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Related: About this forumOwen Jones hits the nail on the head about the moderate left's current woes
A very good article about the problems facing the moderate left, especially in the Labour leadership contest. Whilst I will admit that Jeremy Corbyn is too left wing even for my taste, I can see why he is doing well. Positive policy ideas, expressed clearly and simply. Which is something the moderate left struggles with far too often at the moment.
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/aug/03/jeremy-corbyn-new-labour-centre-left
Some of these commentators huddle together on social media, competing over how snarky and belittling they can be towards those oh-so-childish/unhinged/ridiculous (delete as applicable) Corbynites, unable to understand that rare thing, the birth of a genuinely grassroots political movement. And thats the problem: this snarkiness is all some seem to have left. Much of the self-described centre-left Id say Blairism, but some embrace the label more than others now lack a clear vision, or a set of policies, or even a coherent distinct set of values. They increasingly define themselves against what they regard as a deluded, childish left. They have created a vacuum and it has now been filled by the Corbyn left.
Their plight is quite straightforward. The battered remnants of the left in the 1990s cowed by the global onward march of free-marketeers often critiqued New Labour as being indistinguishable from Toryism. Tory Blair and all that. They were wrong, despite the terrible failures and even disasters of New Labour, from the Iraq war to deregulation of the City. New Labour delivered large-scale public investment, in contrast to the underinvestment that characterised Thatcherism; that would mean not only more money for health and education, but also transformative projects like SureStart; the public sector would be expanded; the state would set a floor in workers paypackets, in the form of the minimum wage; the gap between low pay and the reality of life would be subsidised through tax credits; child poverty would be confronted; LGBT people would be emancipated from legal harassment and discrimination. New Labour may have accepted many of the underlying assumptions of Thatcherism, but it clearly had a vision that was distinct from that of the Tories.
George Osborne may have legislated to make the working poor poorer, but his pledge of a £9 minimum wage by 2020 outbid Ed Milibands paltry offer by a pound; the Labour leadership supported a scaling back of tax credits and a benefit cap that will achieve nothing but an increase in child poverty; and austerity has been embraced, and Labours past spending record renounced. What is left for the New Labourites to call for that is distinctive? As things stand, very little. If you are a budding New Labourite, there are plenty of prominent media commentators to look to for inspiration. But while you may find an abundance of negativity, sneer, and pseudo-Freudian psychoanalysis, youll struggle to find any coherent vision.
non sociopath skin
(4,972 posts)The Skin
T_i_B
(14,736 posts)Last edited Tue Aug 4, 2015, 07:28 AM - Edit history (1)
Whether or not they will actually take on board what is actually quite good advice remains to be seen.
The lack of anything positive on offer from the moderate left is a real problem. Not just for Labour either. it scuppered Nick Clegg and the Lib Dems at the general election as well.
But in Labour's case they have been guilty of deploying the "vote for us or it's the Tories" argument instead of being positive about themselves for a number of years. Political parties need to offer positive reasons to vote for them, and also to get involved. Otherwise they just end up looking like grasping careerists who won't do anything for the electorate.
LeftishBrit
(41,203 posts)I think that a lot of people - and not only on the left -are looking for a straightforward, genuine, honest person, who is not a politician-as-usual, and who has policies rather than spin.
Often people are so keen to find someone with these characteristics that they mistake posturing or even demagoguery for honesty and being 'out of the Westminster rut'. Some of the most consummate spinners - Boris, Farage, and yes, Galloway- have managed to take advantage of this.
On the other hand, people who really are in this category (and Corbyn is one) tend ultimately to get steam-rollered by the political and media propaganda machines. Or in Corbyn's case, quickly rather than ultimately. Compared with him, Michael Foot and Tony Benn would have looked like Blairite political spinners. I am not even sure that he really wants to be Prime Minister. An attractive characteristic, but not usually a winning one in a politician.