Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all my readers. Politically, 2009 was certainly an eventful year. It was a year when the standing of politicians sunk to an all time low. It was a year when Douglas Carswell set the ball rolling and for the first time anyone could remember, the Speaker of the House of Commons was forced out. Michael Martin should have gone much earlier. He was never up to the job and his supporters knew it. Unfortunately, instead of electing a new Speaker for all the right reasons, MPs decided to be tribal and the result was the awful John Bercow, who I sincerely hope will not be Speaker after the next general election.

In the Autumn of 2007, there was election fever. This fever continued at various times through 2008 and 2009. At least we now know 2010 will be an election year and the good news is that Harriet Harman will be fronting the Labour campaign. Labour’s ability to shoot itself in the foot seems to be one constant brought into the new year. Instead of using someone who could connect with the public – the obvious candidate being Alan Johnson – Labour uses someone who manages to alienate the voters with every utterance she makes.

On a personal note, I hope 2010 is the year we start tackling the advances of the bully state. David Cameron and his team have promised much in this area, but the proof of the pudding is always in the eating. Oppositions are great a promising things. It is up to those of us to feel passionately about the erosion of liberty in this country to make sure Cameron sticks to his promises if he does become prime minister.

I also hope 2010 is the year the campaign for Britain to leave the EU gathers momentum. I also hope this is the year we finally start trying to get to grips with the public finances. All of this will not happen unless Labour is out of power. This is the decision the voters will have to make. What a year this is going to be.