Blog: The Future Of Politics

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I emerged BLINKING out of SABBATICAL last night, heading out to leafy Bethnal Green to play at a Lampoon Apathy gig called "The Cuts Won't Work". I got a little bit lost on the way from the tube station to the Bethnal Green Working Men's Club but VERY HAPPILY I was able to use TECHNOLOGY to help me, for LO! I have a NEW PHONE!

My old phone is very much CONKING OUT and it's been sad over the past few weeks to look at something that was once the very peak of modernity stumbling along like a Trabant on the inside lane of the Autobahn, getting overtaken by tricycles. The NEW one is one of those SUPER MODERN ones (i.e. the sort of thing everyone else got about a year ago) with the SWISHY and the ZOOM and the MAP THING. Oh, the Map Thing! What a wonderful slice of THE FUTURE that is!

So anyway, I got to the gig on time - NAY, slightly early - and so got to spend a jolly hour playing with the above TECHNOBAUBLE before the show started. It was billed as a mix of comedy, music and speakers so I was a bit worried about having sufficient political material, but the first act SOOTHED my fears - The Behemoth, a rather SILLY also FUNNY sketch act who just got on with what they DID, which was something of a relief. The POLITICS came in the next chap, who spoke about his BOOK on countering POWER - it was very interesting BUT I was a bit surprised when he spent some time explaining to people what The Poll Tax was. Eh? But surely it was only on the NEWS the other week? Hasn't that just finished happening?

He then went on to mention it in the same breath as THE CHARTIST MOVEMENT. Hang on a minute there young man, kindly CEASE your attempt to place my political history into ANCIENT HISTORY! Suddenly I felt i had BETRAYED my kindly old telephone, who was just trying to do his job in the harsh modern world of the future. I was up next and, wanting to TALK about this sort of thing, rejigged my setlist and ended up doing THIS:

The Fight For History

A Little Bit

My Boss Was In An Indie Band Once

It Only Works Because You're here

The Lesson Of The Smiths

I think I might have GONE ON a bit, especially at the start CHASTISING the young people for their YOUTH. All week leading up to the gig I'd been saying to myself "DON'T say anything rude about Ed Milliband" as I knew a) the temptation would be ENORMOUS and b) there would be some nice Labour people there, and so of course I almost IMMEDIATELY pointed out that in 20 years time THESE young people would be surprised to find The Children Of The Future pointing and not understanding the politics of their day. I MAY have said "Ed Milliband! What were we thinking?" and ended up comparing him to SPANGLES.

No-one seemed to mind though, and we actually had a rather JOLLY time together - I hadn't been intending to do It Only Works Because You're here but it was all so pleasant I thought I might as well give it a go, and it seemed to go down all right. I also ended up CONFESSING to voting Lib Dem and DIDN'T get hauled off stage - THAT is how delightful it was.

The whole EVENING was deeply pleasant, also REASSURING - being in a room full of The Young People who are all really INVOLVED was BRILLIANT. People quite happily discussed themselves as ACTIVISTS and there was excited talk buzzing around the room all night about EVENTS and ACTIVITIES and THORTS. Also these weren't the kind of Political People i have met OH SO OFTEN who spend their entire lives sat around BICKERING and SPLITTING, but a new hopeful, oddly optimistic, bunch who are getting out and DOING stuff.

It all made me feel strangely PROUD and HAPPY and I headed off back into the night with a WARM GLOW about me. I hope in 20 years time some of this lot are IN CHARGE - I would very much like to SHOW OFF about having met them here!

posted 5/10/2011 by MJ Hibbett

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