In praise of Hattersley

I never thought I'd write the words "in praise of Roy Hattersley" but I thought compared to his rather negative journalistic pieces in the Guardian he was brilliant on Question Time last night. I didn't agree with everything he said but the contrast between his intelligent and humane approach to the issues compared with fellow panelists Norman Tebbit and Richard Littlejohn was a timely reminder of the real dividing lines in politics.

It made me think what a better country this would be now, and how many people would have been saved the misery of poverty and unemployment in the '80s, if we had had Healey, then Hattersley, then John Smith as our prime ministers rather than Thatcher and Major.

And I agreed with him on the nuclear power consultation issue - he said words to the effect that Governments should run for election on a clear policy platform, do what was in their manifesto, and then if people don't like it they can vote them out - you can't expect to consult and get a consensus on controversial issues.