LONDON -- The Labour government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Tony Blair, has gained a second term of office. The conservative opposition has been utterly defeated and its leader, William Hague, has duly "fallen on his sword" by resigning.
These are dramatic events in the world of politics, but does anybody really care? The overall vote for the British general election fell to a record low level of 59 percent of the actual electorate. TV audiences viewing the results as they came in shrank from 11 million to under 8 million.
The truth is that the whole election event was seen from the start as a foregone conclusion. Moreover, no great issues of belief or ideology seemed at stake. Both major parties appeared caught up in an auction of promises to spend more and invest more in Britain's decrepit public services.