Standing As A Prospective MP In South Gloucestershire.

My political thinking appeals to white van man, single parents on benefits, the scaffolders, those on Universal Credit, pension credits, the disabled, and others living on the front line of life.

So, to pastures new, politically speaking anyway. Having given up completely on central Bristol as the administration has run the city into the ground it will take a decade, possibly more to return to where it begins to grow again and the result will simply 'have to do under the circumstances'.

As I stated in my previous blog post, Bristol is finished for years to come with the demise of the Galleries. I've been saying over several months that the new Bristol has moved into Sth Gloucestershire.

With Cribbs Causeway's free parking, no stupid CAZ fees, a plethora of shops, stores, cafes, supermarkets, leisure facilities, and the new home for Bristol Zoo just around the corner, what's not to like?

With easy access from Bristol and surrounding areas, South Gloucestershire council has scored a slam dunk over Bristol city council where Cribbs is concerned, and left our city drowning in its wake. There's also the new Aerospace Bristol site in addition to the new home for Bristol's long-awaited YTL arena that the city council lost out on being sited close to Temple Meads station. I don't know why Bristol doesn't hand over the city hall keys to South Gloucestershire Council and be done with it. All bar some minor problems at government level, because, as I've stated on many an occasion a 'piss-up in a brewery' our council governance couldn't organise if lives depended on it.

As for Bath and North East Somerset, well, Bath itself is a hugely popular, all-year-round tourist destination. Clearly, I don't know why given how little the Romans did for Britain compared to say, someone like Colston, for instance. After all, it's not as if the Romans turned our ancient Brits into slaves, did they? Although, truth be told, if Bristol put as much effort into the Viking trade between the city and Dublin it may encourage as many Norse visitors as Bath does from the Far East. Just saying.

Of course, historically, our cities have soaked up government funding that has left bordering localities having to be far more prudent with the resources they have and how that's spent on the services they administer.

Thus, residents in South Gloucestershire's Oldbury-on-Severn, or North East Somerset's Bishop Sutton would stand a better chance of finding rocking horse shit in Harrods toy department than having a regular bus service that brings them anywhere close to the rest of civilisation more frequently.

Now, having established why I believe South Gloucestershire and North East Somerset have more significance to me on the election map than Bristol and stands a good chance of being the new Member of Parliament, two major political players have decided to stand against me, and therefore my odds of achieving that goal have been drastically thwart.

In the blue corner stands one Jacob Rees Mogg, who I refer to endearingly as the 'Wee Smog', and in the red corner the newly announced Dan Norris - both of whom are experienced parliamentarians, and, as it will come as no great surprise to you, I am not. So, one fighting to keep his seat, the other hoping to see out his days in politics back in government now that he is no longer West of England Mayor: and both career politicians.

No disrespect to either as they have both carved out hugely successful careers in one way, or another. However, isn't it time we all moved on from the same old, same-old party politics with absolutely no real change whatsoever? Has this country been so well groomed by both politicians and media into believing there really are no other choices, or, do we begin to break that cycle now that our country couldn't be any worse than it is and seek to elect lived experiences rather than university degrees and politically focused careers? Put another way, when do we begin to finally say no to parliament being a closed shop to those whose front-line life experience faces simply don't fit?

Feel free to correct me if I'm incorrect, but I don't recall seeing any current wheelchair-user MP's, do you? Any neurodivergent MPs? Anyone who prior to being elected was a scaffolder or a delivery driver - you know, those considered having jobs like arguably the majority of the population? Any bus drivers, publicans, bakers, retail assistants, and others with real-life experiences they can bring to the top table in the land, speak from the heart on behalf of others and act positively for change? I'll wait.

Parliament is by no means at all what we could call a level playing field and is hugely unrepresentative of the population, it's as blatantly simple as that. Exactly how more obvious does this have to be? Research the number of independent MPs and you'll find there are just seventeen out of six hundred and fifty in total. Yes, seventeen. Let that sit with you for a minute. None of whom, by all accounts, have been scaffolders, delivery drivers, etc, either, I bet! You know, just the usual middle-classers with easier upbringings and backgrounds than those who don't feel represented by their own, I suggest.

I was bemused to read a piece by a local journalist a few days ago where she was keen to extol the virtues of what I call hipster bread, otherwise known as sourdough to us ordinary folk and priced at the minuscule amount of four to not much shy of a fiver a loaf. It seems the basic staff of life comes at a premium nowadays to the better off. Whereas, I'll happily make do with a loaf of farmhouse for just over a quid. Now, while appreciating the fact that it's mass-produced compared to some bloke, or female baker making a loaf by hand, sourdough is nothing more than a cooly-perceived, grossly-tasting, and pretentious, culinary non-entity that at up to a fiver a loaf is what your average family would struggle to spend on an entire meal using the very basic of ingredients in the real world.

So, if my political thinking appeals to white van man, single parents on benefits, the scaffolders, those on Universal Credit, pension credits, the disabled, and others living on the front line of life, then so be it. I just won't be arsed flogging a dead horse by standing for election in a city with a small-town mentality.