This is where we are

In 1997 the British people elected a Labour government, because it wanted a Labour government.

A government to invest in a shattered infrastructure and a fragmented society.

A government prepared to counter the buffets of the economic cycle by an intelligent growth-oriented investment strategy coupled with a commitment to improving public services.

That government, that New Labour government no less, was so committed to change and progress and well ...REFORM

So committed was it, that it spent its time in government attacking poor public services, changing delivery, contracting out services - you know reforming.

Targets were set to deal with poor performance and when things improved new ones were set.

Every morning on the Today programme we heard about their battle.

Every day was difficult, every service needed improving (not to say reforming).

Through ten long years of economic growth all we heard was bad news - and we weren't listening to Radio Africa...

New Labour also triangulated, it took on the Tory's on their own ground - you know, it met them halfway, it used their language, it went round the back ...and then it blew a raspberry; with increasingly little success as the years dragged on.

That nice red raspberry got bluer.

By 2010 the New Labour Party had spent thirteen long years explaining to the British public why they were wrong to want a Labour government.

It took a long time but eventually they agreed.

Though they weren't sure they wanted a Tory government either. Indecision eh, its a killer, luckily the British public were helped out by some people who did want a Tory government.

Those people were called Liberal Democrats, but actually they were rather similar to the other ex-merchant bankers and global corporate economists that they looked very similar to on the Tory benches.

Today as we look at George Osborne's delight lets remember Vince Cable's prescription back in April just before the election: 'five miserable years' promised Vince. Lets hope he was right. More than five will be a killer, even more of a killer than the five coming up.

Thanks Tony, thanks Alistair Darling [have you noticed yet that as you briefed against the rest of your party just before the election by saying that their economic forecasts were over-optimistic that they were actually under-optimistic - and you were wrong?], thanks Gordon for your inarticulacy, your tiredness, your lack of ideas and above all your inability to positively motivate anyone other than Paul Dacre - whom you had far too many dinners and theatre trips with. Thanks David 'immigration is a problem' Blunkett.

You've got a tough job Ed but at least you havn't got a tough act to follow.