Notice The Clear Change In Direction

So just how is Labour recovering from their recent electoral trouncings across the country? How are they taking on board the argument that they are out of touch, and aren’t “listening” to people’s real concerns? What changes are being made?

A few small examples from just the last couple of days. First, the BBC reports:

The Post Office has announced the closure of 65 branches across Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire with the first branches going next month…

…During that time, a number of local campaigns to save branches were started…

So they still aren’t really listening in this case especially to older constituents, for whom a local post office is often vital.

Next, The Mail:

…Learner drivers will only be able to pass their test with the aid of professional paid-for tuition - costing families up to £1,400 a year in lesson fees, the Government is due to announce…

…The survey of more than 17,000 AA members, in conjunction with research company Populus, showed 73% supported a compulsory 40 hours of tuition, but only 27% of 18-24 year-olds backed this…

And AOL UK explains the motivation:

…Ms Kelly said: “Every year more than 750,000 people pass their driving test. New drivers are keen to gain the freedom driving offers them to access further education, jobs or keep in touch with family and friends.

“But too many new drivers are involved in road accidents and are not properly prepared for driving alone.”…

Here, they aren’t listening to young voters. Naturally, instead of emphasizing better pre-test training, Labour moves to make the test harder. And that also making earning a license more bureaucratic and expensive (Labour specialities, as we know) might well in total lead larger numbers of failed applicants to drive around unlicensed? A non-issue, of course.

Next, back to the BBC:

Cannabis is to be reclassified as a class B drug, Jacqui Smith has said…

…The move from class C means the maximum prison sentence for possessing cannabis rises from two years to five years…

…In its report, Cannabis: Classification And Public Health, the advisory council described cannabis as a “significant public health issue”.

But it said it should still remain a class C drug, as the risks were not as serious as those of class B substances, such as amphetamines and barbiturates…

Above, they aren’t listening to expert advice that they themselves had sought out. Prisons are bursting to the point where armed robbers are sent to open prisons from which they simply decide to leave, and now Labour wants to put more people behind bars for cannabis. But, then again, quite a few Labour politicians do know something about the drug, including, we seem to recall, the home secretary herself.

Lastly:

Environment Secretary Hilary Benn has rejected claims by a committee of MPs that Britain’s flood preparations are in a “chaotic state”…

And they aren’t apparently much listening even to other MPs. Indeed, this issue then goes down an even more predictable route:

…Mr Benn said he “welcomed” the committee’s report but said action was already being taken to improve readiness for another major incident.

Changes to the planning laws would make it more difficult for homeowners to “concrete over” their front gardens- which he said was one of the causes of surface water flooding.

The truth is that if we concrete over, pave over, tarmac over ground in our towns and cities and it rains like that then the drains get overwhelmed and the select committee recognises that,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme…

Good, we’ve gotten there: it is the fault of — you guessed it — homeowners. That “the truth is” that it might well first be best to clean out the drains regularly is obviously not thinking expansively enough. After all, as everybody knows, councils these days far more urgently require “climate change officers“, than drain clearers.

Also “true” to form, you know where this is heading ultimately: they are looking for an excuse to prevent people from reasonably doing what they want with their own property. Pretty impressive the overall tone change since last week, isn’t it? Thus the renewed, listening Labour government in action, in its post-local election-drubbing, we’ve heard the message, humble best.

Russia’s New Leader, Introduced To Us By The Independent

The Independent home page this morning has his photo and next to it the well-positioned links to stories that will obviously help us better understand a rather unfamiliar, new world leader:

One thing I noticed: good grief but that Mr Medvedev closely resembles Sen Obama? Doesn’t he?