| Topic: | Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Rupa Huq - the tory | |
| Posted by: | Phil Andrews | |
| Date/Time: | 22/07/15 11:54:00 |
| The popular notion that Labour could win the next (or a subsequent) general election by moving onto Conservative ground ignores one rather major consideration, and that is its ability to hold on to its core vote should it choose to do so. Blair won in 1997 because the Conservatives had reached a nadir after eighteen years in government. They had completely lost it, barely a week went by without a new scandal surrounding one or other of their MPs appearing in the press and their ridiculous shenanigans over Europe left them open to ridicule. Nevertheless he was only able to take advantage of that situation in the way that he did because he figured, correctly, that the core Labour vote which hated what he stood for had nowhere else to go. The situation today is different in so many ways. Not only is the modern Tory Party a long way from the situation it found itself in in the years leading up to 1997, but there is also every sign that much of Labour's core support, bearing in mind the impact of social media and with the benefit of hindsight following Blair's antics in Iraq, will not stand for a repeat of that experience. The fact that the Green Party under FPTP only managed to hold onto its one solitary seat should not blind us to the fact that it is a growing force which is fast developing an ideology which much of Labour's core support already finds attractive, and the SNP has demonstrated that it is possible to be successful without having to steal the Conservatives' clothes. You may call it disingenuity, but there was every possibility before the votes were counted that the SNP would find itself in a position where its votes in parliament would determine government policy. Our experience locally demonstrates that there is a dominant view in the Labour Party that being in power is the end in itself, rather than simply the means through which to achieve specific objectives. Whether we like it or not, it is this cynicism and fundamental dishonesty which has kept the party alive and functioning as one of the two major forces in UK politics today. If this were not so it would need to choose whether it is a socialist/social democratic party or a conservative party and stick with its choice regardless of the consequences. It can straddle both positions for a while, but with the emergence of a social media-driven progressive movement of substance an inevitability sooner rather than later it is going to need to decide sometime soon what its real purpose is, if indeed it has one, in 21st century British politics. |