The Labour party is in trouble and HM Opposition isn’t functioning properly. In an autumn statement where the UK Chancellor George Osborne announced U-turns on tax credit reform and public spending budgets including the police and with cash for military spending too. The Labour party had a golden opportunity to attack and ridicule the Conservative government for its change of heart and to question the soundness of their economic policies and assumptions for future growth.
Instead Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell stood up and produced his copy of Chairman Mao’s little red book and suggested Osborne read about the merits of Chinese communism to the dismay of his backbenchers and glee of the Conservative side of the house and the press had a field day.
Since the election disaster of May 2015 and subsequent election of Jeremy Corbyn as the new leader the Labour party’s problems just don’t seem to be improving. An article (sent to me by a friend) in the spectator suggest why he isn’t being fully honest in his opinions either (Spectator, 2015).The article is by Nick Cohen a prominent Labour supporting journalist too.
The Labour Party needs to sort itself out and represent the working person’s legislative interests in parliament as it was meant to. Being run by people who believe in out-dated political ideologies that never worked to produce a centrally planned economic workers utopia, yet managed to incarcerate or kill millions with its purges or policies, is one that modern working voters have left behind.
In the UK Coal miners have all but gone, cars are made by robotic plant and any ship- building left is highly mechanised using highly skilled workers who by old-fashioned measures of wealth and aspirations are thoroughly middle-class. There are still many who have been left behind in the modern economy or stuck in low earning jobs.
How best to help them but still allow the new working or skilled- classes keep their hard worked for earnings is a challenge the current leadership is never likely to rise to as old habits and entrenched beliefs are to shed.
As the Tony Blair “New Labour” project got wrecked over the 2007-9 financial crisis and involvement in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Although too many middle-class career politicians declaring how much they care for the working classes was clearly exposed and rejected by the electorate in the 2015 election as insincere and inadequate.
However blaming capitalism and wanting to reintroduce nationalisation is further good news for the Conservatives where falling out over the EU is their greatest challenge until the 2020 election- ignoring low growth, pensions reform, scary geo-political tensions and funding the insatiable NHS but that discussion is for another time. Glad to see more cash for the military and 400,000 social homes are greatly required too- just hope it all happens in time.
Her Majesty’s opposition have a job to do in keeping government accountable to parliament so buck-up Labour.
Corbyn – out by Christmas?
LDC.
References:
Spectator Magazine, (2015), “Jeremy Corbyn isn’t anti-war he’s anti-west,” by Nick Cohen, The Spectator, London UK.
https://www.spectator.co.uk/features/9680702/jeremy-corbyn-isnt-anti-war-hes-just-anti-west/