|
Tony’s determination to occupy any ground from which the Tories might be able to attack has come together with Cameron’s determination to move the Tories onto the centre ground to produce Lab-Con government. We govern under licence from them implementing their policies, but taking the blame when things go wrong.
That’s going to upset the Party and bemuse the people but please the pundits. The New Labour hard men, the Aaronovitches, Rentouls, Richards and Kettles see it as not only inevitable but right and desirable, particularly because it locks out traditional Labour men and the Tory right wingers, both of whom they regard as prehistoric lunatic fringes.
Hopefully they’re wrong. This is retour a normal. Labour is returning to being Labour. Whatever lip-service Gordon currently pays to keep the peace he’ll be more Labour when he takes over, if only because this lot couldn’t be less.
The electorate having moved away from Torysim in any guise - Blairite, Cameronite or Thatcherite - will support the change. It sees what Blair doesn’t, that the only answers to current problems are collective: more public spending (which most people are prepared to pay for), more regulation, protection of the people from vested interests.
* * *
Pundits assume that Labour should concentrate on the middle-class, particularly in London, because the working-class is happy with the few crumbs we’ve given them from the table.
Crap. People might be better off but life is harder, pressures greater, everything meaner, jobs less secure and everything less certain, particularly pensions, and basics such as utility costs and council tax are rising faster than wages and decent housing is outside their reach. There’s no gratitude around and our traditional supporters are not going to rush to turn out for us, particularly in the Council Elections. "You’ve never had it less better" is not a good election slogan. Unless Labour starts doing more for its people instead of taking them for granted we’ve had it. Tony’s efforts to win over the middle-class to Labour are futile if we lose the workers.
* * *
Tony’s mistake in selling seats in the Lords is to sell places in the legislature. What he should do is create a new working Chamber, the Legislative Council, and let them meet in the GLC building, but keep the Lords (bringing back the Hereditaries) but totally deprived of power on continuous debate in their Chamber as a tourist attraction, selling seats and titles to the highest bidder.
Then let every council do the same. Remember Aldermen? Sell the title (price pro-rata to population) for municipal revenues and let them use the council chamber when the real council isn’t meeting for another continuous complaints session. |
