Election

You've got to watch how you type that title, took me a couple of swipes to correct my misplaced 'r'. But then again, looking at the coverage that the election gets in the press, there would appear to be more than a few people who get aroused by policy documents and manifestos.

I suppose I should read the manifesto promises of the main parties - after all I am a small (not physically) businessman and there are no doubt lots of carrots being dangled in my direction. Tax cuts, tax breaks, National insurance, Corporation tax.... It's not that I'm not concerned about the ins and out of the various pre-election sweeteners, it's just that I don't actually believe that any of them ever come to anything.

I honestly can't remember what mandate any of the main parties stood on during the last election, I can't remember the promises so I can't say whether they were broken... Therefore I am starting to think that it doesn't matter who I vote for. The world appears to keep turning regardless of what flag is flying over Downing Street.

What I would like to see is a political party promise something tangible; tax cuts are easily swallowed by households, rises are quickly absorbed - what I would like is a couple of good promises which would be measurable. Improved levels of childhood obesity perhaps, Increased literacy levels maybe, an improvement in public spaces.

I am probably being naive in believing that small changes can have large results but I can't help thinking that improving peoples immediate everyday experiences will have a far greater knock on effect than giving them a couple of quid in their pockets.

Roll on 6th May so we can all start to get on with our lives