| Topic: | Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:The arrogance of politicians | |
| Posted by: | Phil Andrews | |
| Date/Time: | 21/05/15 11:21:00 |
| I agree with the underlying premise of the OP - that it is for the electorate, not Mr Balls, to decide when and if he will return to Parliament. I'm sure he and Ms. Cooper understand this, but the way in which her comments were constructed invite accusations of arrogance. And yes, this certainly not a trait that is unique to Labour. On the question of trade unions, the ongoing link between the TU and the Labour Party is one that perplexes me. As a trade unionist myself I can testify that identification with Labour on the shop floor as "our" party is absolutely non-existent, and yet the disengagement of most workers with the union process means those who "represent" us at a higher level are almost invariably party apparatchiks and acolytes who consider their duty to be to represent the party in the union rather than the other way around. Len McCluskey recently acknowledged that more trade unionists in Scotland voted for the SNP than for Labour, and it is difficult to argue that their interests were less well served by so doing. The days when the Labour Party was the voice of organised labour are long behind us, and the spectacle of the headlong rush back to Blairism that we are now witnessing will only serve to emphasise that fact. |