by Mike Blakeney
Opposition is warm and fluffy. It is great to be liked.
I joined the Labour party when times were at their toughest. Tony had left, we had Gordon, and the public were increasingly upset with the party. My joining could only be described as a crazed act of masochism.
Yet we soldiered on through adversity, safe in the knowledge that we were making a difference.
Now we are doing better in the polls, comedians tease our opponents and Question Time audiences cheer our MPs. Surely we should be happy again? But, rightly, we’re miserable.
Miserable because we see the devastation that is happening to our public services and we are powerless to stop it. That is what happens in opposition. It’s warm, it’s fluffy and people agree with you. But ultimately it’s soul-destroying.
Not long after joining the party I was told that, “The greatest leaders are liked and respected, but if you have to make a choice, be respected”.
