In her appearance on this morning’s Andrew Marr Show, Harriet Harman said:
“The Tories are insufferably arrogant about this, saying: ‘Labour’s already lost the next election; we’ve already won. We already have the keys of Downing Street.’
“I think that’s arrogant. I think that’s taking the voters for granted and I don’t believe at all that we’ve lost the next election. We’re in it for the fight.”
It’s extremely good to see the Labour deputy leader evincing such fighting spirit. As I have blogged previously, it is the hallmark of the politician that he or she will fight to the end and never give up.
On the other hand, Ms Harman was herself showing considerable arrogance in her accusations against the Conservative party.
No Conservative politician I know, or have ever heard of, thinks that the election is in the bag, much less has asserted it in the repellent manner alleged by Ms Harman. We know full well that we have a fight on the hands and cannot take the outcome for granted. What is more, Ms Harman knows full well that that is the case.
In suggesting that the Tories are guilty of such overweening pride and of declaiming it, Ms Harman is herself guilty of treating the voters as idiots. That is real arrogance, for which she and her party deserve to be soundly punished next year.
