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Parliamentary Affairs Vol. 62 No. 4, 2009, 663–672 COMMENTARY Taking the Temperature of the Political Elite 4: Labour, Chronicle of a Defeat Foretold? BY MICHAEL KENNY After Expenses The analogy that heads this series of commentary pieces—taking the temperature—has a medical connotation that has (rather fortuitously) become increasingly pertinent. For a while over the summer, as attacks upon politicians dominated the political scene, it looked as if ‘the pol- itical elite’ was indeed ailing quite badly. As I discussed in the previous piece in this series, there was much heady talk in May and early June of the urgent need for, and likelihood of, fundamental political reform. In some quarters this entailed projecting the anti-political fantasy that the current legislature would somehow be swept away by the right- eous anger of the people. Long-standing reformers saw this as a moment of incredible potential—a ‘once in a lifetime’ chance to secure a major package of constitutional reform. This perception was fuelled by a growing frustration at the reluctance of many mainstream poli- ticians to jump aboard the reforming bandwagon. ‘They just don’t get it ... ’ has been the recurrent cry of many constitutional radicals. Whether politicians have failed to
Parliamentary Affairs – Oxford University Press
Published: Oct 1, 2009
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