Thank God for the U-turn
For the first time in my life, we are living with a government that represents a majority of the votes cast at the last election.I have never before lived under a majority government (52 per cent of the electorate voted Conservative or Liberal Democrat in the 2010 election). However improbable the “lash up” that became today’s administration, it continues in power apparently without great threat – even fighting a by- election against itself in Eastleigh.
But what has perhaps attracted less attention is the rehabilitation of the U-turn. Under Labour, a U-turn represented terrible failure.
Ministers would stoop as they stumbled up Downing Street, burdened by the knowledge that a treasured policy had failed. A U-turn represented a party defeat, whatever the rights and wrongs of it.
These days it’s all change. The coalition positively wallows in U-turns, hardly a week goes by without one. And, quite suddenly the U-turn has become a rather praiseworthy entity.
It indicates, almost invariably, that common sense has prevailed. It almost certainly also indicates that somewhere there’s been a tremendous debate between coalition partners. Surely not an unhealthy development.
Take the moment at the beginning of the month when Michael Gove abandoned his treasured and hugely flaunted plan to abandon GCSEs in favour of a baccalaureate. Six months after he announced it, the education secretary concluded that his plan was unworkable. His U-turn was almost universally welcomed.
Today it’s been David Cameron’s turn in India. His immigration U-turn changed the policy of clamping down on immigration from India to encouraging Indian students and business to come to Britain in ever larger numbers.
Maybe the U-turn has come of age simply because of the live debate that naturally exists within a coalition. But who wants a return to single-party government elected by 40 per cent of the electorate or less, for whom a U-turn represent abject failure?
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There are 24 comments on this post
Roll on a government that maybe is not in need of quite so many ‘U-turns’ .
One would hope that coalitions would mean that we no longer had to endure the radical social changes that occur with the dysfunctional first past the post system…
I think the public welcome U-turns now because most policies they U-turn on are absolutely hated more than previous U-turned policies of the last Labour Government.
Jon,
Do me a favour, please……..”tremendous debate”?………”U-turns the norm”?
You obviously spent far too much time in the USA where there is no debate or reporting worthy of the name. Gore Vidal nicknamed that unhappy nation “the United States of Amnesia.” How right he was, and how easily we have been faced down the same road.
Have you “forgotten” already we have a quarter of our population living in poverty and 2.5 million unemployed, that we have monopoly owned neocon media churning out its hateful and dishonest propaganda on an hourly basis, that our establishment and instutions have been exposed as corrupt and rotten-to-the-core from top to bottom, that virtually everything of social value has been stolen and privatised for profit, that bankers are nothing more than chalk striped gangsters?
Do you REALLY think a few crash bang wallop “U turn” stunts amount to anything more a panacea for the gullible? Are you REALLY that naive in your suburban smugness?
Anybody would think you have swallowed a vase full of Soma. This must be the Brave New World according to Jon Snow. Christ almighty, man, get a grip……….
I think it’s fair to say that the no U turn was most spectacularly promoted by Mrs Thatcher, rather than the previous Government.
Moreover, while I welcome the belated acknowledgement of common sense, a lot of time, public money & energy are wasted on ideologically-driven changes that aren’t firmly based on evidence, adequate consultation or proper assessment of feasibility in the first place. Too many politicians (Gove being a prime example) spend too much time imposing their own nostrums which aren’t based on evidence or have any semblance of consensus, often focusing on the easy changes – the structural things like the EBacc or academies – rather than a relentless focus on improving standards, which is more about effective & appropriate assessment of teachers & results, improved teacher training & in-work training – the routine day-to-day stuff which don’t grab headlines. Structural changes divert from improvement. If Labour were seen as being too close to the teaching unions (not sure I noticed that mind you), the Coalition does no-one any favours by treating them as the enemy. This is a prime area where all those concerned – including employers, universities, parents – need to be working together to reach common solutions which don’t require changing every 2-3 years at a politician’s whim.
Absoutely right, Jon! After the Guardian’s recent article listing all the Government’s U Turns as if they were signs of failure, I sent a tweet to @patrickbutler saying that one person’s U Turn is another’s welcome change of mind in response to consultation or public comment.
Politicians must be allowed space to genuinely change their minds when they hear new or compelling evidence and argument or we are all doomed!
Best wishes
jackie
I totally agree, changing your mind (aka a U-turn) when new facts, evidence or analysis comes to light is praiseworthy.
If you are in your car and the road ahead is blocked, you stop and do a U-Turn. You don’t just start whistling, pretend it isn’t there and carry on at full speed!
I entirely agree. Politicians should be able to admit errors without being pillared.
I wish we had the two most popular parties in the coalition rather than the ones we have.
Until the two main parties are engaged in policy together we will get back tracking ever 4/5 years which is holding the democratic process back. Eg. Anyboby want to debate fox hunting yet again?
An occasional U-turn is forgiveable and indicative that politicians are listening to (or at least running scared of) the voters. BUT repeated U-turns merely indicate they didn’t bother to listen to the experts or public opinion or do their research first. Which is a very bad thing, wasting time, money and causing anxiety to individuals or lack of confidence in businesses.
An inadequately qualified set of politicians constantly making errors and running a weak government is not what any country needs.
I thought the no U-turn poplicy was originated by Maggie Thatcher, rather than the Labour party, though the Labour Government were certainly pig-headed enough to implement it come what may…
“U-turn if you want to. This lady is not for turning!” is the soundbyte that I remember so distinctly, from Maggie. After that soundbyte, stubborn pig-headedness was regarded as a political strength, and we paid the price for it on many an occasion.,
But I agree with you Jon. It is nice to have a Government than can be said to represent the majority and it is nice to see the occasional change of mind, a U-turn, showing that there is debate, discussion and proper decision making rather than stubborn pig-headedness.
Its had a few up and downs, but the Coalition has been working rather well.
I just wish that our electoral system would deliver something like this more routinely, sparing us the huge majorities that do so much damage to the UK…
Roll on the U-turn of the DLA “reform” when 500,000 loose their Mobility Cars!
It would be good to presume that the ruling parties operated with loyalty in the interest of their elected promises. Not always the case eg Europe.
If so there is only the opposition and their cohorts who may be trying to bring the government down, or is that so? What about internal struggles, fortunately not too evident in this government.
Opposition probably means the trade unions, who often fund the Labour party and many councils trying to usurp reforms.
Then there there are the judges , if Theresa May’s recent speech is credible. If we are lucky it may be three steps forward and two steps back.
Hopefully common sense in the electorate will enable the passing of many reforms. The recent argument about working for nothing is mind boggling. Presumably recipients are being asked to work for their benefits., as we all do.
Work is an ethic that many do not have and in this world it is a necessary component for survival..
Fortunately working Parliamentary committees and investigational enquiries seem to be a step in the right direction.
Then there is corruption.!!!
Well said! It’s a joy to watch two splendidly pragmatic politicians in the form of Messrs Cameron and Clegg in action.
following what happened to bradley wiggins has Jon Nsow been put off his love of bikes?>
Has Snow eveer had an collision with a motorised vehcile
British public has no problem with political changes of mind. It’s other politicians and especially our wonderful media that make all the fuss.
As you know, in America, politicians change their mind almost all the time. It’s when they don’t – as in the ‘Tea Party segment’ – that their troubles arise.
A famous ‘U turn’ in the UK, was when Labour was forced to give priority to clearing up the mess left in ’97 by the previous government and ahead of ‘education’. That mess had trains falling off the lines, NHS waiting list deaths by the hundreds, and soaring interest charges on government debt that had reached 5.5% of our national income. Almost twice as high as presently. Surely you’ve not forgotten that enormous financial burden?
A previous major ‘U-turn’ was when the second Wilson Government cancelled its plan to halt its predecessor’s foolish local government re-organisation. The grounds given were that we needed to recover from both the three-day week and ‘lights off’ emergencies bequeathed by its predecessor. The 1972 Local Government Act has been a continuing burden ever since. Surely you’ve not forgotten those emergencies?
Stand relieved Jon, governments ‘u-turn’ all the time. They have to.
Imagine what might have happened if the earliest humans hadn’t been free to emigrate from Africa ?
“It indicates, almost invariably, that common sense has prevailed. It almost certainly also indicates that somewhere there’s been a tremendous debate between coalition partners”.
I’m reluctant to disagree with you Mr Snow for the application of common sense to this policy or that is quite obviously, a good thing. But it looks like the coalition has a timing problem given that one would normally expect the “tremendous debate” and introduction of “common sense” to have occurred before a policy is proclaimed to the world as the best thing since sliced bread.
I also doubt very much that the Lib Dem side of the coalition have much influence at all on their majority partners, especially when it comes to pursuing their ideological goals.
It’s all to reminiscent of a common chant directed at incompetent referees at football matches: “You don’t know what your doing!”
U-Turns be bad news – more often than not they be simply a pannicked reaction to appease the noisiest voices – the silent majority are left to suffer.
Indian students be welcome – providing they be genuine students – and go home after three years max !
The screeching U-turn the government needs to make fast is on bedroom tax. C4news has screened examples of this ludicrous, unresearched and unworkable top-down ‘accountancy’ assessment of what constitutes a home to some of the country’s poorest families. It’s being overseen without the slightest hint of irony by unelected ‘Baron/Lord’ David Freud, once advisor to Blair’n'Brown before switching party allegiance to the Tories. Note well: Freud is a two-home owner, living with his wife in a 4-bedroom north London town-house – his children have grown up and left. The couple also has a 7-bed Kent mansion. Eleven bedrooms for a couple – that’s at least eight to spare even if they sleep in separate rooms in each home.
Like so many of the Establishment elite in particular, Freud lacks a moral social compass – a political puppet and bandwagon jumper with no inner life (Freud retired early at the age 53, claiming that he was ‘bored with the City’). Dangerous people to be making public policy.
in Addition to snowmail, there should be a video atatchment of Jon snow doing the twenty second bulletin that alernates varaibly between 5.30 to 6; before the simsons for the latter and in between come dine with me or four ina bed at the end of the comemricals
52% of the electorate did not vote for this government – I know many LD voters, for example, who now claim never to want to vote for the party again. Of course this is a ‘first past the post’ argument against coalitions – that the horse-trading post election produces something that no-one voted for.
Second, the central policy is ‘deficit reduction’ and on this there will be no u-turn. This is all to the good as in actual fact the coalition will oversee a deficit increase and for this they should be dumped at the next election.
Third, as is now clear in the debacle over the impact of bedroom tax and the disabled, one wonders how such a policy mess was constructed. Reading the letter of the charities to GO and IDS makes one’s head hang in shame.
Chomsky or Sizek recently wrote that capitalism and the corporate run countries were dominated by a new form of Nazism. I worry for the future when the economy worsens due to the lack of independent business support that continues to produce identikit towns and cities across the country. It’s almost if it doesn’t matter who is in charge – it’s Eaton. These classes have offered the vast majority very little since the economic downturn of 2007.
The quality of life in this country has decreased dramatically with issues such as unemployment and child poverty. This effects quite a few people I know and many others I see in the dole queue. There is a distinct class divide that worsens as the years pass. We need more than a U turn but we need the right people to make that happen and where are they? They are in people like George Galloway and socialists that understand multi-cultural issues, mass unemployment and the motivations for terror that rob this country of it’s citizens lives and do even more economic damage. The socio economic / racial class divide is at a critical period in our history. Who will improve it? Can we stop the stasi like local councils and nationwide corruption from making the poor poorer? What do we do when the water is poisoned? It’s no wonder that organised crime pervades every societal level. It’s not as simple as starving the rich and feeding the poor either. Infrastructure, better education with secure pay for teachers and a more heavily policed NHS. I wonder how many million see incapacity benefit as a lifestyle choice? How many people (like myself) have wrongly fallen victim to psychiatric reprisal? How corrupt is healthcare in this country? There is something wrong when people can be incarcerated and drugged as a form of justice: especially when it’s inaccurate. A G.P. can potentially ‘kill off’ an undesirable without due process or investigation. How many people does this effect and how can they be saved? We need a saviour from condemnation in jobs that see the unemployed or ‘mentally impaired’ go up the ladder. It’s just such a shame that the mob rule the streets and corrupt politicians, schools, colleges & other quangos keep pushing people through the educational conveyor belt to the dole scrapheap. If you can afford a middle class or upper class education life if sweet. If you can’t try fighting corporate Nazism to work your way up the ladder or fight through the hell the created by years of political corruption. Well paid public sector jobs are hard to find without the right connections. A while ago I read a story about a girl who used to work at Starbucks and changed career to work in the porn industry (in America). Is it any wonder when corporate fascism provides very little realistic scope for career progression? Don’t Tell Mommy – there are probably thousands of geniuses all over the country stuck in dole queues or corporate exploitation because of lack of career support or infrastructure. Then we have organised crime to deal with and a generation of twenty something graduates stuck at home playing World Of Warcraft or watching our former Starbucks employee make it big. Meanwhile the Eatonians and Facists right down to street level skinheads play hardball to rape, rob, & ruin what they can to better themselves or ridicule others. That’s one thing the ruling classes have in common with the working classes. How multi cultural is parliament for example? What about socio economics? We do hear the odd story about successful politicians who grew up on a housing estates but who is sitting on the front bench? Who is really control?
Let’s not get started on our intelligence, ‘morally flexible’ from everything from spamming to mind control. Crazy eh? Something so brutal it was invented by Nazi spies then introduced to the U.K. and U.S.A. after World War II. Maybe this is why people like former Mi6 spy Annie Machon live in Dusseldorf rather than the U.K.? Meanwhile some of the ‘Brains of Britain’ (and Northern Ireland) stock selves in Tescos or wait tables when at least one or two of them could be doing a better job running the country. I’d rather have a writer like Charlie Brooker for Prime Minister he’s certainly more ‘down with the kids’ when it comes to the technological & socio economic zeitgeist. I don’t think he’s racist – he recently wrote a good part about a submissive dead Irish slave/robot brought back to life – heart warming! I also noticed the first person to be wrongly mowed down by sniper fire in Broken Mirror’s first episode was of Asian or Middle Eastern ethnicity. The reporter was a Sky News style reporter rather than Channel 4 respectfully. That was the Pig episode: a political World Cup spectacle. The thing is he isn’t racist, or condescending about class but he certainly captures the general spirit of the nation and a generation in decline. At the same time politicians worry about payments on second homes phone hacking scandals and other wrong doings. I’m sure they take a lot of numbers but how many do they really call or visit to do any good. How many of the ‘Plebs’ or ‘Chavs’ do they respect? What happened to ‘Hug a Hoodie’? Wouldn’t it be easier to have them all sectioned, sedated and living on benefits? Surely this would keep the crime levels down a bit because let’s face it many of them are doomed to a lifetime of unemployment which will likely lead to crime. On the other hand the maimed soldiers that fight out life after war and severely disabled looked after by the state are a different thing entirely. Our war heroes and disabled are some of the few people in this country to feel proud of. We can’t forget the others who fight for their ethnicity & racial groups or those highly qualified graduates serving you fast food either. Wouldn’t life be better with more equality? Also what if we all supported our local independent businessmen & socialist politicians? They are the backbone of any regional identity. Ah well we’ve all been drawn to big brands instead. University then World or Warcraft of maybe Tescos I know that’s what my nephew with an I.Q. of 148 has been thinking about. If you go up against the Nazi societal work structure from any ethnic working class background then it’s only right to expect a fascist response. Piling on the hours at work for example, stalking, unaffordable legal cases and the ever increasing impression that the big gun corporates / Quangos will always be able to afford more of the law than the poor student, struggling businessman or migrant worker. Corporate pimps in many cases have less moral fibre than those running the seedy nightclubs across the country. The workers have the same rights. The question is: who pays better? The Lib Dems? If only we increased surveillance on parliament we could get better information on where the real corruption is. Sexual harassment is just the tip of the iceberg. The U turn is more or a U bend and I think a Nazi’s been on the toilet. There selling us Du Champ rather than the truth which is raw sewage. I’d appreciate an art critic like Mike Catto to write a scathingly intellectual review of the scenario http://news.ulster.ac.uk/podcasts/ . He’s no Eejit! I still remember him swinging on his chair listening to Classical music and teaching me absolutely nothing other than to avoid Beaujolais wine and that I could get a Kangol file-o-fax cheap in TK Maxx because it wasn’t properly directed at it’s target audience. Very Zen. It’s the kind of thing I could see Samuel L. Jackson with in Pulp Fiction.
Sister Wendy Beckett has a better more optimistic view of the art world “If you don’t know about God, art … can set you free.” For many of us it’s the art of survival that really counts. Banksy got it right years ago with a control monkey carrying an A frame. It read “Laugh now but one day we’ll be in charge” The problem with Education is that they have dealer’s choice and the rest of us are beggars to opinion in the humanities which is one big grey area. Over here Cartoons are as elite as it gets. Once my old boss at work said to me “You could have been a doctor” but there are too many Harold Shipman’s out there. I think I would have made a better lecturer – I would have loved to be a Professor – but it’s too corrupt to get in to OUCH! The truth is out there like an X-File: spooky… I remember better of Ian, John or Christine real heavyweight creatives that lectured there. Rare as hens teeth. One can’t help think but think information overload makes it much more difficult for them to take enquiring emails seriously – What with all that spam out there!!! People just go through their emails like flick books these days. You think experience as D & AD mentor, a stint managing one of the biggest studios in London and making hundreds of thousands for Corporate Photography company Venture might count for something. Hopefully they’ll see my latest illustration when it is published in HungerTV and some other retouching work comes my way. There was only one person I shot outside first studio I worked in – a member of the S.A.S. and his wife on a motorbike. It’s difficult to be independent these days but I’ve still done a lot since. It appears my photography doesn’t appeal as much to it’s target audience in Northern Ireland despite my experience of doing over 600 shoots from families to fashion. They don’t like happy faced Pop Art, it doesn’t fit in with the bullet holes of Willie Doherty or the scratched negatives of Victor Sloan. There is an political undercurrent of terror that casts a shadow on the creative industries in Northern Ireland and at the peak of it is at our academic establishments unfortunately this network extends to the mainland which can make negotiation difficult. After setting up a stand to promote my work in Derry/Londonderry a few weeks ago I was met with mean stares as if ‘you’re not allowed to sell work like this it looks like it’s worth something’. One person approached us and said “People don’t know a good thing when they see it”. My mate who helped me promote to work summed it up well “Christ on a bike!” another one is more optimistic.
They sell more Holy pictures round this neck of the woods.
It is only commonsense to change plans which are doomed to failure. Ideals and ideas are the things which change the world, however we are bulding on foundations and it is not practicable to sweep away the foundations and lay new ones. It is always that flux in the middle of the old and the new where chaos and suffering predominates, therefore many new proposals need to be tempered to fit in rather than create the new. The U turn ensures that we don’t go completely in the wrong direction towards social stability and growth.
You meyion U turn how about untruthful statements despite what Minister have said in the HOuse Look Stat Inst 257 and Section 75 of the Health and Social Care Act
then think-come come JON we need you pse