The departure of Peter Hain means that the current Cabinet is the most right-wing in Labour's history. Despite his recent misdemeanours, Hain was of the Tribunite tradition and frankly a more rounded human being than the cloned New Labour set we are now stuck with.
James Purnell, Andy Burnham, Liam Byrne. Bland Blairites every one. So much for the Government of "all the talents."
It isn't, of course, that the left and centre-left is short of candidates. But Jon Cruddas ( let's not go there again) ruled himself out of a Cabinet role. And would Brown have given him anything meaningful? Probably not. It's also hardly surprising that people like Alan Simpson - hugely knowledgeable on the environment and seriously bright - are standing down . Likewise Lynne Jones MP. What chance do they have of realising a remotely socialist agenda when the Government is populated by squeaky clean New labour clones in their 30's?
Harold Wilson famously said the Labour Party needed "two wings to fly." It seems to me that we are in danger of being permanently grounded and losing the next election unless Gordon Brown starts to recognise the fact that Labour - and the PLP - is a broad church with many different views. I am not, to be honest, holding my breath......
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As you have probably observed, in the guardian, even Polly T is going for the Brownites/New Tories now.
For political vacuity and ineptitude, Labour has really excelled this week
Peter Hain's resignation caps an astonishing spell of blundering. Brown's only comfort can be that the Tory lead is so small
Polly Toynbee
Friday January 25, 2008
The Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/story/0,,2246743,00.html
The point is that Labour needs all its natural supporters - and by stuffing the cabinet full of uninspiring machine politicians none of who have ever had a real job, who would be in the least attracted by them other than those who are already taken in (sorry, convinced) by the Blair-brown agenda.
The point is that many of us who feel frustrated are not on the left. I have always been a progressive social democrat - what concerns me is that this government is simply not social democratic.
Tell me anything in Government that Peter Hain has done to distinguish himself from the rest of the cabinet?
Also if you don't want to 'go there' on John Cruddas I suggest you don't 'go there.' Refusal of the Deputy Dawg position and grace and favour homes at Dorneywood in favour of re-building the party should be applauded not dismissed.
I was referring to the fact that Peter Hain had a long history in the labour movement and was at one time a unilateralist and on the left of the Party. He is not someone whose whole life was spent in the Westminster bubble. I have seen him speak at various meetings over the years nd he isno the "tan man" cliche you suggest.
If you must bring up Cruddas again it would have done us good to have a Deputy PM who was of the left. We now have a Government without any significant left wingers of any variety. Forget the Dorneywood bit.That's an irrelevance.
Left-wingers in the Cabinet would at least be in a position toi measure and keep some checks and balances on the neoi-cons who now utterly dominate.I suppose we will have to wait until we are in opposition for that.
Precisely. Hain was just a bog standard cabinet member and now he's a bog standard ex-cabinet member. It simply is not possible for you to point out in what way your chosen candidate was of the left in cabinet. Politics is littered with people who were 'right on' back in the 80's and have now 'moved on.'Cruddas had some decent policies now.
You say'If you must bring up Cruddas'. I have replied to your comments on each occasion critiscising Cruddas.
I have no idea what you mean by the implied 'tan man cliche',my comment implied no such thing.But if the tan fits wear it.
Cruddas made his position that concentrating on the party and rebuilding internal democracy was more important than being the token lefty in cabinet.Dorneywood an rrelevance? Again a suprise from someone on the Left. Part of the dissillusion in politics is the fact that ordinary people believe that politicians are in it for what they can get out of it.I've had this said to me when I have run in the Council elections for Labour. Is a 'Dorneywood'freebie a good image from a left-wing point of view?
This is getting very tedious.
My point was that we need left-wingers in Government.Perhaps you do not recall this but there was a time when Labour Cabinets had big-hitters on both wings. Benn, Heffer, Shore, were all in the Wilson Government. For 10 years now (more) a small cabal has run the Labour Party. So we need to raise our game. No-one has to take perks like Dorneywood - even if they "go with the job." Some MPs back in the 1980's took a "workers wage." God on them.
Actually, Peter Hain did a good job in Northern Ireland. He wrote an excellent pamphlet on Party democracy for Catalyst (the precursor of Comp[ass) in 2004 - long before anyone except New labour had heard of Cruddas. I helped organise a meeting at Portcullis House when Blair was at his most unpopular and Hain came to talk to us - against the advice of his colleagues.
As I said at the time, the depouty leadership contest was a smokescreen. A convenient smokescreen for the union leaders who just weren't brave enough to back a serious left-winger.
Cruddas is allegedly anti-Trident, pro council housing, and a supporter of the Trade Union Freedom Bill proposed by John McDonnell.But he nominated Brown. Go figure why I have no time for him.
If we are to achieve Left Unity we have to be able to talk to each other. If you criticise people like John Cruddas - credible principled and pragmatic candidates, you can expect criticism and debate back.That's what I thought we were engaged in. It's unfortunate that some on the Left find it diffcult when they are faced by effective argument which they don't have the answer to. Could be why you're finding it tedious.Your last posting had a number of glaring holes and inconsistencies.Replying might increase the tedium. To use your phrase 'go figure' why I think you're more agitated than bored.
Cruddas is certainly pragmatic amd on some levels credible ie he has done good stuff on housing and the BNP. Your idea of "principled" is different to mine for reasons I have already explained and am certainly not going to do so again.There is clearly no point.
My points re Hain were valid.He's screwed up big-style but he's not a new labour clone......Similarly re the need to have left-wingers at senior levels of Government.I don't find your arguments effective and I don't think Cruddas is a credible "left" - I am not even sure he would wish to be described as such.
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