Water cooler politics

Blognor Regis nails it.

The country's gone to the dogs, the economy's going down the toilet, crime is through the roof, I'm on half the wages I was two years ago and am barely keeping my head above water and crossing my fingers that I'm going to even have a job in six month's time, like lots of others no doubt, and all these assorted wonks do is wiffle on and on about which interchangable dipstick is going to which interchangable, ineffectual government department next.

I felt the same way last night. Watching the news and the ridiculous media frenzy over Milliband's overheard, off-the-cuff comment about a "Heseltine moment" - as if anyone outside of the Westminster village really gives a damn.

It wasn't news. It wasn't even interesting. It still isn't - but the papers are full of the same garbage today. Why?

Because the political commentators, journalists and leader writers are as detached from the real world as the politicians are. They inhabit a cosy little clique where everyone knows everyone else and nobody wants to seem like an outsider. So they all follow the same lines and report the same crap which is of no interest to anyone but themselves.

It's a bit like an office where someone overhears a boss's comment and it becomes the gossip at the water cooler. Only we're not talking about office politics but the politics of a nation. What we want to know is what our government intends to do about the various issues that affect us - not what they are doing among themselves.

As long as our political reporting remains rooted in the business of tittle-tattle we will not have properly accountable government. Our media needs to grow up or get lost.