ealing comedy

Ealing comedy

I didn't take the chance to vote in our local bye election today,

called due to the death of the Labour incumbent, and oldest MP in the

House. Although my fervour for rubber stamping the Westminster

parliament is waning, this should be an interesting time in UK

politics, with all three parties nursing relatively new leaders.

My little bit of Ealing is at the poorer end of the mainly affluent

West London. A large slab of Anglo lower middle class mix happily with

the growing Polish community. Houses are posher towards Ealing Green,

and shabbier towards Brentford. On my walk to the Piccadilly line I

will pass urchins on bikes, a gaggle of old men by a small Syrian

church running mincabs, students going to the local college, maybe an

antipodean playing a didgeridoo. A typical neighbourhood.

So you will not be surprised to hear that 10 out of the 12 candidates

are Asian, and mainly of Sikh origin. The English Democrat party

candidate and the UKIP candidate are, oddly, not the exceptions. As

our constituency covers Southall, the parties need only court the well

established Hindu and Sikh community to control the seat. Only the

Official Monster Raving Loony Party and the Greens failed to find a

brown face.

As usual, a week before the election we get a bunch of leaflets

introducing candidates that have had little or no public exposure, and

fuck all time to run a campaign. Most mention the usual guff and

include the family "I'm probably not gay" picture. Some remember that

the planned tram route was a local issue, but most don't mention it.

Some mention Iraq, as if it is a large Tesco superstore being built on

a kids playground.

Most of the candidates and campaign managers seem to have defected

from other parties. The Tory candidate, a local businesman and "life

long Tory" has quite recently given money to the Labour party. The

UKIP candidate was a Lib dem. The Lib Dems have a Tory defector in

their ranks. And of course no election is complete without voting

irregularities.

An apathetic Lib Dems supporter rang me at home asking which way I

intended to vote. If he knew anything about his candidate, the issues

or policies he certainly didn't feel like telling me. I suspect I am

distracting him from finishing a mildly difficult Sudoko.

As backbenchers have no power, and are usually bypassed for any

decisions by their own side, it's only natural that those interested

in doing things go elsewhere. Being an MP probably improves your

chances of getting onto Celebrity Big Brother, but that's about it.

Expect to see more join the race for London Mayor, even if that means