Huyton Expectations
I caught the bus to Huyton last week. This is a town in Knowsley on Merseyside, once part of historic Lancashire. I went to see the statue of its sometime MP, the Right Honourable Harold Wilson. He was elected Labour Prime Minister in 1964, 1966 and 1974. I enjoyed reading his biography some years ago. Raised a Congregationalist, he was an affable chap, though I suspect his socialism replaced the gospel of grace he might have heard as a child. In his first two stints at Downing Street, he was the fresh-faced herald of modernity and optimism. In his third stint in the mid-70s, he had visibly aged and the earlier optimism had been replaced by monetary woes and personal paranoia.
The town he represents seems to have mirrored some of this change. The modern shopping centre must have looked cutting edge when it was built, but now it appears dated and tired. To Harold’s rear, a building was being rebuilt or repaired, even though it was hardly ancient.
Folk of less impressive vintage may better recall a youthful and energetic Tony Blair’s sweeping victory in 1997. Tony was handsome, ethical, and generally impressive; his was the face we wanted to lead Britain into the twenty-first century. Yet with each successive year, his sparkle dimmed and he appeared old and hackneyed by the time David Cameron faced him in the Commons.
Another weary-looking government is likely to enter retirement this year and another invigorated Labour leader will be handed the keys to Downing Street. Sir Keir’s manifesto is remarkably thin, so expectations may be helpfully low. I think that he could get into power without promising anything apart from not being a Tory. Yet he too will ultimately disappoint, as every other Prime Minister and Party Leader has done since time immemorial. I wonder if this is why many of us love our monarchy; promising nothing, it cannot so easily disappoint. Yet even his Britannic Majesty’s reign is likely to be dwarfed by his great mother’s long and illustrious shadow.
I long for a leader who is compassionate, yet righteousness; honest, yet hopeful; powerful, yet gentle; one who craves no popularity, but always does what is right. One day, we shall have Him.
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