Despite the fact that heard-pressed Britons are having a tough time trying to pay their bills, and seeing their cost of living rising, their wage packets falling, crime rising, and our civil liberties are being eroded, one stupid Labour government minister says:
“SO WHY IS EVERYBODY BLODDY MISERABLE?”
The minister, Tom Harris, caused public anger over what he wrote on his weblog:
“We live longer, eat healthier (if we choose), have better access to forms of entertainment never imagined a generation ago (satellite TV, DVD, computer games), the majority of us have accessto the worldwide web, which we use to enable even more spending and for entertainment. Crime is down…”
When the scandal broke, he made a hollow apology for his insensitive remarks, then went to defend himself on BBC Radio:
“I’m not belittling the genuine problems people are facing. I do think there is a more deep-seated cultural, possibly spiritual problem in this country where, is it about consumerism, is it about the instant gratification society, are we finding that buying stuff just doesn’t make us as happy as we thought?”
Well, Mr Harris, it’s your government that is creating these conditions. A generation ago, people didn’t have these things, but most of us were happy. Very little has been done to arrest the real problem of inequality, where many of us in this country do not have the right to a decent life. The gap between the wealthy and the rest has widened under this government- this would embarrass the Labour party of the past.
It seems that you spend a lot of time writing on your blog than doing your job as a minister. When facing such huge problems at the moment, I suggest you should give up the blog, and concentrate on taking your ministerial duties seriously.