From what I can tell, I am one of the few people who have been abandoned by the far left direction of Jeremy Corbyn’s version of Labour who do not welcome the idea, as touted in the media today, of the likely formation of a new centre party. You might think I would be, seeing that I constantly complain about being left homeless by the increasingly hard leftward march of Labour, but I’m not. I consider myself to be ‘of the left’ in the sense that I am a strong supporter of fairness, equality, a well-funded NHS, dignity in old age and a meritocratic society. All traditional left wing stuff, except the meritocratic bit, which flies in the face of Corbyn’s Labour where it’s still jobs for the boys (and girls).
I do appreciate that in order to win power, it’s a good idea to embrace a large coalition of the electorate. I’m no longer embarrassed about praising Tony Blair for his achievements in winning three general elections and, far more than that, what he achieved as prime minister. I know that for many, the very mention of Blair’s name brings up the mention of Iraq and the many lies we were told, not by Blair about the reasons for going to war, but from the gutter press for distorting them. But put that to one side. Blair’s New Labour unquestionably made Britain a better, fairer and much happier place, putting Labour values into a modern setting.
Long before Tony Blair, back in the 1980s when Corbyn’s predecessor Tony Benn was busy making Labour unelectable, I was arguing that in order to change the country, Labour had to persuade a wide range of people who would not normally vote Labour to win power. That meant compromise. The centre ground, which would usually be comprised of middle class, relatively well-off people, would need to be convinced that Labour was not coming to take all their money away through higher taxes and squander it on various not so good causes, but would spend money their wisely. They would pay a little extra in taxes, but they would see visible improvements to their lives. New Labour did all that and they balanced the government books, until the worldwide financial crash in the late 2000s. New Labour is hated by Corbyn and the comrades, but it was left of centre. What would ‘centre’ alone look like?
As of now, I think the answer is nothing. A bit of this and a bit of that, perhaps? Wow! Some vision there to sell to the electorate. We’ll be a bit Tory and a bit Labour. No. Can’t be having that. For someone who hates the extremes of right and left, I am still ‘of the left’. John Smith, Neil Kinnock, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, Ed Balls, David Miliband, Yvette Cooper. I can’t give that up and be ‘a bit Tory’.
I want my Labour back, or it’s probably nothing. Never, ever the Tories, under any possible circumstances. Not the Lib Dems after enabling David Cameron’s horrible austerity driven government from 2010. And no Labour under Labour’s Magic Grandpa.
The Tories, divided and broken as they deserve to be after dividing and breaking the country, will one day come back with a credible, strong leader. So obviously not Mrs May. Labour will either be stuck with the hopeless Corbyn or one of his useless outriders like Rebecca Long Bailey or Richard Burgon. The Conservatives will win by a landslide.
There is no political party for me beyond Clement Attlee, Harold Wilson, Neil Kinnock, John Smith and, especially, Tony Blair. I’m not sure I will ever vote again. There’s absolutely no point for me.
