As The National in Scotland reports this morning:
A senior Labour MP has said that the party would not repeal the Tories anti-protest legislation if they form a government after the next General Election.
David Lammy, Labour's shadow foreign office spokesperson, was asked for his party's position by a republican caller on his weekend LBC radio show, following arrests at King Charles's coronation.
Lammy said:
“We can't come into office, picking through all the conservative legislation and repealing it.”
“It would take up so much parliamentary time. We need a positive agenda.”
So, with a golden opportunity presented to him to make the news agenda and stand up for the inviolability rather than the conditionality of human rights, Lammy ducked it.
Even the FT has noted this issue, as have all mainstream broadcasters. There is considerable disquiet about 52 people being arrested for literally doing nothing but hold a placard or wear a T shirt this weekend.
Labour, though, don't get it. What, after all, would a party born in the basis of protest want to do supporting the right of those who do so?
And what, incidentally, is the “positive agenda” Labour will promote? Apparently it is growth, the cost of living and inflation. But inflation will go away anyway as it always does; Labour can do nothing about the cost of living unless it redistributes and it is already staying it will not; whilst on growth, we all know that the benefit of this will all go to those already wealthy.
So, what is Labour for now? I keep asking the question and still I can find no answer.
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Labour can do nothing about the cost of living uncles it redistributes – Should “uncles” be unless ?
Yes….changed. Thanks
What is Labour for? It is for removing the Tories from government. Whatever Labour’s short comings they are “the only game in town”.
I share your concerns about a lack of a genuine programme to make our country a better place – whether that be on protest, public services or anything else. However, in this case I think David Lammy is correct to avoid engaging in culture wars – it can only empower the Tories. Indeed, I admire the discipline he showed on an issue where he probably agreed with the questioner.
I am nit sure the fundamental right to protest is culture war
We may have to differ on that
“What is Labour for? It is for removing the Tories from government. Whatever Labour’s short comings they are “the only game in town”.”
TINA: there is no alternative. This is stuff and nonesense. There are plenty of alternatives to Liebore and authortiarianism.
I was not aware that fairness, justice and the ability to publicy disagree with the gov in power was classed as “culture wars” – doubtless Putler in the Kremlin would make this classification, but is does not reflect reality. Lammy is spineless Liebore lobby fodder, doubtless hoping that by toeing the Liebore/Starmer line/licking Starmers shoes he will get a ministerial position. Pathetic and desparate stuff, the country and democracy deserves better – but will not get it with Liebore.
As for “empowering the tories” – oh please, they are “Norwegian Blues” – pining for the fijords, nailed to their perch to keep them upright.
Labour under Starmer is trying to out-Tory the Tories.
They probably have a genius focus-group that has figured out that to get power and stay in office they have to become a “better” version of the Tories.
By appealing to the right, instead of sticking with their original socialist principles and trying to bring the public around to their view, they are helping to move the Overton Window further to the right.
His Majesty’s loyal opposition has given up opposing and has embraced the neofascist “populism” of the day.
It will end in tears. Ours, alas, and not theirs.
It would be interesting to hear from Harriet Harman, whose early career was with Liberty (formerly the National Council for Civil Liberties).
And who is currently a member of the Joint Committee on Human Rights.
https://www.libertyhumanrights.org.uk/fundamental/protest-rights/
Petition here:
https://action.libertyhumanrights.org.uk/page/106448/petition/1
“Protest is fundamental to democracy and has a long, proud history in the UK. But it has often come under threat.
Liberty was founded in 1934 after police threatened the protest rights of demonstrators on the National Hunger March. And still today, a raft of tactics are undermining your right to protest.
In recent years, the police have targeted some protesters with facial recognition surveillance technology.
People belonging to some protest groups have been considered extremists and added to counter-terror lists.”
Thanks Helen
I encourage people to sign such petitions right now
Petition signed. It’s all part of a direction that is profoundly anti-democratic. LibDems and Greens have picked it up. Shame on Labour that it has bottled out.
I think the SNP too
Labour are going to look very silly if they do not move on this
I think the LibDems said the new anti protest law should be repealed – and they exceeded expectations in the local elections. Even Peter Mandleson said in code that Labour now needs to spell out their vision (‘narrative’?) of what kind of a country they will try to produce and how.
However useless Labour seem to be – I cant really see how they can avoid having to show how they will rebuild the NHS when they go into the election. Its such an open goal – and would probably add them 50-100 seats instantly
Starmer seems to want to place Labour right inside what he understands as the ‘acceptable’ establishment ruling norm.
And the BBC is right inside that too – this morning r4 Today wheeled in a met police federaton spokesman to ‘balance’ the Republic guy who was arrested . Any basic journalism would have brought in the UNHCHR’s comment that the new laws are the antithesis of human rights.
But even Starmer’s feeble ‘follow on’ style could have referred to the UN – which would give him an excuse to consider repealing the new law.
Labour will just continue to give us austerity. But with hand wringing.
“The only game in town”?
There is no game in town.
This is one of a number of reasons why I’m struggling to vote Labour at the general election.
I want the Tories out, we need them far away from government after the wrecking ball they have taken to this country.
But, Labour is showing worrying signs of being little more than Tory Lite.
I, like many I believe, am a voter who is in the wilderness with no party to vote for.
What a sorry state of affairs
“So, what is Labour for now? I keep asking the question and still I can find no answer.”
Liebore is the establishment’s continuiuty candidate. The end of the Corbyn era, allowed control over Labour to be re-established by the establishment who had a candidate to hand that was a “safe pairs of hands”, i.e. Starmer and his B.Liarite team. Liebore is the intermission between vile tory governments.
Liebore gives the population a chance to feel a little bit better, a little bit of sugar coating (not too much mind) whilst the vile-tories re-organise and work out new & interesting ways to screw the UK, screw UK serfs and generally make life shittier for UK serfs. For the vile-tories this is a sort of sport. They are very good at it and have a few centuries of experience.
Thus Liebore is an establishment tool – no more, no less. The meeja is an establishment propaganda tool, no more, no less, to tell UK serfs how to think. Most of the time it is very successful (BBC and the “Not My King” is a case in point). The Corbyn era was a hiccup in the system, but with the rise of Liebore, normal service has been resumed.
UK serfs are being led by the nose, and are happy to be led by the nose, whether by vile-tories (time for a bit of nasty medicine – you won’t enjoy taking it but we will enjoy giving it) or Liebore (there there mummy will make it a bit better – but not to much). For the avoidance of doubt on the nasty medicine I refer you all to Pil(ock) and his recent comments about people getting poorer, Pill(ock) is one of the vile-tories & greatly enjoys dishing out the medicine to Uk serfs.
Feel free to re-visit the above in say 2029 I guarantee the words you will say & I will hear will be “Mike you were right”.
It was an “instruction” I first noticed in the EU Debates.
During 40 years of their campaigning for Britain to leave the EU, I can’t say I spotted many Brexiteers moving elsewhere to escape the terrible “rule from Brussels”.
And the failure to conceive of any person actually *not* having the means to move elsewhere serves to demonstrate the utter inability of even the moderately wealthy MPs of both major Parties to understand the normal living circumstances of the citizens they were elected to represent.
I think in part what we see in the current Labour party is the result of employing ex tories and right wing journalists as advisors. Which has reinforced starmers centre right views.
Is inflation going to come down? When the much put-off import controls begin to be introduced in October, won’t this lead to fewer imports with those that do make it being higher priced and scarce?
Maybe
What is Laboured for?
Continuity.
The party has been manoeuvred into a position of accepting the received wisdom of our nation paying lip service to the politics of eternity, the history of eternity and the replacement of policy with markets.
That’s why Laboured actively pours scorn on people who deal with facts (MMT, woke, graduates etc.,) and wish to instead pledge allegiance to the flag. Laboured has also embraced populist nihilism – we are all here to suffer together, rather than create new ideas and a better world because suffering is now the new national identity (it’s the Blitz reborn folks!!) , and no one does it better than us (just like no one did any thing better than us in the old days apparently). Laboured is ran ragged by identity politics.
This is what austerity creates – a hardened country that gets addicted to being hard as a matter of pride – perverse as it sounds.
Kick an animal enough times and it will grow to hate you and trust no one – it’s the same with people. And then, you can exploit those traits for political gain. Laboured has got its work cut out and once again it is party that is now staring at an open goal and cannot possibly score the goals we want it to.
Last night I spent 9 hours at A&E in Sheffield Northern Hospital waiting for my partner to be seen as instructed by the 111 number we rang, only to be discharged and told to go home and manage the pain. She will have to wait until end of June for a procedure. She is not even angry – yesterday A&E and the surgical ward she was on was inundated – they were just so busy.
A&E – full of people who had had accidents under the influence of some substance or other, a lot of cyclists coming off their bikes, what I would call obese people of all ages with mobility problems, people with COPD care of the tobacco companies who still have to nip out for fag at the A&E entrance and let the A&E air conditioning suck their smoke back into the waiting room to share; some football violence victims; a clock that could not even give the right date and time and a notice board informing us of staffing levels that had not been filled in since 30th March next to a picture board of all the pricks who shat……………sorry, sit on the Board of the hospital telling us how important we all were to them, who were no doubt sat at home doing other stuff (there were more people on the hospital’s Board than staffing A&E it seemed).
The worst bit? An elderly couple with a really frail wife who were kept waiting for as long as we were for a bed for her who clung to each other all night. What were they doing there at that time? No sense of any urgency for them or recognition of their advanced years at all, but staff are lovely when they engage with you.
So there’s a task right there that Stymied should rubbing his hands in glee to get a handle on.
I wonder if any of the political scum who say they manage or want to manage the country have ever been to an inner city A&E waiting room on a bank holiday weekend?
I doubt it.