Uninspired messages

prepare to be disappointed. Mr Major, Mr Blair, and Mr Lang have set out

their wish-lists for 1985 in a series of uninspired little documents

which could have been, and perhaps were, written on the back of

envelopes. Mr Major's effort was addressed to Conservative Party

constituency chairmen throughout the country. He warned of the dangers

of division while party chairman Jeremy Hanley busied himself claiming

that the party was, in fact, united. Then Mr Major promised -- yet again

-- a 20p basic rate for income tax, urging the faithful to put this

message across to doubters, most of whom are only too aware of the

Government's recent string of disastrous tax increases. The gain has

been worth the pain, insists Mr Major, holding forth a dream of ordinary

people luxuriating in a new feeling of prosperity. Even more unwisely,

he describes the pain as having been necessary to create the present

favourable prospects. This gives the impression that Britain's current

export success (for that is where the only success lies) is somehow due

to Government policy. This is nonsense. Britain is exporting well

because we were flung out of the ERM and forced effectively to devalue,

thus giving our exporters an unexpected chance. Party workers should not

try to sell that turkey on the doorsteps.

Mr Blair should have done better, given his hand of electoral cards,

and indeed he has produced a message with a little more style than the

Prime Minister. Nevertheless, as a morale-raiser it lacks a good deal,

notably substance. Much of Mr Blair's effort has gone into pointing out

the deficiencies of the present Government but in a sense this is like

reinventing the political wheel. If Mr Blair is really as concerned as

is generally believed about the dangers of complacency inherent in

Labour's huge opinion polls lead, he will have to do better than this.

The cleverness and sincerity of the Labour leader is not in doubt but

the essential points at which he connects with his own party are less

obvious. His personal concern and anger at injustice is accepted, but

even the new Labour Party needs some fire to unify and motivate it. This

glissade over chilly little truisms holds no warmth at all.

And then we have Mr Lang. The Secretary of State for Scotland is a

nice man if a touch on the predictable side. We were, in truth, a little

worried about Mr Lang this week as he had taken to doing unpredictable

things, like visiting flooded areas without minders, and at the drop of

a hat. In another man this would be described as creative politics but

in Mr Lang it suggested a slight fever. He is better now. His New Year's

message is replete with tales of confidence in Scotland's economy and

the place Scotland holds at the top of the Government's agenda for next

year. Indeed it does, if only as a spoiler for Labour's devolution

plans, but the best plan of all would be for politicians to eschew such

messages and let us stumble into the new year with hopes and fears

self-generated, and all the better for it.