The 1970's were an entire object lesson to the labour party that there is no way for them to 'keep their supporters aboard' or appease them, and as sapper points out - it ended in the winter of discontent.

The problem I have with the tories is that the supporters they keep aboard are probably quite as bad as a trade union movement, puffed up with its own importance - namely the Ulster unionists (didn't the Irish policies that saw your friends getting shot over there sicken you, Sapper - they were quite unnecessary and stopped almost as soon as Labour got in?) other supporters are the Murdoch press, the millionaire cliques that pay no taxes, the list goes on.

I don't think Blair had any choice with Afghanistan and Iraq. He knew how America had vindictively buggered up our economy when we refused to support them over Vietnam. He wasn't going to spend his tenure picking up the pieces like Wilson did.

However because of this Brown and Blair spent a lot of time picking lead out of their ass from their own supporters. The raising of the 10p tax rate was inexplicable and inexcusable.

The failure to clean out M15/MI6 (particularly after that suspicious suicide of the scientist). The failure to tackle huge profits by cartels and monopolies operating in this country - and make them pay sensible amounts of tax. These have been the real moral failures.

As a Labour Party supporter - albeit a passive one - I am sorry for its failures. As someone who has worked as a teacher, and seen the iniquitous 'National Curriculum' come and go, and then someone who has had to manage living on allowances with my disabled wife. I can see that the Labour Party has more inherent decency than the tories. It occurs to it to do decent things that the tories would never think of.

And they don't sneer at us from the party platform, like Peter Lilley did.