This. This. This again. An absolute-must read for all Labour people. Nails it. You do not pander, you LEAD. This is one of the obvious (to me, at least) huge mistakes Starmer and UK Labour are making. This is brilliant, on-point, gives historic examples and is absolutely correct, constructive criticism. LISTEN UK Labour. PLEASE! Instead of siding with landlords to get interest on owed rent when people cannot pay, instead of massively regressing re BAME and race issues, instead of saying don’t raise taxes on the rich (demonstrably Blairism…possibly to the right of Blair!), instead of suggesting benefits should be based on previous financial contributions (Ignoring all volunteer work, millions of unpaid carers etc), instead of regressing on Kashmir, instead of targeting left members and elected officials, instead of furthering Establishment prejudices, instead of genuinely supporting the Tories more than your own members, officials and voters…
“Why else would Starmer take positions that will lose him as many supporters as he possibly stands to gain? It’s impossible to imagine an 18-year-old hear him equivocate over the Black Lives Matter movement and believe he had any desire, let alone a vision, to help society move forward. Nor when he blindly applauded the police, shortly after it transpired that police officers had taken selfies with the bodies of the murdered black women Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman.”
I share this, genuinely, as a positive thing. This is what we ALL need to hammer home internally. Constantly. Consistently. I don’t think, even those who voted Starmer, will disagree with a word of this. So that means please help us change Starmer’s mind. Not a single person who voted Starmer voted for what has happened since April. Not one. So, constructively, TOGETHER, let us unite and push for this, eh? Please, please, please do not say absurd things like “Needs more time”. Time has absolutely nothing to do with the behaviour and direction up to this point. So, I respectfully ask you do not insult my intelligence or your own. You are far better than that. This can be a really positive thing if we all unite around this. This seems like a fair assessment, and great opportunity to do so? Agree? Let’s do this together?
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/jul/16/labour-changing-minds-rightwing-voters-roy-jenkinsLabour will win by changing minds – not pandering to rightwing voters | Lynsey HanleyPoliticians such as Roy Jenkins once knew that the health of society depended on going against the grain of majority opinion, says the author Lynsey Hanleytheguardian.com
