Age-Net

This is a bad time for the political process. The ruling party - the Labour Party - secured a third term in office, still with a large majority and due largely to voter indifference. They then went on to lose heavily in the mid-term local elections while Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition - the Conservative Party - increased local representation but is still considered as weak, having too often failed to hold the government to task. The UK's Third Party, the Liberal Democrats have little influence on policy and have suffered from internal problems of leadership and scandal which actually seems to have had little effect on their core voting public.

All parties have been seen to have, at best, circumvented legal restrictions on funding and the the new Prime Minister - Gordon Brown - who came into office promising a government free from the stigmas of the past, has instead become bogged down by allegations of sleaze and suspect fund raising, particularly in the make-weight contest for the Deputy Leadership post.

That Peter Hain has now been forced to resign while his campaign is being investigated by the police will come as little surprise to the people who know him. Hurry to achieve high office and an apparent reluctance to bother with laws which his own party put in place have been his downfall.

The war in Iraq - considered by many to have been ill judged and probably illegal - was quickly won but the peace has been much longer in coming. Many tens of thousands of lives lost in persuit of two mens ambitions on the global stage.

The war in Afghanistan continues and we are warned that we should expect to keep troops there for many years to come. Nobody has successfully explained why we should be fighting an unwinable war on the other side of the world of which the only obvious effect has been to increase the supply of cheap heroin to the streets of Europe.

A global recession may be on the cards for 2008 and Chancellor Darling is in the position - bequeathed to him by the Prime Minister - of having little room for manoeuvre. He can't borrow more and he daren't raise taxes for fear of plunging the ecconomy into freefall.

We Over 50's can and should determine how things be better done and now is the time to make our views and our voting intentions clear. The next General Election may still be some way off, but it is not too early to let the present incumbents know that we demand better of them. Despite what they would have you believe, they have a nice little job, not too poorly paid and with the sort of allowances and pension schemes, that you and I can only dream of. They admit to being members of 'The Best Club in Town' and they are in no hurry to give it up.

So, let us all, whatever political party we have traditionally subscribed to, make it clear to them all that we expect better behaviour and better government for our money, and that is what we will be demanding next time.

Editor.

Conservative Party

Labour Party

Liberal Democrats

Pensioners Party

Foreign & Commonwealth Office

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