Labour’s new generation

BBC News: “Defence Secretary Liam Fox, what are your thoughts of the leak of this letter, today?”
Liam Fox: “As a result of the terrible legacy left to us by Labour”.

What the hell? This has to be some sort of record. Usually it takes a Tory or Lib Dem, on average, about 2 minutes before they try to defend their ridiculous ideological cuts to public services, with the words “terrible legacy left by Labour”, however the Defence Secretary today not only managed it in less than two seconds, but also managed to fit it into an answer to a question that wasn’t actually asked. That’s almost impressive. I am going to start every answer now, with “due to the terrible legacy left by Labour”, even if it isn’t warranted. “Jamie, where are the car keys?” …. “Due to the horrendous legacy left by the Labour Government, I have put the keys on next to the phone.“

It was inevitable that the Conservative Party and it’s Right Winged friends in the Media would immediately begin to paint Ed Milliband Red the moment he won the Labour Leadership race. It is true, that Ed is further to the Left than his brother, and runner up to the Leadership, David Milliband, but Ed is certainly not far left unionist old Labour. Not by a long shot. Both have claimed in interviews very recently that they consider themselves socialists, but then defined what they believed socialism to mean, and both pointed out that the job of contemporary socialists is to admit that Capitalism is a fact of life now, and try to fill in the caps that capitalism leaves open to injustice and inequality.

I am waiting to see substance in the form of policy, from the new Labour leader, if he is going to win my vote in five years time. I would rather throw myself in front of a train than vote Conservative, and after the Lib Dems gave my vote to the Tories this year, even though my vote was an anti-Tory vote……. I wont be voting Liberal Democrat every again. As I suspect, a hell of a lot of others wont be voting Lib Dem again. They are a dead party, being propped up by the Tories. But in order for Labour to win back my vote, they have to really present a progressive alternative. I do think Ed is a better choice than David. David to me, whilst more charismatic than Ed, is too much of an extension of the Blair years. He represents the centre ground far more, and whilst Ed is certainly not some sort of Leninist as the Sun seems to be suggesting; he is a little more to the Left.

Their father is the ex Marxist theorist Ralph Miliband. Having a Marxist father would drive Americans insane with rage. Luckily, we’re not mad Americans, and we think far more rationally. My own political stance is far more in tune with Miliband Snr than both of his sons. As a boy, Ralph had stood at the grave of Karl Marx, in London, with his clenched fist raised, and vowed to fight for the rights of those less fortunate. Clearly living in a Marxist household, would have had profound affects on both Milibands, whom have since developed their own opinions. I cannot imagine their dad would have voted for either of them at the leadership election.

Ed’s speech was intriguing. I quite liked this:

Every day out of power, another day when this coalition can wreak damage on our communities, another day when we cannot change our country for the better.
And let us resolve today that this will be a one-term government.

The Conservatives (as pointed out in my previous blog) are winning the propaganda war because they have shaped the political discourse away from the fact that it was the private sector that caused the economic mess, and have somehow managed to blame the entire thing, on the Labour Government. The root causes of the Financial sector meltdown, can actually be traced back in a perfectly straight line….. to the last Tory government, curiously. This new Labour party needs to provide a different understanding of the problems, and bring the discourse away from the Right.

The Tories spent the last election campaign blaming Labour for not closing the roof when the sun was shining; in other words, not saving money when times were good.

This was a nice little addition:

The old way of thinking said that public services would always be second-class. But we defied the conventional wisdom.
I come from a generation that suffered school lessons in portacabins and crumbling hospitals. I tell you one thing, for the eighteen years they were in power the Tories did nothing to fix the roof when the sun was shining.

I had to disagree with Ed when he said:

This new generation that leads our party is humble about our past and idealistic about our future.

Firstly, both Miliband brothers had been in the previous Labour cabinet, and spent months sticking up for the way the Party was being run. Gordon Brown was the best man for the job, they both chanted constantly. My issue is, I consider myself an idealist. I was a Party of the left, to be run by thinkers and intellectuals, not the same old politicians we all despise. I don’t want a leader to simply be pandering to the popular opinion and conventional wisdom of the time. On immigration, I was a truly progressive politician who does not give in to the “I was born here don’t you know!!! Bloody pakis taking over!!” bigoted idiots, and then claim they aren’t bigots, just ordinary people worried about jobs. They are bigots. They are also only capable of responding to the conventional wisdom. The reality of migration, as I have said previously in blogs, is that it cannot be solved by closing Britain. The only way you fight immigration is firstly accepting that Britain’s colonial history has sent shockwaves through the centuries, that are still felt today throughout the Middle East and Africa. And secondly, accepting that Nation States and Capitalism are massively incompatible. And thirdly, you have to have a genuine commitment, internationally, to fight global poverty and inequality. Mexicans try for a better life by illegally crossing the border into America, because the balance of equality has tipped far away from them. Since the opening up of trade in Mexico, the Mexican class of poor has expanded, the Middle Class has contracted, and American business interests are flourishing. There are no health benefits, and no educational or societal benefits, and so the poor in Mexico are suffering. And then Americans wonder why they want to leave. They weren’t given any choice. It wasn’t a case of being freed. They have become trapped. And it is a similar story across the World. It is the root cause of mass migration. This is what needs to be conveyed to the public, if Labour want to be truly idealists and progressives.

I also liked this line, of Ed’s speech:

This generation wants to change our society so that it values community and family, not just work, because we understand there is more to life than the bottom line.

I have been waiting for a politician to point out that life is not just about what you do for work, for a very long time.

He then took a well deserved swipe at the Coalition’s debt reduction plans, with:

You see, it’s obvious really, when you cancel thousands of new school buildings at a stroke, it isn’t just bad for our kids, it’s bad for construction companies at a time when their order books are empty.
It’s not responsible, it’s irresponsible.
We must protect those on middle and low incomes. They did nothing to cause the crisis but are suffering the consequences.
I say the people who caused the crisis and can afford to do more should do more: with a higher bank levy allowing us to do more to protect the services and entitlements on which families depend.

He made a point, that struck a chord for me. Recently, my grandparents have become far less mobile. They are in the mid-80s, and they are in and out of hospital almost on a weekly basis. They cannot walk to the shop, and it’s a struggle for them to even wash their clothes. They have a new care worker, who spends most of the day washing for them, making sure they keep as mobile as they can, going to the supermarket for them, cleaning the house, cooking the food, she does absolutely everything, she’s on call at night. A real credit. People like her, are heroes in my estimation, and society should reward them. She is paid next to nothing. Miliband said:

What does it say about the values of our society, what have we become, that a banker can earn in a day what the care worker earns in a year? It is wrong.

If you’re a free market fundamentalist, it is perfectly fine that a banker or a businessman who spends most of the week playing golf, can earn in a day what a person who is actually providing a real social good, earns in a year. It is the height of human freedom apparently. If you are like me, you see something massively wrong and skewed in a system that allows that. And that is why you, like me, are not in the Conservative Party.

The Tories pointed out that Ed is only the leader now, because he received the backing from the Unions, and just how dangerous this is. They claim Ed Miliband must now be in the pockets of the Unions which apparently is a disaster. The media tends to agree. I wonder, why is it a disaster to have won the votes of the Unions, yet no one in the media bats an eyelid, at the fact that when David Cameron tried to argue the case for sudden and quick cuts, he presented a letter signed by a bunch of business leaders; one of whom was a man named Paul Walsh, owner of Diageo PLC, who according to a Guardian Report, have actively avoided tax for years. And a huge number of signitures on the list, including J Sainsbury, Philip Harris and Simon Wolfson, are all members of the Conservative Party! Why is that any different, or any better? why is a Country run in the interests of big business, based on long stressful soul destroying hours for fuck all pay, consider the height of a wondrous free society? Sir Peter Bonfield CBE, FREng, C.U.N.T of BT saw BT share price go from £14, to £5, under his control. He then left BT with over £6,000,000 whilst thousands of workers lost their jobs. Why are we listening to these people? The are the old, grey haired generation that has left my generation with no affordable homes, and a fucked climate. Thanks for that. I for one, am not going to pay attention to the old generation, for another second.

Finally, my favourite part of Ed Miliband’s speech, said like a true progressive:

Here is our generation’s paradox: the biggest ever consumers of goods and services, but a generation that yearns for the things that business cannot provide.
Strong families.
Time with your children.
Green spaces.
Community life
Love and compassion.

Overall, I have quite high hopes for this new generation of Labour. Although something tells me they aren’t going to be all that different to the last lot.

The Labour Uprising

The political situation, whilst comfortable for the Democrats in power over the pond in the United States, is somewhat different here in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister’s position of power remains volatile at best and “lamentable” at the very worst.

There appears to be rumbles of dissent rearing it’s media driven head behind the scenes of Whitehall. The odorous scent of mutiny poisons (or possibly purifies) the New Labour perfumed air. I have kept relatively quiet since my last blog on Saturday, purely due to the fact that i’ve been keeping a close eye on the situation as it unfolds. The story gets more and more entertaining as the days pass. As the media whores stories of mutinous Ministers who may or may not be positioning themselves for Leadership campaigning to a enthused general public, I cannot help but think that even if these treacherous thoughts hadn’t occurred to those Ministers such as Harriet Harman, Alan Johnson, or Jacqui Smith, after all the media attention, they will fester away in the minds of the ambitious for the remaining dying days of the New Labour Government. They will soon come to the realisation that they do not want to drown when the ship finally sinks.

Communities Secretary Hazel Blears appears to have played her part in a potential Blairite inspired coup cleverly. Writing an article for the Observer on Saturday, Blears starts her piece rather predictably with a little brown nosing; “When Gordon Brown leads Labour into the next general election….” Attempting, it would seem, to soften the blow for her scathing attacks on the Government she’s working for. Whilst the start of the piece appears to somewhat quell the idea that a leadership challenge is out of the question, her loyalty appears short lived, when she then goes on to attack the Prime Minister directly, with; “YouTube if you want to. But it’s no substitute for knocking on doors“… in damaging retaliation to the Youtube video her boss, Gordon Brown posted not too long ago, which has received wide criticism. And if I may offer my quick opinion on Blears statement…… Youtube has the potential to reach millions. Labour knocking on doors, whilst it has it’s place, is ridiculous when announcing a new policy initiative. Blears was wrong. Brown was right. Although the video and the policy were ridiculous in themselves.
Blears appears to be attacking the Government, without putting her name forward for leadership. Are the shadowy figures working behind the scenes offering people like Blears a top position in the next Labour Shadow Cabinet? Why else would she take these attacks, knowing just how much the press would pick up on it, to the media? She isn’t stupid, she knew what she was doing. Especially at the pinnacle of such a disaster of a week for Gordon Brown. You cannot stab your leader in back, without being “100%” behind them.

In a week of very public problems for Gordon Brown, it would seem that Labour MPs are worrying for their future and maneuvering for safety in the future. The name being thrown around for potential Leadership in the future, is Secretary of State for Health, Alan Johnson. The Tories in 2006, described Johnson as the man the Tories most feared, writing; “He is affable, easygoing, classless — and, apparently, without enemies”. Johnson himself is ambitious and up until losing the Deputy Leadership contest to Harriet Harman (a huge mistake, in my opinion), claimed that he no longer held such great ambition. But is ambition for the top job that easily brushed aside and forgotten? especially when unnamed Labour MPs tell the Guardian that Alan Johnson is the only man who can save Labour 100 seats come the General election, and The Guardian poll showing 72% of votes cast in favour of him over Harman. Perhaps not. Especially among Politicians, even more so among older Politicians who have worked their way up. As Education Secretary, Johnson wisely appealed to the younger, more Liberal generation, whilst the Tories were discussing the perfect family surroundings, bringing down the divorce rate and gay parenting, Johnson fought back by saying it is the parents themselves who make the difference not what marital situation they are in. As Health Secretary, NHS waiting lists are down, and recording a budget surplus this year, Johnson appears to be a perfect candidate to appease Labour backbenchers, to stop Harriet Harman claiming the victory for Leadership, and to bridge the gap between the old crowd in control of the Party, to a brighter future with a new crowd lead potentially by the likes of David Miliband.

There is of course only two possible ways a leadership challenge could be made. If a candidate finds 70 MPs to support his challenge, and then appeal to the Labour Party Conference for a Leadership election to be called. Or, the good old fashioned “Blair to Brown” way, in which you just push and push until the current leader cannot hold on any longer. The next few months are going to be immensely interesting in the tangled web of British Politics. The fire that Gordon Brown lit under the Labour Party when he took over from Blair, promising straight talking, an end to boom and bust, a friend of business whilst still predominantly left of centre; has well and truly vanquished. And what we’re left with is a lack of vision and an empty box of policies for the future of the Country. It is naive to suggest, as John Prescott has suggested, that the Labour Party needs to get behind and support Gordon Brown leading into the General Election campaign. Gordon Brown is as good as finished. It does not matter how many ministers and MPs in the Party sing his praises, the public simply has no confidence in the leadership of Gordon Brown. It is time for someone new to present new ideas and a new direction, if the Labour Party have any hope at strongly fighting the Tories come Summer 2010. Get behind Brown, the dying captain, and you will inevitably sink to depths not seen since 1979.

Whilst talk of mutiny feeds the appetites of reporters and bloggers alike, the truth is the future of the Labour Party and the future of Britain rests on the positioning for power, over the next few months leading up to the 2010 General Election. I personally want to vote Labour, they appeal to my Social conscience much more so than the Tories. They appeal to my understanding of economics, much more so than the Tories. But when faced with the prospect of five more years of a Gordon Brown run front bench, Harriet Harman, Jacqui Smith, Alaistair Darling, Ed Balls, and Peter Mandelson, my vote will lay at the door of the Liberal Democrats. If Harman (who has been sacked and resigned from more positions than are actually available) becomes leader, I might even decide that the Labour Party no longer exists to me.

The Labour Leadership

When President Sarkozy of France indicated that the VAT cut over here in Britain, had not worked, Downing Street released the statement…

“It is important to remember the context in which he was making the comments, which as I understand it, was a domestic debate on television about the way forward for the French economy and French proposals for an economic stimulus.”

I think they missed the point. They always appear to miss the point. I’m not quite sure that the context matters at all. If Sarkozy had said “The VAT cut didn’t work” during a domestic debate about the French economy, or if he’d have said “The VAT cut didn’t work” during a sensual bath with Gordon Brown himself, it means the same thing. Not only that, but he’s right. The VAT cut didn’t work. It didn’t go far enough. Especially given that most retailers had cut prices distinctively more than ever before anyway.

The German Chancellor has accused Britain and America of failing to understand and control under-regulated areas of the economy, which in turn has lead to this whole disaster. Like Sarkosy, the German Chancellor is right. It doesn’t matter how many times Brown refuses to acknowledge his role in this crises, nor does it matter how many times he says “It’s a global problem“, the recent poll numbers, putting the Tories at a 20 point lead suggest that the public just doesn’t buy into what he says.

So why then, is it being suggested that Brown may step down as Prime Minister, to head up a Global Financial Regulator body? Although he’s denied his interest in such an appointment, it must be tempting for him. He has endured 10 years as Britain’s Chancellor before taking over from Blair as Prime Minister in 1997. But that begs the question, if Brown has been in charge of the Economy for the ten years leading up to the biggest economic disaster in generations, in which a lot of blame can be placed directly at the door of the new Prime Minister, why does anyone think, of the billions of people that live on our wonderful planet, that he, above all others, is the right man for the job? Surely along with people like Alan Greenspan and George Bush, he’d be kept well away from any kind of financial responsibility? We do not need failed Brownomics. We do not need failed Thatcherite economic policies. We need something new; something that preaches social morality within the confines of the free market model.

Labour After Brown.

I do not ever want to see a Conservative Government in this Country again. The roots of the economic crises today, can be traced in an almost perfect line back to the years in which Thatcher beat it into an entire generation, that the free market could solve everything. It didn’t work, clearly.

However, the Tories will win the next general election. That’s now a given. And they wont win by a small majority either, they will command a significant majority. So the worry is, who is to lead the Labour Party if Gordon Brown were to step down to take on a Global Regulatory role, or when Labour lose the next general election?

The talk of Journalist town appears to suggest that Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, Harriet Harman is gearing up for a leadership bid. Does Labour really lack the talent? This is a woman who once said “Yep “ when asked if Labour should apologise for the false intelligence of the Iraq war, and then a few nights later claimed she’d never said that and demanded evidence.
The same Harriet Harman who once said that she would happily go out at night in her town of Peckham and not fear for her safety, but then went out in a stab proof vest.
The same Harriet Harman, who quite disgustingly, tried to nullify the high court ruling that all MPs receipts should be published, by trying to exempt MPs from the Freedom of Information act.
I would rather not vote at all, than be given a choice between Harriet Harman and David Cameron.

She certainly appears to be stepping up her profile recently, agreeing to speak at a ‘Womens Conference’ at the exact same time as the G20 meetings take place. She also started pushing for bank bonus caps recently, having kept relatively quiet for months. Is she trying to win over the support of the Labour left? According to politicalbetting.com, Harman is doing what Labour leaders do prior to an election and sucking up to the Unions. Politicalbetting asks if Harman is becoming our version of Palin…. I can safely say, yes she is, because she’s ridiculous, and useless all at the same time.

Harman certainly seems to be positioning herself one step above the competition, which would include David Miliband (my favourite as successor to Brown) and Alan Johnson, who really aren’t making any effort or publicity. In 2008, Miliband wrote an article in the Guardian about his vision for the future of the Labour Party. He doesn’t mention Gordon Brown’s involvement in that future once. He also suggests here… “The odds are against us, no question. But I still believe we can win the next election.”… That Labour has issues and must over come those odds. That issue, at that time, was Gordon Brown. Miliband looked set to offer an alternative to Brown. He ended up backing down. Perhaps that’s a weakness that should not be brought to the Prime Minister’s chair. He does however, attack the Tories, and David Cameron in particular. That isn’t what a Foreign Secretary does. It is however, what a man with big ambitions does. So perhaps the subtle hint at an ambitious future, was enough to start the ball rolling in 2008. He seems however, to have stayed quiet so far this time around, allowing Harman to get the publicity over a possible leadership contest.

For the sake of the Labour Party, let’s inject new blood into the system. Harman is not leadership material. She’s a typical Politician who cannot answer questions straight, and repeatedly contradicts herself, whether it be on her comments over a much needed apology for flawed intelligence leading up to the Iraq war, or preaching how wonderfully safe the streets of London are, whilst herself strolling around in a stab proof vest; just stands to show she is in fact a disaster of a Leader-in-waiting.

The public do not like Harman. She has made too many PR mistakes to claw back any ounce of respect. And whilst I’d push for The Foreign Secretary, David Miliband as next Labour leader simply because he reflects my own Blairite tendencies whilst looking young and fresh enough to pose an adequate threat to Cameron’s Tories; why should we leave it to the Party itself to decide? Why can’t we have a real democratically elected leader through perhaps a Primary system as in America?

Because if Harman is given the top job, she doesn’t stand a chance against the fresh looking, but lacking fresh ideas; Cameron’s Tories.

The Miliband East

It would appear that swarmy nobhead David Miliband is single handedly trying to end the problems in the Middle East by asking Abbas (Which isn’t code to suggest that there is a new member of Abba, but if it were, it would explain why the Middle East is killing itself rather than listen to Abba again) to uphold the Gaza truce.

In 1917, the Balfour Declaration, a letter of support by the Foreign Secretary, Arthur Balfour, for a Jewish state in Palestine, stated “His Majesty’s government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish People….”

And so in one swoop, the British had decided we’d create a nation, in a land that wasn’t actually ours in the First place. It’s the same, in principle, as me going into France now, and saying “ok, i’m setting up a new nation of Jamie, right here in France” (If I were to do that, it certainly wouldn’t be in France). And so the Palestinians, who lived there, were quite understandably pissed off. And the Jews, who have been persecuted where ever they’ve lived, chased out and killed of every land they’ve settled, were now becoming the hated people of the middle East.

The Arabs then revolted, in disgust, in 1936 for three years, against all the commissions that came out of Britain. They killed Jews, they boycotted Jewish and British goods. All hell broke loose.
In 1937, the Jews were given 20% of Palestine, the rest went to the Arabs, who still, understandably weren’t happy. It’s their land! Arab killed Jew, Jew killed Arab, Arab killed Brit, it was a lawless mess. And we created it.

skip 70 odd years, since the year 2000, 1062 Israeli innocents have been killed by Arab forces. 4876 Arab innocents have been killed by Israeli forces. An Israeli force that may not have existed, if it weren’t for The British. A war that will never end, over land that both groups consider themselves the rightful heirs of. Holy Land that people on both sides of the conflict are willing to die to protect for their people.

Some Palestinian media outlets even promoting violence against Jews. It’s just how it is. Whoever manages to sort the problem and create lasting peace will be remembered forever as a political giant. Greater than Churchill, greater FDR, greater than any other political legend. It will be the defining moment of the century.

Since the creation of Israel, 4 million Arabs have been forced out of Israel. Palestine wants a right of return for those people and their descendants. They also want Jerusalem, as does Israel. Until those issues are sorted, which never will be sorted, then the war will continue.

But it’s ok, because Miliband has asked them to be nice to each other.