Labour Hypocrisy? Here we go again…
I am by no means a natural hater of the Labour party. I may have become rather vocal in my dislike of their authoritarian style of government (something which manifested itself in various areas. Attacking both personal and sometimes even social freedom) but I always made it clear where I supported them. Ideas of fairness and social justice were how I first became politically inspired in my teenage years and the Labour party, at least traditionally, are supposed to be the natural home of such values. I even accepted that the spin led, devious and flat out disgusting manner in which some of its leading politicians (two of these practitioners now vying for leadership…ahem… Mr. Balls and Mr. Burnham) behaved in the last few years were an unfortunate result of a long time spent trying to hold on to power, perhaps not…?
The wholly indecent way in which Ed Balls directed his attacks at Vince Cable- for some misconceived notion that Cable had sold out his principles-on question time last night, were literally enough to make any person of sense vomit. It’s this recent, frustrating Labour line of ‘The Lib Dem’s sellout’ which really inspires this nausea, especially because in some circles it appears to be working. When the Labour party messed up on the 10p tax rate, The Gurkhas, 42 days etc… these mistakes were genuinely symptoms of a government selling out to appease a right wing media and these gaffs took place so recently that the idea we should all now have our minds erased blank and, out of some sort of denial and need to hear a message somewhat pleasing to our ears, sit there letting Ed Balls accuse anyone- true or not- of selling out is laughable. Where the Labour party actually did sell out for power back in ’97 the Lib Dem’s have naturally had to make concessions in a C-O-A-L-I-T-I-O-N government and this is exactly the point; we do not have a Lib Dem government we have a coalition, listing where the Lib Dems have given ground is simply pointing out the obvious nature of such arrangements, isn’t it? Didn’t many on the left used to argue that coalition government, that politcians working together and compromising instead of participating in childish tribalism was the way forward? Of course the likes of Green party leader Caroline Lucas (whom I actually admire) only beleive in this as long as you don’t compromise on anything important to the left and when they say they beleive in coalition they don’t mean in its rawest sense; they mean between parties that have no real significant difference.
Of course the Labour party are going to have an easy ride if they simply get to sit there and oppose every tough measure the government have to make, with no one asking the likes of Ball’s what they would have done and where they would have made the percentage of cuts that they specified (this is a party that before the election made it clear that they also would have to cut harsher than Thatcher. Forgot that, have we?). I, of course am not going to allow myself to be led up the garden path by such obvious and ridiculous spin (still at it aren’t they? And there was I sincerely hoping they would refresh themselves in opposition) and thats not to say the government aren’t overdoing the whole ‘its worse than we thought’ line but… I don’t know… there’s something about the current Labour trend that I find quite unlikable. I will still wait and see what happens when Labour finally gets its new leader but for now I vaguely support the coalition and am willing to continue that support through these perhaps necessary but equally unpopular measures. If, as the cynics say, the new politics cannot last long, it is quite obvious who’s trying their best to make it revert quickly back to the politics of old.
The task ahead: Protecting the Political centre ground
I am, unashamedly a centrist. I have had many debates with friends over the years, of both left and right leanings, about the merits of a more centrist approach. Personally, I find it the more progressive and certainly more rational and common sensical way of doing things. When the financial crisis happened I feared we were going to see a return to the old dividing lines, to the outdated battles of far left and far right ideologues; those who are more commited to proving their near extinct philosophies right than they are to the national interest. A few months ago there was an interesting article in Prospect magazine about the new political climate making it hard for the true liberals of both left and right; people like James Purnell leaving the Labour party and the far right gaining influence in political territory the Cameroonian project found itself feeling uneasy entering. I, someone who was opposed to Tony Blair on many issues, was certainly worried that perhaps the one good legacy of the Blair years was to be quickly wiped away and be another casualty of many in theae harder economic times.
This is why I am pleased that we have now entered a period of Coalition Government and I hope that at the very least, the formation of a new Liberal Conservative coalition has made sure that the centre ground is the arena where the political bouts of the next five years are held. As I pointed out in my previous blog the new coalition means that Cameron won’t have to be as concerned about the right wing of his party, allowing him to complete the modernization process that was at the forefront of his leadership in opposition (Of course Cameron will still have to keep the right of his party happy from time to time, as will Clegg with the left of his party). The other positive is that hopefully, with Cameron seemingly gaining the centre ground, this will stop the Labour party, whoever the eventual leader, from making that disatrous run to the left many of us feared they might (It must be pointed out that ‘running to the left’ and reconnecting with the concerns of their core vote are not the same thing and shouldn’t be viewed as such).
I’m sure there are many out there who would rather enjoy a return to the regressive views of the old political dinosaurs and will continue to espouse the idea that ‘they’re all the same… there’s no difference between the parties anymore’ a notion that is, to be quite frank, utter bollocks. In my opinion centre politics hasn’t destroyed the defining lines between left and right at all; Labour are still strong beleivers in the state and Conservatives still passionately believe in reducing state power, no amount of centrism is ever going to change that. The debate that is inevitably going to take place on the subject of free schools is a prime example of the significant difference in emphasis between the centre left and centre right of our politics; and prove how healthy our level of debate still is. However, I think it’s right, and a recognition of changing times, that certain arguments- both economic and social- have been won and accepted across the political spectrum.
Of course there still maybe trouble ahead; the unpopularity of severe spending cuts are likely to rock the centrist boat, it will certainly make that Labour party run to the left seem very easy and tempting (and very misguided). Anyway, I suppose it all remains to be seen…
It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day… The Liberal Conservative coalition
I suppose there will be many Lib Dem supporter’s dissappointed that the centre left party they voted for are forming a coalition with the conservative party; I, a Lib Dem supporter myself, am not and here’s why:
Let’s be honest, it was the only real option. A Lib Lab pact, whilst for some the dream, wouldn’t have worked for many reasons, most of them accurately observed by Dan Hartland over at The story and the truth in a recent blog. The other option- to do a deal with neither and let the Tories form a minority government- would have been disastrous for our country’s stability- and – as a progressive, I must admit I’d rather have a Tory government influenced by Liberal’s than a Conservative government where the right of the party would have more sway.
Here’s the most important reason; Liberal policy, policies I voted for on education, tax and the enviroment, are to be implemented. Am I to oppose that simply because they’re been made by the blue team instead of the red team? I’m sure the Labour party are about to wage a war on the Lib Dems accusing them of selling out their progressive ideals for power; who are they to talk? The past Labour government wanted 92 day’s detention without trial, arrested protesters for merely listing the names of dead Iraqi civillians and in fact made it hard to protest outside parliment full stop, supported compulsory ID cards, increased databases and surveillance to frightening proportions and escorted elderly Labour mps out of their conference for simply refferring to a Jack Straw speech on Iraq as nonsense; no selling out of progressive ideals there then! Let’s be frank; the New Labour project itself was almost wholly based on the philosophy of selling out, they have no right to lecture anyone on abandoning ideals.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not looking at the Tories with rose tinted glasses nor am I forgetting all that Labour has done. The Labour government acheived some great things that shouldn’t be forgotten; the minimum wage, the human rights act, civil partnerships, NHS funding… However, I became bitterly opposed to Labour on issues of Civil Liberties and admittedly, as a commited civil libertarian, I am excited about some of the talk Chris Huhne gave on telivision this morning about the consensus reached between cons and libs on civil liberties and a ‘liberty’ bill; something which, with Liberal influence, might not be the worrying human rights act replacement I thought it might be.
I am still worried about some Tory policies and this will cetainly be a tough coalition to keep up. The Tory right and Lib Dem left will be hard to keep in check for such a long period of time and the issue of Europe is bound to be tumultuous. I have to honest though, I was surprised the Tories were willing to sacrifice policies such as the inheritance tax cut for the very wealthy in order to help tax cuts to the lower paid. Nick Robinson said it best this morning when he stated that things are changed by leaders with nerve, both Cameron and Clegg have proved they have the ‘ nerve’ that Gordon Brown clearly lacked. Whatever happens with this coalition no one can deny the courage it took to make this deal.
As for the Labour party; well, with the right leader they could do well out of being in opposition. My personal favourite Alan Johnson has ruled himself out to back David Milliband, someone who I’m certainly not a fan of, although. he would probably fair reasonably well with the public. I would like the Labour party to completely refresh itself from the mistakes of the Blair/Brown years; trouble is I’ve yet to find anyone high up in the Labour party acknowledge precisely what those mistakes were. I am still concerned about the far right of the Tory party, a wing filled with people I passionately disagree with and am sometimes appalled by. That been said, I do get along, and can find agreement, with socially liberal Conservatives; I, myself, tend to lean to the Nick Clegg, David Laws Liberal wing of the Lib Dems. Anyway, it’s certainly exciting political times right now.
Problem Solved!
So, the much anticipated debates were last night and I’m sure cyber space will be filled with opinionated bloggers eager to suffocate us in a sea of last minute analysis. I, of course, am not one to disappoint so here’s my two penny’s. It’s interesting that I started the week with a blog about the Liberal communication problem and finish it writing about Clegg’s clear win last night. It’s almost as if some Lib Dem activist, by chance, caught a glimpse of my blog- copied and saved it- than emailed it throughout the party; only for those close to Clegg to get hold of it, pass it on to Nick and for him to then find it as inspiring as the Shook ones pt2 instrumental is to B Rabbit in 8 Mile; Although, to be honest, that’s unlikely.
I must admit, a part of me is rather pleased with last night’s turn of events. I have loyally defended Clegg’s position as Lib Dem leader against many a cynically toned voice. I always knew that, while the political class treated him as some sort of joke, if you put him on a platform where the general public could really get the chance to hear him speak, they’d take to him. What I’m interested in is what this means. Was it simply a case that Clegg is a voice that may have never been truly heard before by most people and he benefited from that or is it precisely because Cameron and Brown are the realistic options for Prime Minister that they were treated with more cynicism and Clegg more optimistically? Maybe people simply think his performance was better; with his personal relationship to members of the audience and instinctive knowledge of how to play to the camera or was it a genuine win by Clegg of the intellectual argument? What does a Nick Clegg debate victory really mean?
Whilst pretty much all of the papers and commentators agree on a clear Clegg win, it’s unsurprising perhaps they differ slightly on who bested the other when it comes to Brown and Cameron. The polls generally suggest that Cameron slightly edged Brown but many spectators disagree. Personally, I don’t think Cameron was as weak as his critics made him out to be, in fact I think he was quite good; I just think his ‘charm’ doesn’t work’s like it used to. Brown pretty much held his own but failed to change anyone’s mind; everyone I know has given precisely the opinion I would’ve expected them to when it came to Brown’s performance and that opinion is very much based on their political persuasion.
To be honest, I have been quite surprised by the Tory campaign. Through all my debates and prediction’s I never thought that Cameron and his party may just mess this up. I don’t think this whole ‘volunteer’ ‘ you be the goverment’ campaign is really going to wash with the public. That’s not to say there isn’t a real argument to be made by Conservatives for small goverment; it’s just they really couldn’t be more misguided in the way they’re putting that argument. As for Labour, well my opinion still hasn’t changed. The public are scrutinizing the Tories in a way they haven’t before but, even when they don’t like what they see, I don’t sense a move back towards Brown. So here we are, at the beggining of an Election campaign where it’s so easy for Labour to lose, yet extraordinarily difficult for the Tories to win outright and the Lib Dem’s just won the first debate. I can’t help but feel, whatever the result, we’re going to spend a lot of time analyzing exactly what this all meant come Election day.