A NIGHT TO REMEMBER

I take everything back, I fecking hate the English.  

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OK, I'm a little bit drunk and high as a kite on hope.  I have, intermittedly for sure, been involved in many (Labour) campaigns over the decades, but I have that same feeling I had in 1997, when, after 18 years of tory rule, we had that break through with Tony Blair.  I raised a glass of champagne to TB that night, for sure.  But turned out, Tony Blair wasn't anything like Jeremy Corbyn.  He didn't just snuggle up with the tories, he got into bed with them.  It was Blair, remember who introduced ATOS.  

He wanted to represent all sides, the working classes, the upwardly mobile and the established elite.  He divided Labour, as never before, New Labour represented the workers, but they represented the bosses too.  His naïve, ill thought out, legacy, bizarrely still inspires those who would could themselves, the Centre ground.  Blair contributed to the destruction of the few powers the working classes had, and indeed inspired the tory government that followed him to take them further.  Ergo we have had over a decade where the dominant ideology has been to blame the poor and the immigrants for all of the UK's woes.

Historians will know that leaders throughout every age and every government, has used the politics of blaming ethnic and religious minorities for everything that goes wrong.  Divide and rule.  If all we diverse people, joined together, we could overpower them in a nanosecond.   But we haven't.  Mostly because we are educated (indoctrinated) to believe that a certain section of society knows better than we do.  As a child of the 60's I would have said newspapers, politicians, the BBC, don't lie - now I laugh at my former naivety.   

Tonight, the YouGov polls, and indeed all the polls owned by Tory ministers and newspaper barons, are saying the Boris et al, are heading for a majority.  Do we believe them or our 'lying eyes', the massive number of young people (bless you) queuing in the rain to vote.  The record turnout, even in areas like mine where the tory old gammon has had way too long in power.

Tonight will be a Night to Remember, my plan A is to stay up and watch every result as it comes in and hopefully chat to those similarly minded during the night.  I know all those with their fingers and toes crossed right now, won't dare to hope for more than a hung parliament, but I honestly don't think that will happen.  Labour will win.  Decisively.  When hardened old tories like Peter Oborne state they will vote for Jeremy Corbyn, we know the tide has turned.  All over the country, even tories who despise JC, will vote Labour rather than hand the nation to a right wing bigot.  For all our differences, class, ethnicity, religion, etc, etc, the British have history for pulling together in the face of adversity, and we have never liked fascism.  

Tonight, will be a difficult night for many of us, hope is much more difficult to deal with than acceptance.  With hope, there is still 'what might be', it is so destructive, that we are taught to ignore it, not let it sprout any roots, we only suffer more when that hope doesn't reach fruition.  Better not to expect anything.  

But hope gives a kick just as great as cocaine, it allows us, even if only for a few hours, to imagine what might be, what could have been.  For the all the naysayers, tonight I am full of hope.  Yes, we can do it.  The biased polls tell us one thing, but our wide open eyes tell us the complete opposite.  Jeremy Corbyn is cheered, Boris Johnson is booed, yet mainstream political pundits ask 'why is JC so unpopular?'.  

Tonight reminds me so much of '1997', in the sense of 'something in the air'.  In 1997, they predicted a tory majority, but it ended with a Labour landslide.   Those of us out there on the front line knew it, and could feel it.  I feel the same tonight.  After a long, long day sat outside a polling station, my dear old dad and I watched the results coming in.  We were drinking, but didn't open the champagne until Michael Portillo lost his seat (actually like him now).  

Tonight, Boris Johnson is in real danger of losing his seat, the best moment this century according to one tweeter, let's hope.  Also Jo Swinson, who totally reminds of that little girl in the Clarkes shoe adverts who was going to grow up to be 'a right little madam'.  Johnson, Swinson and IDS - all in danger of losing their seats tonight,  Let's hope.

Meanwhile, hic, I am going to tuck into lots of European delicacies, whilst praying the UK will not cut itself off from it's nearest friends and neighbours and become Amish.

I'm here live, if anyone can make it through it the night...…...