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Cause for Optimism
By Andy | June 15, 2009
About this time last year I wrote that I had been to one of the most positive Labour-related events for a long time, the annual Compass Robin Cook Memorial Lecture.
If last year’s event was a good one this year’s was inspirational. 900 people came together to debate the need to return to a clear and dynamic centre left political agenda. A great proportion of the audience were under 30. Compass — and the conference in general — concentrated on the practical means by which real problems in the country (and across the globe) could be met head on. This week I’m going to be blogging about a number of the issues that stood out for me. But first I want to look at leadership.
Compass’ position on the leadership was spot on. Neal Lawson was candid. Brown had been a disappointment. Two years on and we still have no real idea of his big vision or how we are going to achieve it. But changing the leadership of itself will do nothing.
We know very little about the rebels and the policies that they would adapt. The very last thing we need is a sprung election with no time for debate and dialogue. It is the policies that are the problem and not simply the personalities.
Jon Cruddas told one of the bets stories of the conference.
At the PLP meeting last Monday one of the rebels stood up to pronounce that there was nothing wrong with the policies of the government, it was just that the personality of the leader was wrong.
Cruddas’ retort brought the house down.
“If that’s not the definition of a rebel without a cause, I don’t know what is”.
Parliamentarians were (with a few honourable exceptions) absent from the event. Last year cabinet members had rushed to take part but, frankly, they had little to say and were not invited back. Only Harriet Harman — speaking on equality — was offered a place on the main platform. But Harriet was there to hear stunning contributions from other campaigners and progressive politicians. The reception that these new thinkers received must have left Harriet in no doubt that this Labour government — whoever is in charge — has an awful lot of hard work to do.
Sitting in the conference hall it was impossible to ignore the thought that Labour’s leaders are simply being left behind.
Topics: Ramblings |
June 16th, 2009 at 12:33 pm
“Brown had been a disappointment. Two years on and we still have no real idea of his big vision or how we are going to achieve it”
Even things promised two years ago have never happened: For example, did I dream it, or fif he promise a large scale programme of council house building?. I think he did, but there is no evidence for it, certainly not in the poorer areas of London where such housing is needed.
The problem is that now Brown is really imprisoned by Mandelson - the arch Blairite, so any non-Blairite policy is unlikely to succeed, and Blairism is dead anyway, so all that will happen is that NuLab will soldier on till next May (unless one of the Blairite plotters tries to bring him down in the conference season, then I imagine the house of cards will fall in October), just twiddling with a little bit of policy, to make it look as if something is being done.
I am beginning to think the kindest thing would be to put the government out of it’s misery now. Labour will lose of course, but perhaps by less than it will if the electorate are made to wait nearly a year before taking their terrible revenge.