Does Labour really want to become just another flavour of neoliberalism?

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I'm old enough to remember the SDP split on the left.

I am sufficiently troubled by the extraordinary right wing, neoliberal, attitudes of some in the parliamentary Labour Party, and amongst its advisers, to be deeply sceptical of its ability to deliver real change for the people of this country.

I have worked for, and am proud to have worked for the TUC, Unite, PCS, RMT, UCU and other unions. I am a member of Unite.

I fear that reports in the Guardian this morning that Ed Miliband is looking at ways to break Labour's links with the unions.

I find this report, clearly based on a  briefing deeply worrying:

The Labour leader, who raised the possibility of corruption in Falkirk, is understood to believe that he must adopt a consistent approach in tackling "unaccountable vested interests".

I think there are few organisations that have had to be more open and accountable in the UK than unions. This suggestion is absurd. There are almost no companies as open as any trade union, no membership organisations as dedicated to democracy and no organisation that has to be more accountable about actions taken. Especially Labour and some right wing factions in it.

Of course Labour could leave the unions behind. But it will cease to be Labour as a result.

And the unions won't sit in a  vacuum.

I think the 2015 general election may be interesting. And new parties ride crests of waves. A new one could be on such a crest at the next general election. Labour needs to be very wary of what it is doing right now and if it has any sense at all note its history. It is not Labour without labour. But it is just another flavour of neoliberalism on its own.

That's not what the people of this country need. They need a radical alternative that puts the interests of ordinary people first. Ed Miliband's decision could suggest how they get it.


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