'Whitehall sources moved swiftly last night to deny that Gordon Brown was ditching New Labour after the Prime Minister declared that it was "time to adapt and rethink New Labour policy". (Herald).
As Franco said on his deathbed, listening to the crowds chanting 'Farewell Franco',
'Where are they all going?'. Just so Brown denies that he is ditching New Labour.
They are ditching him.
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3 comments:
I think it is quite possible although the rules of the Labour Party make it tough .They will only do so if they think it will not just be a defeat but an end.The end may be in sight it is a myth that nothing ever changes
I think I can foresee that there will be a reallignment over the next few years actually.Perhaps it end up with a dominant Conservative Party splitting at its right flank in England and returning us to a balanced two Party system.
I would stay with the Party under such circumstances .UKIP is not for me
'..it is a myth that nothing ever changes'.
Most of all in that most pragmatic of countries, the UK. You wonder if there will be a right break-off in the Conservative party; I cannot visualise a Labour party dominated by public sector trade unions, and without its Scottish base, able to command a majority ever again.
The Conservatives in their present dominant mode seem the best equipped to renegotiate relations within the UK, and particularly with Scotland and, subsequently (or do I mean consequently?) relations with the European Union.
There must be a reconsideration of the extraordinary level of authoritarian governance introduced by the New Labour project, by any party coming to power to replace them. Equally a lowest taxes, smallest possible state, no European Union stance is just not acceptable to redistributive social welfarists. Which is not surprising when the levels of poverty and lack of opportunity are considered.
We have wasted 11 years of outrageous incompetence - much of it instigated by Brown and his acolytes, failing to build a physical, economic and social infrastructure - just think of the power distribution networks, transport, both road and rail, south east air port, lacking; the wicked indebtedness created by PFI, the financial supervision systems destroyed, not just never put in place, the abject foreign policy, the failure to encourage middle- and advanced-range manufacturing.
We have been living a nightmare, and still it is hard to discern what it is the New Labour project was about. What is certain is that it flourished because of the unmodernised state of both the main political parties, excluding strands of political energy that should have been used, and that it was driven too by a monumental selfishness in seeking the profits of power.
The checks and balances of the Constitution collapsed, it turned out that the constitution is indeed 'what we do'.We need to sort that out and make it what we all agree is just and proper and right, and entrench it with some political and legal force behind its provisions.
Without the slightest doubt you can add to this lament, N, with your insight and imagination. New Labour must free itself of Brownism, and the Conservatives of ultra-libertarian nationalism.
All of us need to put an end to the language of global forces, and return to the understanding and appropriateness of local, national, and international politics in their proper place and powers.
I`m not sure I want to be freed from Nationalism exactly , well up to a point , although ultra Libertarianism sounds nasty.
I am also not sure I feel quite as apocalyptic about it in general. Take foreign Policy for example .Plenty went wrong but IMHO Blair got the basics right and supported Bush . I also feel the first few years of Blair went quite well and Brown was right to establish the Independence of the B of E. It is a good demonstration oif the way politics works that it was actually Major’s plan but as it was associated with Maastricht so he could not bring it forward .It took a Labour government to enact a Conservative Policy. Brown picked it up off the peg and from then he was wrongly regarded as a genius.
The rest of the Blair administration took time to find their feet .
On Iraq-I agree that the exit strategy was poorly considered but a Government that could not be relied on to act is far more frightening . There was an interesting defence of Bush in a recent edition of Prospect pointing out that he quite obviously left the world a safer place than a ditherer would have done. Brown....is dangerous he is far more of a dippy progressive than I feel comfortable with behind the rhetoric
I see McCain 5% ahead of Obamah and I wonder how much the Americans really detest the Bush administration , they say they do .....
I can easily imagine the Conservative Party imploding HG. If you read , as I have just done , the strategies prior to the Brown flop around the time of IHT coming to the fore via Osbourne , clear minded people saw that the Conservative Party had a long long way to go to reconnect with many groups . ABC`s women , young people and so on. A variety of measures were being considered to include people of differing backgrounds and the fact that the prize has dropped not their laps has meant this work was hardly begun before it stopped . I n particular a plan to finance the less well off to fight Parliamentary seats would have been , I believe ,the reform that would have prevented the cultural disconnect that we know . As it is many Conservative MP`s are silly and odd.
What has been brilliantly achieved is to re emphasise small c conservatism against doctrinal Libertarianism but there are still tensions left unresolved on this front. Oh yes there may well be trouble ahead
Anyway something I must mention to you is that Martin Bright , the political editor of the New Statesman has a newish blog . He is obviously trying to encourage people who are not loons to comment and he answers everything you say. He is a rather a well known figure and respected , I would say by a wide spectrum. I thought you might like to out some of your anti socialist points to him
If you dare …. :)
http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/brights-blog
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