THE GREEN SLIME TENDENCY.......

Other bloggers have had a field-day over the Peter Mandelson slime incident. Much joshing about guacamole and variations on he-had-it-coming.

Actually, I have always taken the view that eggs, custard or whatever unguents one chooses to chuck are probably not the best way of getting your point across. But the reasons why people feel compelled to adopt such desperate tactics are really very simple. Increasingly, they feel utterly frustrated by the lack of democracy and the fact that the Government often rides roughshod over the silent majority. The Heathrow issue is a case in point. No vote in Parliament, no mandate for those whose homes, schools and hospitals would be bulldozed by the plans. No power to do anything much other than protest as loudly as possible in the hope one's voice will eventually be heard. The same is true over Royal Mail privatisation and the Welfare Reform Bill. At the rally I attended last week, people were visibly angry that a Labour adminstration should be targetting those most vulnerable and on benefits while failed bankers are bailed out with very few visible strings. So, while not a follower of the slime tendency myself, I do hope it gave Peter Mandelson some food for thought.