Sackless

The Tories managed only twenty-eight per cent of thirty-five per cent, with both Labour and the Lib Dems doing considerably worse even than that.

But their media drinking mates (and mating mates) since Freshers’ Week or even earlier are as unconcerned to report this as they are to report the colossal scandal of David Cameron’s fraudulent billing of the taxpayer to pay his mortgage, an offence compounded by the fact that he is worth thirty million pounds anyway, so had no need of a mortgage even on so opulent a third property.

Note how UKIP is still “minor” even though it has come second and beaten Labour in a national election.

And note how the story of the night, other than the non-existent Tory “triumph”, is the “rise” of the BNP, which in fact scraped the last seat in each of two large regions, but failed to win anything in several other strongholds of the white working class, not even the one containing the Channel ports and with 10 seats to fill.

Yet this doesn’t matter: the Great Unwashed stands exposed, and a whole host of opinions and concerns can now be written off as “BNP”, thereby closing off any possible debate about them. My suspicion grows by the day that these stupid people are unknowingly paid dupes of the spooks. Either that, or the powers that be have got lucky beyond their wildest imaginings.

In Iran, they have the Council of Guardians. In Britain, we have Fleet Street and the BBC. If anything, our system is even worse. The Iranian arrangements simply stop people from standing in the first place, which is at least honest. Furthermore, they allow through a considerably greater and more representative diversity of opinion than can expect to be taken with the slightest seriousness, either by almost anyone in Fleet Street, or by anyone at all in the BBC.

The argument that they have to give more coverage to those who have already done well is not only worthless and absurd (as well as illegal in practice), but also unadhered to by those who advance it. Had Martin Bell already done well at the ballot box? Has Esther Rantzen? How many former MPs, or serving trade union general secretaries, were BNP candidates? Had all the organisations backing No2EU – Yes To Democracy significantly, or indeed any, fewer councillors than the BNP? Has the SLP? And so one could go on. (Incidentally, is George Galloway standing again? If not, then John Rowe might give the seat where he himself used to be agent a go.)

We, the voters, have just sacked the old parties. Told them to collect their cards and get out. Yet they remain in post at our expense (since we are paying for almost their every activity), because it is not up to us. I am not a journalist-hating blogger or anything like that. Very far from it, in fact. Just as I believe passionately that there should be politicians but mostly not the present ones, so I believe passionately that there should be political journalists but mostly not the present ones.

How do we bring that about?