ROLL ON SPRINGTIME, FOR MORE REASONS THAN ONE

Prime Ministers and First Ministers always think of the glory (and attendant boost in popularity) when they manage to arrange or win a big event for their country. The Olympics and the Commonwealth Games are two obvious examples. They seem to draw the country together and push out the collective chest of England or Scotland. Ironically, even the loss of an event can foster patriotic feelings as happened in England when, despite Cameron’s shuttle diplomacy, England not only lost out, but did so in a spectacular style. Everyone from HRH William down to Bert in the pub was drawn together in collective hatred of FIFA whom, they all agreed were even more corrupt than the House of Lords!

Of course, once you have these things in place, you have to deliver. And there comes the payback. Costs rise 3 or 4 fold, security costs are probably double the cost of the event (although, conveniently, no one is allowed to know what we spend on security). Bit by bit the dirty deals become public and that transient popularity disappears like “sna affun a dyke”. You can be held to ransom by all manner of folks. Railway lines unfinished a week before the Queen is due to ride on the tracks to open the great event, are an embarrassment, and who knows what was paid to the people who had to get the Dome open on time.

So a few weeks ago Camerclegg was over the moon about the marriage of the Willie and Katie, which will doubtless cost enough to keep a hospital open for a year. The nation would be rejoicing; he promised us a holiday, although he quickly admitted it was the Queen who should pronounce on that, only to find out that it was in fact parliaments in all four countries which had to pronounce in it. He even appeared to have persuaded them to marry around the time of the General Elections in the Celtic countries and local elections in England, hopefully reducing the amount of coverage that these will get, and fostering a sense of joy and wellbeing.

If the individuals in the nation did not actually rejoice, as least the media rejoiced for them. The naysayers like me asked who would pay, and the answers came back that the Middletons and the Windsors would foot the bill (but not the security bill which will be in the hundreds of millions if not billions).

But now, of course, comes the downside. At a TUC meeting next month union bosses will make plans to take industrial action in protest at spending cuts between Easter, April 22 – 25, the royal wedding April 29 and the May Day bank holiday on May 2. A union spokesman said that the royal wedding would neither be targeted nor avoided. But we all know that it is the perfect time to cause disruption.

When the eyes of the world are upon England and London, with hundreds of thousands of tourists and more VIPs than you can shake a stick at, nothing will work! It’s a gift from the gods to unions.

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: “This could well be the year that the country starts to say ‘No’ to Government in a way that they have not since middle Britain made a previous Conservative government abolish the poll tax.”

Whatever is coming in 2011, it will be a bumpy ride for the government of Davnik Cleggeron!

Pics: (1) The Happy Couple; (2) Brendan Barber, TUC; (3) Most people who protest are not militant; (4) Scene from the poll tax riots of March 1990s, the beginning of the end for Mrs T!!