Dave here's your chance. Try not to blow it this time

So Ed's taken a turn to the left. Yes perhaps under the auspices of his biggest donors the unions. His puppet-masters, the people who got him elected as leader. That does not mean those of us of a different political persuasion should dismiss this as some kind of minor coup or irrelevance.

In many ways this could be construed as the last desperate thrashings of the union movement, one which many of us thought Maggie - and subsequently Mr Blair - had seen off. We may think that the unions are now dinosaurs whose day has been and gone and that this particular argument has been decisively won.

Those of us who remember the dark days of the 70s;
the strikes, the three-day week, power blackouts, unions holding the government (of both political persuasions) to ransom, might be forgiven for thinking that those bleak times were well behind us.

But are you sure about it?

The thing is that if you didn't live through those desperate times (and they were desperate) and haven't experienced this brand of union-driven socialism in action, you might well have been lulled into the belief that it has some merit. That it's about fairness, redistribution of wealth, taking from the 'haves' and giving to the 'have nots'. Tackling greed and giving to the poor. Giving the people who work for a living much more of a say in society compared to the 'bosses'. Except it now seems to be about those people who don't work for a living, or can't find work - and that's an issue that needs to be addressed too of course.

It (Socialism viewed in isolation, in theory rather than reality) is a potentially attractive proposition. And if you don't remember as far back as 1978 which was the last time that this scenario was in action (a group which includes a large proportion of the current electorate) then you might be forgiven for thinking that this is a valid way in which the UK can go forward.

And in the intervening years the 'sleepers' who hold this view of the world, many of whom are in the teaching profession (rather than the 'real' world) and, therefore, in an ideal position to influence the considerable (perhaps electorally decisive) numbers of young people, who have since become adults and 'voters', have been quietly doing their thing.

I should just say, at this point that I am not some rabid right-wing propagandist. I think the banks should have been allowed to fail. I think that some of the bonuses and salaries of top bosses are obscene and that we currently have a culture that is completely and unforgivably skewed towards people who don't give a shit about anyone else and are purely 'in it' for themselves. I think people who ripped off others should be prosecuted and given severe prison terms instead of their employers being fined and the individuals being allowed to carry on their disgusting practises knowing that if they fuck up, they will be bailed out by the taxpayer.

I think that politicians of all persuasions are corrupt, that the vast majority do not give a toss abut the people they supposedly represent and that the entire system is irredeemably flawed. Fat cats paying lip-service to everyone else so long as they get their hands on completely unjustifiable levels of reward in the form of salaries and solid gold pensions, expenses and other benefits.

Drawing up the ladder is what seems to me to be happening at the moment and we must do something about this. Globalisation seems to me to be creating a small number of mega corporations that are so powerful that they discourage any kind of new entry, competition or opportunity. It was probably ever thus, but the problem has become more acute in recent times. We're not just competing against the next village or town or city, but against the whole wide world and if you don't 'make it' in an industry here, it's no longer the case that you can use your skills and experience in the same industry somewhere else. Because the 'industry' is now a single all-powerful 'company' and if they reject you, you're essentially fucked (technical term).

So if you're a specialist in a certain industry but the company has its own experts in that role, what choices are open to you? Retraining? Starting again in middle age? Stacking shelves? Competing for an hourly-rate job against people who don't have your experience, skills or work ethic perhaps, but who are cheap and will 'do the job'.

But - and this is a big 'but' - going back to 1978 is not the answer. Socialism's 'equality' is not about raising everyone up to a level, but bringing everyone down to a level. It is the politics of envy and not of aspiration. It is about making everyone suffer and encouraging the achievement of the lowest common denominator. Everyone equal in misery rather than the celebration of achievement which then allows others to prosper and thrive.

Going back to a situation where the unions rule: Where the people (unions) holding the power are much more concerned about pay packets this week than the viability of the employer in months, years, decades to come, is not the way forward. Combined with the inequalities described above, it would be the death knell of the UK as a place in which to live, wok and bring up a family. We're not in Leicester competing with equally 'entitled', 'uncaring' and essentially 'lazy' rivals in Nottingham, with a global monopoly on textiles or footwear any more. We're competing with efficient, highly motivated, union-protected but not union-driven companies in Germany, the US and Japan - and more significantly, with low wage economies around the world.

So here's your chance Dave. You need to do something about this ridiculous 'fuck you' UK economy and you need to remind people how disastrous going back to a 70s Socialist agenda would be. And you have to do both.

A 'land of opportunity' is not about opportunity for the few at the top but nor is it about allowing the unions to make opportunity impossible.

So you can make a start Dave by making capitalism work for the many and not the few and setting out a clear - not just lip service - agenda to achieve that. It will have to be painful for many who are in cushy jobs, particularly in the public sector. It is of course much more difficult to make changes in the private sector, but private utilities who are currently making piss-taking levels of profit and then passing on the costs of investing in renewing infrastructure to their customers in addition to maintaining their profit levels (when they justified price rises on the basis of needing to invest) is in your gift and would be a good place to start. And 'Green taxes' are just stupid in the extreme and costing us all. You can change this very easily. (Tell Mr Davey not to slam the door on his way out). More on this here.

And you have to do something about the banks and financial services sector. They are currently running rings round all of us. They can still be competitive with a UK base but at the moment they are not 'playing fair' and this will bring you down if you don't do something about it.

 And if that happens we are left with Red Ed and his union puppeteers running the place. And that way lies complete and utter disaster for this country.

So you have to win the argument all over again, because many (most?) voters simply have not experienced the shambles and negativity of a socialist government in their lifetimes. And the chances are, currently, that Labour will win the next election. The stakes are very high Dave, not just for you and your party but for the whole country. But you have the chance to win and to do so in a way which can take this country forward positively again. I think, and hope that this will be outside of the 'socialist' EU and I think and hope that you will find some way to unite the majority 'right' behind you. If that means doing a deal with UKIP when the time comes, so be it. The alternative to a few people swallowing their pride and egos, is much much worse.

You have a chance, an opportunity, Dave. Don't blow it.

Thanks for reading.