Wednesday 21 September 2016

Suicide - Labour Party style

Just suppose you were a member of a political party and in the last year, your party had, for the first time in decades, attracted hundreds of thousands of new members, Just suppose that for the first time in a generation, teenagers and young people were genuinely enthused by your party. What would you do?

I ask because the current behaviours of the Labour Party tell you just how divorced from reality our political classes are. A year ago, they did not respond to the rush of Corbyn supporters to register by trying to appeal to those they perceive as their natural supporters. If you believe the Blairites, there is a huge army of moderates simply waiting for a Tory lite Blairite to pick up the torch of moderation. They say 'look at the disasterous opinion polls'.

It is rather odd that in a year when opinion polls have been widely discredited, Blairites bestow such enormous credibility in them. What is so difficult for them to explain, is that if the proposition is true, that there are millions of Blairite leaning voters out there, why none of them are prepared to shell out £3 to 'Save The Country'.

Everyone I speak to, and most are apolitical, were disgusted and embarrassed by Blairite politics. They know full well we were lied to about Iraq and that the average Brit has been shafted by both Labour and Tories. Most are sick of all politicians.

Many have said to me that they would vote Labpur with Corbyn, but the action of the Blairites, being completely disloyal to an elected leader and sticking two fingers up to the party at large has completely put them off.

Theresa May has benefitted from being herself. Like Corbyn she was lukewarm in support for remain. Many people who voted Labour in 1997 for Blair are comfortable with May. They are glad to see the back of Cameron's Etonian Clique.

During last years Labour leadership contest, we had Liz Kendall, an arch Blairite. She failed to inspire anyone to pay the £3 to vote for her. Why could this be? There has been no explanation. 

Labour seems hell bent on alienating the huge influx of members who are prepared to put their hand in their pockets. I find it truly bizarre that none of Lanours right has even bothered to make a pitch for these new members. They are simply smeared as 'militant tendency type entryists'. This is nonsense. Most are teenagers and young people who saw in Corbyn a chance to reverse the disasters of student loans and other policies that will guarantee a life of debt.

Most have no clue who Militant were or the battles of the 1980's, because most weren't born. They just want a party who cares. The Labour Party, by disrespecting them, is not only being patronising and elitist. They are writing a suicide note for Labour. If they want to see what happens when you ignore your party and your voters, look no further than the Lib Dems. In 2010 they won a large block of seats based on pledges to students. They were the party of young voters. They then shafted them. Now they have 8 MPs. 

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