The BBC note that the Labour Party has effectively conceded that it’s out of office.
As I suggested at the weekend — this is the right option for Labour right now.
It has three things to do.
The first is to select an electable new leader with a deputy who between them can command cross party support. The Left must not be left out this time.
Second, it has to sit back for at least two years before pulling a Tory — Lib Dem edifice down. The pain has to be real in the country before an election is called — and the Tories will deliver just that, plus recession and rising unemployment.
Third, they have to become much, much more radical. They will be the sole opposition at the next election (Greens apart in the UK and nationalists elsewhere). The Lib Dems are heading to cease to be. In that case the reason for embracing neoliberalism and all the disasters that are following in its wake have ceased to exist.
But electoral reform has to remain on the agenda. We cannot afford the Tories ever having the chance to secure a majority in its won right — the prospect for democracy in the UK is just too horrible to contemplate.
The bedrock for a serious bounce exists.
And the poisoned chalice is David Cameron’s, topped up by Nick Clegg and his Orange Book friends.
The next two years will be horrid — but that was always going to be the case. But at least there is now a prospect of a freshly elected Labour government, soon.
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wise words, as ever Richard. spent a couple hours this morning watching the news trying to make heads or tails of all this, though should’ve instead spent it revising for exams. the lib dems selling out to the tories: illogical – disaster, if ever there was one, and many who voted for them (including myself) definitely wouldn’t have wanted it. but it will make an interesting next couple years.
p.s. interesting pbs frontline documentary, if you haven’t already seen it: ‘tax me if you can’ – http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/tax/
also, ever think of signing up to twitter? you could have all your blog posts go up on there – and you’d get millions of followers, people re-tweeting your tweets etc.
nizar
(ah, i’ve just seen that you’re already on twitter 😕 – apologies for the two posts)
“But electoral reform has to remain on the agenda. We cannot afford the Tories ever having the chance to secure a majority in its won right — the prospect for democracy in the UK is just too horrible to contemplate.”
I think you may have let slip a little more than you intended here, Mr. Murphy. This rather arrogant statement unfortunately sums up the Left’s current passion for electoral reform: not because they believe it will deliver better democracy or more representative government, but because they believe it will keep them in power for perpetuity and marginalise their opponents forever. Given the current Labour Party’s disturbing stance on civil liberties, I suggest this would be a terrifying outcome, and that the democratic system best suited to Britain’s needs is one that can produce changes of government with some regularity.
Finally, given their dismal performance in recent years, there are many of us on the Right who feel that the prospect of another Labour victory is “too horrible to contemplate”. However, that does not mean that I feel the electoral system should be changed to keep them out of office, if that is the outcome that the people want. Frankly, I wouldn’t desire a permanent Right-wing government or coalition either, as I believe it would inevitably become as self-serving and corrupt as the departing government has proved.
There is a lot of wishful thinking here Richard.
Once the Republicans re-capture the House in November (and the maybe the Senate, but let’s not be greedy), it will mean that all four major Western economies (US, Germany, France, Britain) will be governed from the right. This is a game-changing moment: outside of the UK, the voters who elected leaders have given them a clear mandate for market-based reform, low taxes, disciplined government spending and increased political accountability. The main risk to Sarkozy and Merkel in particular is to be seen as not doing ENOUGH on these issues.
The global political wind will be blowing from direction only until late 2012 at the earliest, and probably much longer if as seems likely Obama is a one-termer. it is difficult to imagine the UK electorate standing alone against it.
“the prospect for democracy in the UK is just too horrible to contemplate.”
Do you really mean that statement?
@Joan
Yes
I mean that
@Ted G
Nonsense
Watch the neoliberal agenda fall over and then see those governments collapse
The left will have its day again – sooner than you expect
Some Labour MPs in 1979 said it was a good election to lose. They didn’t return to power for 18 years.
If the Tories remained in office so long back then, making the tough decisions they did in the 1980s, then I wouldn’t be so sure now that Labour’s return to government will be as rapid as you seem to think.
“We cannot afford the Tories ever having the chance to secure a majority in its won right — the prospect for democracy in the UK is just too horrible to contemplate.”
Richard, don’t you seen that democracy means the Tories must have a chance to secure a majority government, just like the other parties?
We cannot afford X ever having the chance to secure a majority in its won (sic) right — the prospect for democracy in Y is just too horrible to contemplate.
Who can we imagine saying that? Hitler? Stalin? Castro?
Oh, yes, the electoral system must be rigged so that, in the case of the UK, 10.6 million people must be disenfranchised.
Why exactly do you think that is a good thing Mr Murphy?
on the other hand, what makes you think that Labour will not fall apart. Who has the talent to keep the inevitable infighting internal? And you might notice that Cameron has neatly nabbed the middle ground, whilst putting the Democrats in a neat stranglehold.
@john miller
You deliberately miss the point entirely – what you accuse me of is exactly what the Tory manifesto suggested
Which is why they cannot be trusted with government by themselves
My argument is 100% in defence of democracy – something the Tories wanted to get rid of for good
Richard,
My argument is 100% in defence of democracy – something the Tories wanted to get rid of for good
Source?
Georges
@Georges
The manifesto commitment to 550 equal seats that would on first past the post have guaranteed a Tory majority forever
Such a strong commitment to democracy, eh?
@Richard Murphy
whereas the current system gives the Labour lot an inbuilt majority. Nobody said it was going to be easy, but that does not make it undemocratic.
@alastair
and in fairness to me – I have asked for the Labour in built majority to go to
@Richard Murphy
but the point is the majority only arises by virtue of winning the arguments. OK, you might argue that the Union is flawed, but that is myopic. Once you get past the semantics then every country in the world (where free votes are allowed) finds itself having to balance state vs individual. Democracy means no more than that the collective wishes of the people are respected. You might not like coalitions, but in a democratic system politics is inevitably just that, whether formalised or not.
Personally I am hopeful that we get a few years free from the Brownian system of spin and vitriol.