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Not Dark Yet #322: Long Division

18/11/2020

8 Comments

 
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The received wisdom is clear: disunited parties do not win elections. Which effectively rules out both our ‘major’ political movements. Both are undergoing a struggle for the ‘soul’ of their movements: not only the policies and ideologies, but also the emotional and cultural approaches to the development and communication of those policies. For many, this is more crucial and voteworthy than specific plans and programmes.
 
It is significant that Starmer is following the example of Johnson a year ago when he (Johnson) expelled the likes of Dominic Grieve, Philip Hammond and Ken Clarke. Subsequently, he enforced a compulsory commitment to his Brexit plans from every Tory candidate. Not one refused.
 
It would appear that Starmer is pursuing a similar course. He has sacked Rebecca Long-Bailey. He has introduced the politics of abstention. And he (or, as he has argued, his unelected General Secretary) has suspended Jeremy Corbyn.
 
What’s more, he (or, as he has argued, his unelected General Secretary) has forbidden Labour members to discuss these issues. And he (or, as he has argued, his unelected General Secretary) has suspended members and officials who have gone ahead and discussed the implications of his actions.
 
Further, peevishly, he has now withdrawn the whip from the newly reinstated former leader. And posted on Twitter a crass and lengthy thread which is ill-written, inaccurate and self-serving.
 
I cannot judge whether this attack on the left and campaign of self-aggrandisement has reached its climax. If not, it must be pretty close.
 
I am, however, unconvinced that his determination to purge the party of those who are not of his persuasion (you may think as I do that this is a form of the factionalism of which he accuses the left) has come to an end. Despite the huge numbers of resignations and the even greater numbers of subscription cancellations, there are still many of us remaining. And we will not go quietly.
 
He has a name which is revered in the party. (Had I had a son, he would have been called Keir also.) He was a human rights lawyer. He was elected on a series of pledges, all of which have been forgotten or contradicted since the election itself.
 
It is clear that his agenda is and has been to take back control of the Labour party.

His machinations during the General Election campaign leave no doubt that his plan was to undermine the party and its leader and seize the opportunity. And it came to fruition.
 
As leader, he has abstained a great deal and whipped his MPs to do the same. He has, in his words, exercised supportive opposition. Only after months when the conversation amongst members centred on the growing evidence of cronyism and corruption has he mentioned it in Parliament.
 
His actions, rather than his words, have been exclusively against the left. Just as Johnson’s were against the Remainer Tories.
 
But the events of last weekend have shown that Johnson has seen the error of this approach. Cummings is going. Cain is no longer enabled. The spin is now of a new, more mellow leadership from Johnson, a new, more compassionate conservatism. Yeh, right!
 
Perhaps Johnson or Carrie sense that, despite the propaganda of the mainstream press, the Cummings strategy is fatally flawed in the long term. You cannot govern when your party is “like rats in a sack”.
 
And Starmer should watch, listen and learn. Because Labour is not his party. It is ours.

Today from the everysmith vaults: ​A friend sends me a link to a magazine article which lists the  best Ry Cooder albums in order of merit. I didn't agree with any of the placings. But it did remind me of one album which was placed somewhere in the mid-30s out of 50. The soundtrack to Performance, with jagger and Anita Pallenberg, directed by Nick Roeg. I had not listened for decades, but I should have done.
8 Comments
Allan
18/11/2020 15:43:07

Such restraint, Max. Saw your tweets last night when Keith posted that embarrassing thread. I'm still hanging onin there and thanks for your reassurance that it is our party. Doesn't seem like it right now.

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ChrisH
18/11/2020 16:02:00

Thoughtful. Hadn’t seen the parallel either Tories losing any confidence in Labour. Glad you’re staying. Of my friends, I’m the only one. But then I’m Jewish.

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Jem
18/11/2020 16:11:54

A new lack of leadership. Help.

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ellie
18/11/2020 19:24:00

he's got to go. he's destroying the party. and when the left has been purged, who will be leafleting and canvassing?

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Iain
19/11/2020 07:36:14

Yes, the parallels are telling. But what Starmer is unable to grasp is that every concession to the right merely provokes yet more accusations. It will not end until the party is destroyed.

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Allan
19/11/2020 08:05:18

And you didn't mention that he used membership fees to pay off those who undermined the whole disciplinary and electoral process!

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Bryan
20/11/2020 16:52:24

It's chucking out time. I think the party is over.

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Martin Skinner
23/11/2020 10:27:54

Paradise and Lunch. Has to be. But Get Rhythm for the desert island track.

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    Max Smith

    European writer, radical, restaurateur and Red Sox fan. 70-something husband, father, step-father, grandfather and son. Resident in Warwick, England.

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