Shropshire Star

We’ll know the answers on Friday morning

Not long now until the most important general election for a generation, or so they would have you believe.

Published

They are all important, and they all shape the future direction of the country. This has been billed as the Brexit general election, but they said that about the last one as well, and look what happened.

As a result of Theresa May’s failed gamble we are where we are now. The last bunch of MPs did not create a good impression with their bickering, grandstanding and, above all, collective failure to govern. They left many watching in frustration, exasperation, and despair that the people elected to serve us were incapable of setting an example of co-operation for the greater good of the nation.

So one of the positives of this general election is that something has happened, an opportunity has been created to break the deadlock in Parliament, and the prospect has opened up of the country being able to move on. That is not the same as settling the arguments, as they will continue whatever happens, and are all part of the democratic debate anyway.

Another positive is that frankly we have all been given a break from the Parliamentary shenanigans and instead are being given a choice and a chance to give a verdict on what we had seen in recent months and years, which generally was not a pretty sight.

Of all the possible results, the one which will be most unwelcome will be one which delivers more of the same. The public has had more than enough. The idea that our politicians will be giving us extra helpings is intolerable. One of the most cliched slogans of all parties is to call for people to vote for change. Yes please to that, a change to what has gone before in the circular Brexit debates.

With a couple of days left, the party leaders are making their final pitches.

Will large numbers vote tactically? Will Johnson or Corbyn have done the better job in reaching to those who would not normally vote for their party?

We’ll know the answers on Friday morning.