Salman Shaheen, a member of Left Unity's national co-ordinating group, replies to Left Foot Forward editor James Bloodworth, who wrote a piece for the Guardian yesterday in which he argued that the left should stick with the Labour Party.
Salman Shaheen, a member of Left Unity’s national co-ordinating group, replies to Left Foot Forward editor James Bloodworth, who wrote a piece for the Guardian yesterday in which he argued that the left should stick with the Labour Party.
Long before I’d ever been on an anti-war march or read any Marx, the first spark of left-wing thought emerged in my brain as I was growing up listening to The Levellers.
It was this Brighton-based folk-punk outfit that provided the voice of a generation opposed to repressive Tory rule, sticking two fingers up to the state and fighting back against the injustices of the Criminal Justice Act.
Backstage and starstruck at a Levellers gig few years ago, I caught up with lead singer Mark Chadwick to find out if he still held firm to all those ardently sung beliefs that had first inspired me. It wasn’t much surprise to hear that even this archetypal old anarchist would vote for anyone just to keep the Tories out.
After all, his was a generation that had lived through the dark ages of the Thatcher years, whose way of life in free parties and protests had come under assault from a Conservative government with diametrically opposed values and a monopoly of violence to enforce them.
Equally, against the climate of austerity, I can understand why James Bloodworth wrote in Comment is Free yesterday that the most urgent task of the left is kicking the Tories out in 2015.
But while I agree that this vicious bunch of out-of-touch toffs waging all out class war on Britain’s most vulnerable people should never be allowed near a red briefcase again, I do not think stopping the Tories should come at any expense. Not if that expense is the left adopting Tory policies.
As I’ve previously argued, New Labour has done far more to entrench a Thatcherite consensus in this country than John Major ever could. By transforming Labour from a party that represented working class people into a party that represented free-market interests, Tony Blair ensured there could be no opposition to the neoliberal policies that spectacularly wrecked the global economy and plunged those Labour was founded to speak up for deeper into poverty.
When Ed Miliband won the Labour leadership with the support of the trade unions, there was a glimmer of hope that we could see the return of a genuine Labour party that could provide genuine opposition to Tory policies. Not only would this be good for the poorest sections of British society, it would be good for democracy. Voters need a choice.
But Miliband abstained on workfare, he committed himself to Tory spending plans, he turned his back on the unions and, most damning of all, he utterly failed to make the argument that it was bankrupt neoliberal economics that ravaged Britain’s economy not welfare spending or state intervention.
Returning Miliband’s party to office in 2015 will, then, only enshrine an austerity consensus.
Would I prefer to see a Labour government rather than a Conservative one? Would it be ever so slightly nicer, ever so slightly kinder, its policies wrapped up in ever so slightly more understanding language than that of the Etonian class warriors? Of course.
But kicking the Tories out will seem a Pyrrhic victory for the left when the Labour government they campaigned for implements its own cuts.
As long as Labour believes that it can take left-wing and working class votes for granted, irrespective of how far to the right it lurches, nothing will change.
This is why I support the new Left Unity movement.
Far from kicking the injustices of the 21st century into the long grass as James argues, it is tackling them head on, because it recognises that the most urgent task of the left is not stopping the Tory party, but stopping Tory policies. To do that we must reinvigorate the left, within and without Labour, not leave it languishing stultified in the middle of the road where it will be run down and crushed.
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37 Responses to “As long as Labour believes it can take working class voters for granted, nothing will change”
Stan
The Labour party at a local level is usually more representative of the needs of their communities than the national party is. The national party is woefully out of touch with their voter base.
mactheanti
I’m sick of hearing this, no it is not.
Stan
Really. So the fact they haven’t promised to scrap the bedroom Tax is because most Labour voters agree with it? The fact that they won’t bring the Post Office back into public ownership is because most labour voters agree with the privatisation? The fact that they will not reverse the Coalition reforms in the NHS is because most Labour voters agree with the reforms? Likewise for education?
If that isn’t out of touch then I don’t know what is.
If Labour is just meekly going to accept everything the Coalition has done to this country then just what is the point of Labour any more?
Stan
Really. So the fact they haven’t promised to scrap the bedroom Tax is because most Labour voters agree with it? The fact that they won’t bring the Post Office back into public ownership is because most labour voters agree with the privatisation? The fact that they will not reverse the Coalition reforms in the NHS is because most Labour voters agree with the reforms? Likewise for education?
If that isn’t out of touch then I don’t know what is.
If Labour is just meekly going to accept everything the Coalition has done to this country then just what is the point of Labour any more?
mactheanti
“But Miliband abstained on workfare, he committed himself to Tory spending plans, he turned his back on the unions and, most damning of all, he utterly failed to make the argument that it was bankrupt neoliberal economics that ravaged Britain’s economy not welfare spending or state intervention.”
1) Labour have committed to Tory spending plans for one year only (very significant point)
2) They have not committed themselves to spending the money in the same way as the Tories (another significant point)
3) Ed Miliband has not turned his back on the unions, what he is trying to do is modernise the party. How can labour ever progress if we are constantly accused of being in the pockets of the unions? It’s right that people should be asked if they want to donate to the Labour party.
4) He failed to make the argument? Why should it be down to Miliband to argue the point? Surely it’s down to all of us? In any case he has argued this and done it effectively too. It’s just hardly ever reported and it it is, Miliband’s words are taken and spun negatively.
I do agree that when Labour lost the election they held that absurdly on leadership contest which was a gift to the Tories, who were merrily pinning the blame on Labour for global economic recession and Tory banking crash.
All I hear from people on the left is their voices, moaning, moaning, moaning, they never actually get out and do anything. Thousands of Labour volunteers young and old are out in the evenings and at weekends on the doorstep, up and down this country in all weathers and will carry on right through the winter – what will you be doing? Sitting and moaning away at your keyboard about Labour?
IMO I think your socialist wailing lamenting is just self indulgent. People that really matter will not thank you if you help to return another Tory Coalition/government and they have to put up with this hideous shower for another five years. Miliband is not the same as Cameron and Labour is not the same as the Tories and I’m getting sick of hearing it.
Labour are not taking one single vote for granted, supply your evidence that backs this up.
You mention New Labour and roll out the usual well warn rhetoric, but what you do not mention is the immense amount of good they also did. To deny this is just fodder for the Tories, in fact posts like yours are fodder for the Tories.
I stood by Labour through their 18 years of political madness, blistered my feet walking around knocking on doors, taking the insults being called the loony left etc. I never ever want to see the Labour party go through this again, because while we were indulging our inner left there were people out there that needed us and we let them down. I will NOT be party to that again. I raised my family through Thatcher years and that was like hell on earth but let me tell you, this lot are far worse and I will not help them gain power again.
Ed Miliband is a different kind of politician, he is truthful, honest and decent and refuses to lie. I may not agree with everything he says, but at least he is telling me the truth. I don’t want another arrogant heartless liar in power, had enough of that with Cameron!