A few weeks ago, we in the UK elected a new government because we get a free democratic choice every five years or so. Well, I say we get a choice, it's actually between Red uniparty or Blue uniparty, which is a bit deciding which one of my testicles I'd prefer to have amputated.
It's rather bit like that scene in the Matrix, only the same thing happens whatever pill you take and Keanu Reeves still ends up in a long leather trench coat saying 'woah', or 'dude' whilst punching Hugo Weaving in the face.
Some people are stubbornly loyal to one or other of those colours, a bit like football fans in Manchester or Liverpool, but some people can be persuaded to choose someone else either way.
This time we 'chose' the red uniparty. Well, twenty percent of us did. It wasn’t a great turnout. There was no real enthusiasm. Nobody was voting for a bright new tomorrow. The Labour Party, under the stewardship of Sir Keir Starmer, has now taken the helm of this once-great nation, promising change with the earnestness of a schoolboy pledging to do his homework.
It was more like shifting yourself on an uncomfortable chair because one of your arse cheeks has gone numb. Yet, as we peer through the veil of political rhetoric, what do we find? Not the heralded dawn of a new era but the same old dusk, just with different shadows.
In this, our current epoch, where political discourse has devolved into a cacophony of promises and platitudes, we witness the ascension of what can only be described as 'the new boss.' And with this new boss, comes the realization, more bitter than a cup of over-brewed tea, that things have not improved but perhaps, have taken a turn for the worse.
Take, for instance, the means testing of winter fuel payments, a policy so devoid of empathy it could chill the heart of even the most ardent supporter. YouGov's analysis paints a picture of a government more interested in balancing books than in ensuring the warmth of its citizens during our famously unforgiving winters.
And what of the environment, that great battleground where Labour promised to fight with the zeal of a knight of old? The Guardian's coverage reveals a government more adept at setting targets than at hitting them, with net zero emissions turning into a slogan rather than a strategy.
Then there's the economy, the NHS, immigration, housing - all these are arenas where Labour was expected to shine but has so far managed only to flicker. The phrase "Meet the New Boss, Same as the Old Boss" resonates not just as a catchy line from a song by The Who, but as a grim assessment of where we stand. The Conservative era, with all its faults and follies, has been supplanted by a Labour government that seems to have learned all the wrong lessons from its predecessor.
In this era of political theatre, where every policy announcement feels like a scene from a poorly scripted play, one yearns for a return to governance where actions speak louder than words. The new boss, worse than the old, has so far proven to be a master of the art of disappointment, a conductor of the symphony of mediocrity.
As we look forward, one can only hope that this is merely the overture to a better act, that the new boss finds the courage to lead rather than merely to manage. Until then, we, the audience of this political drama, sit in the stalls, watching with a mix of resignation and hope, waiting for the moment when the promise of change is not just spoken but realized.
As such, politics out in the real world will continue to deteriorate while the world becomes a more threatening and unstable place. The fate that befell the zombie Tory party is just as likely to befall Starmer’s Labour. A clock is ticking, but the denizens of Westminster are deaf to it.
Hopefully, come the next General Election, we will pick up our guitars and play, just like yesterday, get on our knees and pray - that we won't get fooled again.