The embarrassing thing at UK Labour level is that Drakeford here in Wales, Andy Burnham in Manchester, Sturgeon in Scotland, even Joe Anderson Liverpool’s Mayor, Steve Rotheram Liverpool too-they are all massively out-performing Starmer.
It looks as though there is left/soft left and UK Labour being certainly to the right of that. Starmer REALLY, REALLY needs to up his game ASAP, as do the whole UK Leadership team. We look more like passive enablers than actual opposition. Those taking on the government constructively, but forcefully are very popular with citizens/voters. Welsh Labour/Drakeford, for example, are around 70% trust/positive re Covid. Johnson & government at worst level ever according to BBC.
So, for example, a constructive, reasoned criticism of UK Labour is something like this:
The problem is that the Labour leadership team now are very much on the same frequency as the Westminster media/bubble. Their instincts are vague/don’t say too much/middle class middle management like. The political equivalent of a dinner party with humus and some nice wine…listening to James Blunt or Michael Ball the whole UK Labour front bench team need to LEAD and OPPOSE, not pander, stick their finger in the air, and then just change with that. Now, in these circumstances, UK Labour should definitely by miles ahead of the Tories in the polls. Given the appalling level of trust & competence of this government, this worst ever PM, and the liberal elite-FBPE/People’s Vote/HIGNFY crowd on-board, much more media on board, a mass membership (that is very demoralised), being at the start of the worst global recession for decades, hard/No Deal Brexit etc etc.
That we are not should have gigantic alarm bells ringing and neon lights flashing. I am trying to be measured by saying this is simply not good enough, and WAY off both what was promised (and literally signed up to) and what is needed.We should use the inspiration of the massive wins for the Left in Bolivia & (to a lesser extent) New Zealand. But we are just tinkering, looking to minor change and not the massive radical change that the economic, political & definitely environmental issues that are here NOW (never mind as things get far worse over the next few months) demand. We have to stop wasting time with this tinkering approach. We simply must lead; because we HAVE TO. The country, our citizens and the planet cannot humour our current approach for much longer, and neither can the membership. If the leadership are not interested in meeting these external demands, then why should we tolerate this as members and citizens?! TBC-I am saying they have the opportunity to do what they promised. They are absolutely not doing that. We do not have the time to be able to tolerate this for much longer. If Keir Starmer & the team do what he was literally elected for-the mandate based entirely on the 10 pledges he signed up to, then he could be that person. Demonstrably he has not/is not doing that though-far from it. He’s gone completely in the opposite direction on some things (Unity, Human Rights, Renter’s Policy etc).
So this is a genuine plea to Starmer and those on our Front Bench. Please step up. Do it now. Lead, do not pander. Abstaining and vague middle management stuff is absolutely not cutting it for anyone. Well, anyone outside the aforementioned bubble. We need to stop denying we are living in extraordinary times, and we need to stop pretending Centrism works; it doesn’t. It hasn’t, and it won’t. During all the crisis & chaos we now face, the 2019 UK Labour Party Manifesto-which let us not forget saw all it’s major policies as massively popular with the public in poll after poll (and they still are) is the absolute basic minimum needed now-the world has already changed that much in just 10 months.I really hope this stupid game of saying these things are “hard left” or that anyone pointing out these obvious things and/or simply just saying “Please just do the policies/things you were elected to do & promised” is anti-Starmer or is anti-Labour or is in any way unreasonable, stops. We have not got the time to play these silly games. So don’t. No more deflection. No more framing. More leading with passion, purpose, policies and inspiration.
More crackling candy & less Werther’s Originals please.
In Solidarity. James Johnson on Twittertwitter.com
