For Starmerites, this is the stuff that really turns them on. They didn't enter politics because they thought big business was a problem or because they wanted the wealthy to pay their fair share. They entered politics because they feel an utterly irrational level of resentment and anger towards the most vulnerable in society. When they look back on their careers, they want their legacy to be a "solution" to the "problem" of vulnerable people's existence. Perhaps even a final solution, if Kim Leadbeater gets her way.
However, there are two other factors specific to the British political system which have greatly contributed to us reaching this point -
1) The funding model for political parties. When Rachel Reeves is presented with a choice between taxing the wealthy or getting the funds from disabled people instead, and she reacts as if the latter is the easy option and the former is utterly unthinkable, that must in part be due to Labour's reliance on wealthy donors. If you had state funding for parties, or a cap on spending, or a cap on the size of donations, the range of policy options open to governments would suddenly and radically expand, because left-wing parties wouldn't have to fear losing their level playing-field if they genuinely pursued social justice.
2) The absence of proportional representation. If we had PR, a socialist party to the left of Labour would be viable. As is the case in Germany, it might take around 5-10% of the vote and thus take around 5-10% of the seats. That would mean there would always be a price to pay for Labour in tacking too far to the right, because left-wing voters would have somewhere else to go. As it is, Labour just ignore their left flank because most of the left are still sitting powerlessly within the Labour party itself. (OK, that's an over-simplification, because the Green Party is stronger than ever before and Labour are also threatened by left-wing independents in certain areas. But Starmer, Reeves and Kendall continue to think and act as if they needn't worry about the left.)
The Greens (and maybe the SDP? They come across as leftwing by way of Reform, which is somewhat contradictory.) are an option left of Labour, but have a lot of additional baggage. I do hope they'll shed some of that, though obviously not the environmental aspect. Party identity is important for a plurality of voting options
ReplyDeleteWhat there isn't, currently, is a leftwing party without baggage. I believe that if the SDP were going to take off they'd have started showing signs by now. Until there is a well-known left party Labour will continue ignoring that flank as irrelevant: I suspect most of the people not voting who used to are of left principles but see no viable options. Not voting from them is fine for a political establishment fighting over the right.
People my age or older think of the SDP as something that went out with Spandau Ballet, while anyone younger doesn't know they ever existed.
DeleteHow about Bob Maclennan's Salads? They were in and out quicker than a Stock Aitken and Waterman one hit wonder.
DeleteWhat, is there another SDP now? I too can only think of David Owen's lot
DeleteLabour is currently a coalition of metropolitan and post industrial.
ReplyDeleteUniversity liberals who wish the party could be more left wing, like them, but concede the need to pander to Tory England. And the disgruntled working class who live in Thatcher, Blair and Osborne's post-industrial, post-employment wastelands and who haven't yet switched to Farage.
DeleteAnother problem with the current political set up is the parties getting money from foreign governments. I’m thinking in particular about all the money channelled from Israel to politicians. You can see the impact of that in the way the politicians just turn a blind eye to war crimes in Palestine.
ReplyDeleteThey have plenty to say about the alleged war criminal Putin but nothing about the other alleged war criminal Netanyahu.
I do wonder what those individuals who are involved in the micro independence parties actually hope to achieve? In this respect I believe The Greens have a niche following and don't come under this banner. The reality is that they will not win any seats for Holyrood so do they just assist the unionists? Would they be better to merge?
ReplyDeleteThe issue though is that this essentially amounts to asking them: Why don’t you just re-join the party you deliberately left and believe is failing the independence movement?
DeleteThe splits happened for a reason, and many feel that the onus should be on the larger party to extend an olive branch, rather than expecting the smaller parties to concede and see the error of their ways. Especially since next to nothing has changed since the split happened.
Not sure about that - there's been a dampening down of the gender identity stuff.
DeleteA return to the Independence stuff might be more compelling.
DeleteI can tell you on good authority that Chris did not care one way or another whether you were disciplined, suspended or expelled. So little did he care that he didn’t take any action on the complaint against you for several months until he was instructed to do so at a meeting of the NEC that took place in August 2024.
ReplyDeleteI'm well aware that he delayed taking action for months (I assume because of the general election), but that in itself was a breach of the rules - he should have either immediately passed the complaint to the Disciplinary Committee or immediately dismissed it. There is no provision in the constitution for him to do what he actually did, which was sit on the complaint for five months and then suddenly out of the blue impose a sort of "Schrodinger's suspension". He also lied through his teeth about the origins of the complaint in the email he sent informing me of the suspension, which is not really consistent with the dispassionate attitude you're suggesting.
DeleteMaybe history can educate people that no gay or transgender folk that we know of ever bombed entire counties and people's to death, so who are these people telling us all to be frightened of gays and transgenders again? oh right, the people that bomb us all to death
ReplyDeleteThe twisting of perceptions is a great tool for politicians to use on the unwary
Utter nonsense
DeleteHowdy IFS
DeleteAnon at 5.12pm I don't even know which of the above two posts you think in your fevered and obsessed brain is me but neither is me. Away and get yourself a real hobby ya numpty.
DeleteI wouldnae be surprised if that weird troll at 8.54pm is actually posting pish posts so he can claim it is me. Can't be long before he is in in straight jacket.
DeleteThe rootlessness of finance capital is the massive "Dark Tower" of our times. Governments of small and medium (including UK) states believe themselves powerless to even mildly challenge money power which will just bugger off elsewhere if they are not allowed to plunder the rest of us.
ReplyDeletePoliticians are slipped some extra pocket money to keep their electoral systems as skewed as is required.
"Simples" job done. ...and if the super rich need a bit more get yourself a Trump and go proto fascist.
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no true solution will ever be possible without the removal of the virtual senate and its armoury the tax haven
Deletethat the UK is a front for a pirate haven - the city - is an unsolvable problem
in ancient times the problem of "oligarchs" was often solved by a "tyrant" (a popular king) who could break their power, but this is really the main cause of war
There is something akin to PR at Holyrood elections and an MSP from a socialist party hasn't been elected for over 18 years.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of which: the Scottish Socialists will probably get my list vote in 2026. Don't know how much good it'll do them, but fingers crossed they reach the dizzy heights beyond 1%!
Delete"There is something akin to PR at Holyrood elections and an MSP from a socialist party hasn't been elected for over 18 years."
DeleteBut a very, very large number of MSPs have been elected during that period from parties to the left of Labour.
And AMS isn't akin to PR, it is PR.
To the left of Jeremy Corbyn? Whatever. Currently we have bald Starmer, and the Greens seem to be run by Biffa Ltd. (to whom the people of Scotland will probably be paying a very large amount of money to, thanks to Lorna Slater). The SNP dropped their climate change targets quicker than the Tory Party.
Delete"To the left of Jeremy Corbyn? Whatever"
DeleteEh?
I seem to remember Bella Caledonia discussing "left-wing" MSPs a couple of years back.
DeleteIf memory serves the biggest socialist that people came up with was....[*drumroll*]... Humza!
3 or 4 minor independence parties reforming to 1 grouping could possibly get to 4% on a list vote? Main banner- Independence first.
ReplyDeleteNo. It should be 'First, independence'.
DeleteHow hard a lot of folk are still trying to get rid of the SNP, Salmond's gone, give it a rest
ReplyDeleteAll the wee Judean front parties, what have the SNP ever done for us?
I don’t think the future is to get rid of the snp but smaller parties need to unite to achieve any possible success if they do to like the greens too, however that is measured -under a list vote. If not, they are doomed to fail, again and again ad-infinitum
DeleteThe smaller parties are a real life version of the Judean front in Monty python. They cannot even agree on the order of words in a two word slogan. Independence First. NO . First Independence.
DeleteThe Alba Party expulsion hearing was held via an online meeting. Alba did not send the accused member the log in code so denying the member their constitutional right to participate in the disciplinary hearing to defend himself.
ReplyDelete(They still don't know what was said at that hearing, as the Alba Party (Mr McEleny) subsequently refused to comply with Subject Access Requests.) All the expelled member was told is that they had been expelled for damaging the Party's image in the eyes of the public.
The member had been given just a few days notice to submit a written response to complaints about their conduct allegedly made against him by un-named individuals. Further allegations of misconduct were then made just prior to the meeting. These accusations of misconduct included using a jobby emoji on Twitter / X.
The disciplinary process was bent from the start - and serves as a good example of the wider corruption of the Party in general. E.G. It had / has a constitution that, in reality, concentrated power in the hands of a few individuals. Power that was abused with glee.
The corruption of the Alba Party also serves as an example of the corruption of the wider UK political system.
Seeking Scotland's liberation via Holyrood / Westminster politicians (whether corrupt or not) is not only a waste of time; it is counterproductive in that it concentrates power in the hands of a few politicians who swear allegiance to the UK's head of state and so reinforces the idea that the English Crown (in Westminster) is sovereign.
If you're talking about Colin Alexander and if he still wants to know what happened at his hearing, tell him to email me because I was there. Although he probably knows a fair bit about it by now.
DeleteIf Scotland's SNP politicians do not go through with England's demanded ritual then they don't become MSPs, them's the English rules, there are plenty of the other lot who'll take their place the minute they ever refuse though, is that preferable?
DeleteWestminster designed it that way so such things as principles could no longer exist in England's Scotch colony
Defeatist or apologist? You choose.
DeleteI mind 2007 when Salmond seized the powers of the “Scottish executive” and pulled off quite a coup in Holyrood. Those first two SNP governments had balls. More of that required! And ultimately our final referendum.
Should I work for the imperial power for personal gain or oppose it because people should have the right of self-determination?
DeleteA question that has maybe been asked by millions in nations conquered and colonised by the British Empire.
I reject the argument that SNP or other politicians should help the Windsors / UK state to rob people and and deny them self-determination because if they don't someone else will.
Who exactly?
DeleteAnon at 9.12. What are you doing about it?
DeleteNigel Farage’s party Reform UK has recorded its highest level of support in a Scottish poll.
ReplyDeleteAnalysis of the Survation poll for Quantum Communications put Reform on 14 seats if the results were replicated in next year’s Holyrood election.
This would mean they finish ahead of both the Greens and Lib Dems, with the SNP still the largest party.
The poll put the SNP on 55 seats, Labour on 19, the Conservatives on 17, with the Lib Dems on 13, the Greens on 10 and Alba with one seat.
Survation polled 1,012 people in Scotland between March 6 and 13.
In terms of the constituency vote, the poll suggests the SNP are on 34%, Labour are on 23%, Reform are on 17%, the Conservatives are on 12%, the Lib Dems are on 8%, the the Greens are on 4% and Alba on 1%.
Ahh, the hidden reform supporter comes to the fore.
ReplyDeleteThe seat for Alba ruins the whole fantasy for me.
DeleteSeat for Alba? Not happening.
Delete