"Things can only get worse"

Depressed Labour activists are rumoured to have changed the words of Labour's adopted election anthem in 1997, substituting 'get worse' for 'get better'. The recent loss of the Glasgow by election to the SNP could of course be written off as a one off by election spectacular -except that it is not a one off. Labour has now defended 3 rock solid majorities in Parliamentary by elections since the 2005 General Election and they have lost every one. Dunfermline to the Liberal Democrats, Crewe to the Conservatives and Glasgow to the SNP.

Labour are now so unpopular that whoever the voters see as being best placed to defeat them in any particular constituency gets the votes. Not just in Parliamentary elections either. Labour has been voted out of power in the Welsh Assembly, the Scottish Parliament the London Mayoralty and in Local Government everywhere. This year for example they lost Derby and Sheffield to the Liberal Democrats and in a recent Council by election even lost Holmewood and Heath (to the Liberal Democrats), for the first time in history. It took Thatcher's Tories 18 years to reach this level from 1979 to 1997 but Labour have achieved it in just half the time

It is tempting to feel sorry for Gordon Brown. Tony Blair destroyed the Labour Party internally (driving away half its membership for example), abandoned Labour policies, became Bush's poodle and launched the illegal and disastrous invasion of Iraq. Then he got out just in time leaving Gordon to carry the can as rising world fuel and food prices added to the Government's woes.

But Gordon of course was Blair's Chancellor and right hand man from 1997 to 2007. He supported Blair, voted for policies such as the Iraq invasion and has continued all Blair's policies since becoming Prime Minister. Worse still the current slump in the Housing Market owes much to Gordon's lax regulation, as Chancellor, of finance and personal credit markets. Neither will repossessed home owners be able to get suitable Council Housing as Gordon has deliberately run down the stock of Council Housing with waiting lists already having nearly doubled across the country.

No wonder one Chesterfield Labour Councillor said after the Glasgow result "there's no point changing the Leader, it won't make any difference!"

Paul Holmes MP for Chesterfield.