As has been noted this morning by David Hough on Labour Left, Labour lost 53% of its vote in Bradford yesterday, the Lib Dems 75% of theirs, and the Tories 80%, which is probably why there seems little crowing this morning.
Now that's not to say that this wasn't a shock result. It was, but it's a shock that still hits the Coalition hardest, so they're not saying much.
That then means two questions need to be addressed. The first is how much of this is about Galloway? I think the answer is 'a lot of it'. I don't see this being replicated.
Second, is there a systemic issue? Oh yes is the answer to that - there are two of them.
First, voters are alienated - and we have to clean up politics to resolve that. All democrats have to commit to reform now - and that will include some state funding. Read Martin Wolf and Polly Toynbee this morning and realise how vital change is - even if the Tories are blocking reform and the unions need to change as well. We have to restore faith in politics - or we all lose, badly.
Second, there's get to be an economic message here. Bradford is a city of economic migrants whose hopes of a better life are being dashed. I come from a family of economic migrants - my children are substantially genetically Irish. I have some insight into this. Economic migrants have massive hope and aspiration, especially for their next generations. Parents in these situations sacrifice to give their children better lives in a way many don't understand. I see this so strongly in the lives of my in-laws. My grandfather was the same. But those hopes are being dashed - not just by comment on immigration, but much more seriously by the lack of hope there is in the economy.
I've said it before and I'll say it again - Labour has to talk jobs, jobs, jobs and nothing else to prove there is hope that can be vested in it. It can deliver this. It didn't in Bradford. It lost as a result. There aren't many Galloways (thankfully) but that doesn't change the hope issue. That's there with or without him. Labour has to turn hope into expectation to win. And only a plan to deliver jobs can do that.
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Spot on Richard. I personally don’t really take Galloway too seriously, but the real message here is that all 3 of the main parties are failing the vast majority of the electorate, and will continue to do so as long as they continue with neoliberal economics.
Mind you, I look forward to Galloway geting stuck into the government when he returns to the Commons; he’s always been good at putting the boot in even when it wasn’t justified. And with this lot, it will be justified! Where does he start? The latest debacle over the non existent fuel crises, the pasty tax, tax cuts for the rich, donorgate, backdoor NHS privatisation…..etc, etc.
The Labour Party has to think long and hard about Galloway’s victory. It has to acknowledge that to be a paler version of the Tories is not acceptable to what should be its core vote of the working class which wants to see its interests represented , or to left leaning middle class voters who are passionate about social justice. The Blairites have to accept this because after all they inititated the path to greater privatisation of the health service, led us into endless wars and subsidised corporate profits by the introduction of tax credits rather than campaign for a living wage and a fairer distribution for the proceeds of economic growth. The recent paper from Dorling for the IPPR quite clearly shows that there could be an alternative.
Indeed
Richard – I’m glad you raised the interesting question of “economic migrants”, since it’s not often realised that where the Torah speaks of aliens, sojourners or strangers, the Hebrew word behind these terms, according to the Revd Professor Tim Gorringe of Exeter University, is “ger”, and the real meaning of “ger” is, in fact “economic migrant”.
This makes a quite dramatic difference to the famous quote in Leviticus 19, verse 24 (and it was the theology of Leviticus Chatper 25, with its idea of a cancellation of debt and bond slavery every 50 years that fuelled the Jubilee 2000 debt cancellation movement), which reads as follows, when properly translated:
“The economic migrant who sojourns with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you were economic migrants in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.”
Capital has been unfettered, allowing it totally free, and almost instantaneous movement, but labour has not been so freed – quite the opposite, in fact! Yet, in view of the likely changes in the world’s climate, the courrent economic migration from South to North, and East to West, willsurely intensify, and I would guess that Galloway’s and Respect’s victory is more of a harbinger than is usually acknowledged. Turning ourselves into Fortress Britain is unlikely to work, while investment in areas soon to be, or already being, strongly affected by climate change has some chance of being of use and value. Investing – truly investing, which means driving our corruption and tax evasion – in the developing world is likely, therefore, to be part of our own survival strategy.
Fascinating!
Exactly. Tory lite is no good, any party which is supposed to be progressive has got be opposed to the busted economic and social policies of the neoliberals and libertarians. Maybe the Labour leadership should start reading The Courageous State?
I could wish!
“That then means two questions need to be addressed. The first is how much of this is about Galloway? I think the answer is ‘a lot of it’. I don’t see this being replicated.
Second, is there a systemic issue? Oh yes is the answer to that — there are two of them.”
Answer to first point: Yes it will be replicated – the issue is not state funding.
Answer to second point: It will be replicated because there is a systemic issue. But no it’s not even about aspiration or jobs.
It’s about trust in an honest stable system.
Very few people believe deep down they have nothing to contribute. Most know they can be useful and furthermore that society actually needs their input. They know their skills and willingness to work are going to waste, pointlessly. But they also know political parties are no longer in charge, no longer sovereign.
The key issue is regulation and tax.
There is a vague, general understanding that there were rules in the past which could have prevented the current situation but these have been broken or revised. So now there is no longer trust in rules. The law of the land is past.
All parties talk of the need for regulations. But this is a lesson already learned in the past. Glass – Steagal was the result, Glass Steagal was the regulation to prevent such a crisis happening again.
It was repealed.
So why should anyone believe the established parties any more? Are any of them proposing effective regulation?
NO
Is that because deep down they know it doesn’t work, that they, as democratically elected politicians simply don’t have the power to command business and finance capital behave in ways which don’t capsize society?
That capitalism doesn’t work – or not for the majority anyway?
Until we (ie the whole of society including all the parties) understand ‘why’ Glass- Steagal was repealed i.e. the history of economic ‘monist’ thinking, we will not be able to regulate in future with any success.
So far, no alternate regulation with teeth in sight from any of the major political parties.
Nor any understanding of rent-seeking or usury.
As I sink into my 3rd glass of wine, I am well aware I am borrowing from tomorrow. But only tomorrow. And it’s only my tomorrow ( a Saturday), not anyone else’s.
I know the exigencies of my household do not a national economy break and so does everyone else. In fact, the local off licence is better off for my exigiency.
And to be honest, I doubt the ethnic background of licensees in Bradford is remarkably different from where I live in London, i.e. very mixed.
In short, it’s quite obvious the politicians of the major parties have screwed up.
People aren’t so stupid that they believe the household-budget- analogy of the economy.
Small businesses have the least ideological investment in that concept and they provide for 60% of jobs in the country. No bank of mum and dad’s golf club for them.
But if we nationalised and liquidated all the assets in the economy tomorrow we’d still have trillions left. That is patently obvious.
So let’s have some transparency and enforce the registration of all land.
Let the collateral of Bradford speak.
Or has the collateral of Bradford spoken already?
Restore faith in politics!! How can you restore something that was NEVER there?
The CoL soothed parliamentarians are, even now, crying, why would anyone vote RESPECT ?
They genuinely have no idea what life is like outside the W1 bubble.
Surely this one is death for the “New-Labour” project ?
But on “any answers” some twerp was saying “it would all have been better if we’d elected David Milliband”
Talk about missing the plot, he never had a clue what the plot was
There is no way that David Miliband can ever be the leader of the Labour party as it is highly likely that he was involved in rendition for torture when he was Foreign Secretary. The Labour Party has to completely reject the neoliberal economic paradigm, and reduce the role of the corporate sector in policy. It has to show that it is on the side of ordinary people and small to medium size enterprises in this country otherwise the electorate will lean more and more to the minority parties. The Tories must be shown to be in the grip of the big corporates who care little for the welfare of the majority in this country.
Chanced upon your site. This post on the investing pitfalls for the year is very insightful. I agree especially for the china market, which i think is expanding too fast beyond its fundamentals.
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