Young Tim's Colchester definition of a successful government

CONSTRUCTIVE criticism and principled opinions are, I hope, the distinguishing hallmark of impartial journalists. They set us apart from posturing politicians for whom everything the Government does is either outstanding or absolutely hopeless, depending from which view point they are coming.

Colchester's Labour leader on the borough is one Timothy Young of this parish. Wife Julie is also a councillor.serving on both Essex county and Colchester district. They seem to be here, there and everywhere representing Labour on all manner of public bodies. Thus, their devoted loyalty to Gordon Brown is, as you might expect, almost wholly unquestioning.

In a letter published in the EADT on Tuesday, Young Tim seems not to like the "constructive criticism and principled opinions" which feature in the columns of the East Anglian Daily Times. As I'm responsible for the political content, the person in his sights is clearly yours truly.

I normally allow my critics to have their say and don't exercise the right of reply. But not this time.

According to Young Tim, the EADT is crammed with "doom-ridden articles about the travails of the government and political opinion and analysis bordering on the hysterical about how useless the Prime Minister is."

I don't recall ever descriobing the Prime Minister as useless - incompetent maybe, ditherer yes, u-turner extraordinaire most certainly, but never useless. 

To Young Tim, Bottler Brown may have made mistakes - the election that never was and the abolition of the 10p tax rate - "yet he has the gravitas, experience and capability to lead this nation through difficult times and towards a brighter future." Can't you just hear the stirring strains of Land of Hope and Glory playing in the background when this fulsome support was being penned.

In the belief that both the EADT and myself are giving open support to the Conservatives, Young Tim lashes out at Call Me Dave, describing him as a "shallow, lightweight opportunist with a track record to be ashamed of and all the leadership skills of a failed Big Brother contestant." In a very partisan way, Young Tim sneers oat the Tories for having "no policies, no principles and a lack of direction which is only matched by a lack of scrutiny by the media, including the EADT."

Well, what can I say? Which party thinks it is democtratic to allow MPs from Scotland and Wales to vote on English health and education policy when English MPs are barred from a say on free university tuition in Scotland and free prescriptions in Wales because these are devolved matters, funded of course by the English?  

Anything else? Plenty, but suffice to say that a million-plus voters in London, and the good folk of Crewe & Nantwich and Henley took the view that under Bottler, Labour has lost its way. I'm the first to acknowledge that "events, dear boy, events" as Harold Macmillan so aptly said, are navigating the UK towards an iceberg, but the Scottish mafia in charge of this government is upsetting not just the electorate but a number of their own MPs.

And if Glasgow East is lost to the Scottish Nationalists, it might just be the tipping point for a full-scale rebellion by Labour's union paymasters.

There's one thing you can say in praise of Bottler. His flailing about has certainly made politics fun again.