... and a response

It's only fair to note that the Iain Banks letter below (in Monday's Guardian) prompted a reply, of sorts, today:

Iain Banks (Letters, 23 October) deploys his compelling prose in criticism of Lib-Con cuts, but concludes by damning Labour too. Has he missed the minimum wage, working tax-credits, winter fuel allowance, new schools and hospitals and a host of other measures? Does he understand, or care, who these policies helped most? No doubt his "damn them all", pseudo-left, millionaire's polemic gives this justifiably wealthy man cheap emotional comfort. But he'd benefit more from allowing some non-fiction to inform and enhance his self-awareness.

Eric Joyce MP
Lab, Falkirk


Sigh. He's obviously responding to the line about how: "we'll rue the wasted years that let all three major parties swing so decisively to the right and present us with so little real choice at the last election."

I think he misses (some of) the point.  That Banks's argument is that the "new" Labour regime wasn't good enough.  Not that it didn't do some good things.

Anyway, let's stop this.  We're meant to be attacking the Tories and their muppets. 

It's the only wise, sensible, just and moral thing to do.