublin to either give a much-needed boost to the region or to carry out a sickly PR exercise, depending on one's standpoint. At the very least, it delivered a boot to the backsides of Messrs. Major and Bruton and forced them back to the negotiating table.
Elsewhere, too, it appeared that the cause of peace could be celebrated. Israel and the PLO met, talked and even shook hands: a new era was about to begin. But it proved too much for the diehard Jews and Rabin, the focus of their fury as architect of the 'betrayal', paid with his life. It must be hoped that a lasting settlement can be reached, in which case his sacrifice will not have been in vain.
The domestic agenda was dominated by the near disintegration of the Conservative Party and the further steps forward taken by New Labour. When Dear John called a press conference in the garden of No.10, the country held its breath...was he going to call it a day? Well, yes and no. By tendering his resignation as Leader of his party but not as Prime Minister, his reported brinkmanship and cunning were for once visible to all. It must have been a nasty shock to find a Cabinet colleague, even one to whom he had behaved shabbily, stand against him in the contest that followed. Unfortunately, for those who wish to see firm government and a clear path forward, Redwood's challenge was somewhat premature and the forces aligned against him proved too great once Tarzan and his apes had been sufficiently bribed to remain loyal.
How great an opportunity was lost may never be known if, as expected, Labour romp home to a '96 Election victory. The rise of Blair and his new improved agenda ("take two parties into the booth? Not me, I use New Labour for all my voting requirements...!") has been linked partly to the fact that they have said as little as possible about anything other than the woeful performance of the government. Indeed, silence is golden in the world of politics: the only rise in the opinion polls recorded by the Conservatives was during the summer recess when they scattered to all parts of the globe and allowed the spotlight to fall on Labour's disagreements. Perhaps the solution for the Tories would be to call for an 11-month recess, during which no politician may talk to anyone connected with the media.
'95 was a year of some unforgettable sights: the devastation caused by the Kobe earthquake; a gutted skyscraper in Oklahoma and a dying baby in a fireman's arms; Cantona's crazed antics at Selhurst Park; fireworks and fly-pasts over Buckingham Palace; Diana's squirming Panorama interview; and the cold-blooded murder of Headmaster Philip Lawrence. Good things; bad things; indifferent things...just another year.
So what does '96 promise? The first Labour government since 1979? England to be crowned European Champions at Wembley? Emma Nicholson to join the Monster Raving Loony Party?
Ah, well, we can but dream!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
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