It's too close to seeing the outcome of over a decade of Champagne Socialism for the view to be widely lauded. For the tenant of faith is that if the money is spent, the Utopia will arise. Unemployment will fall, standard of living will rise, social ills will end and society will become richer overall.

Sadly seeing as the only thing that has definitely risen is Private and Public debt with year on year reductions in efficiency in the Public Services along with a vastly greater state this circle is difficult to square. The barriers to bothering to work if anything have increased, with the number of benefits that one looses when one tries to work meaning an initial tax of over 100% earnings. For example, my Aunt has sufficiently low earnings and savings to get a better dental plan than my job offers me - everything free for ever - mine has a £100 charge. She'd have to work c. 20 hours to cover that (when one takes off travel / tax / NI), so at the moment as she is having dental problems, best not bother to work.

We need to allow people to have time to get angry at the austerity measures and to start to forget exactly why we spend so much money paying off debts before again the Church of Social Utopia will again rise like a Phoenix in the hearts and minds of unrealistic idealists: "what the government is currently doing isn't making life perfect for all, so by our version of logic, what we think will..."

Labour is apparently trying to woo many Lib Dems who have been so disaffected at the first experience of governing. Loosing the purity of opposition must be tough. Having to deal with the grubby reality of the world as it is as opposed to being able to predict both cause and effect. So, run to Labour now and snuggle there in opposition until either Labour gains power or the Lib Dems loose it and again they can return to the purity of the Cause.