Disappointed? I am angry! Let’s show some conviction
Ian Gibson MP writes in the Independent, analysing the fallout from the local elections:
So what can be done to reignite Labour Party members and avoid self-combustion? We need to be talking of positive policies which improve people’s lives and will show Labour at its best. We have been in power for 10 years and it’s time to take stock. We must look at which policies have worked and which have not; we must look at what the public wants. We must move on from Blairite policies on ID cards, Trident missiles and futile wars with astronomical costs. The need for affordable housing and a national council house building programme remains. We must be seen to be “moving forward” on issues like carbon neutral housing, flooding, cliff erosion and seabed change. These are problems we encounter with constituents week in and week out.
John Kampfner makes similar observations on the Guardian Comment Is Free web site:
Labour has one last chance to salvage something from this debacle. But nothing will be achieved by waiting for Gordo. He promises to “listen”, but either he listens to the wrong sort, or the people that could force him to show some political courage are reticent to do so.
MPs must tell him to stop challenging his own party on issues that are a lose-lose, such as the 42-day pre-trial detention. He should stop his tactical wheezes. He should show some passion – even those who might disagree with him might respect a Labour leader who sought to stem, let alone reverse, the rampant inequalities in British society. He should abolish the costly Trident scheme. He should ditch ID cards. He should embrace civil liberties.
