Labour RIP

Labour Party RIP! It shouldn`t come as a surprise to anyone who`s been disappointed by Miliband`s refusal to support a Tobin tax or introduce higher tax bands for those earning over £75K a year,but now it`s official. With  the party`s election co-ordinator stating that the message they will be taking "across the country" is that "Labour stands up for the squeezed middle", the party`s break with the working people of this country is complete.(Labour takes aim at Tory suburbs in drive for votes, 27/10/13) New Labour may have gone, but what has replaced it is more akin to a Lab Dem party! The assumption is, of course, that, with the expected demise of the Lib Dems in any forthcoming elections, Labour has to fill the centre ground vaccuum, before the Tories attempt to do so. This explains their emphasis on moderate proposals in areas such as education, housing and rent control,whilst stressing toughness on welfare and benefits, and even borrowing Lib Dem ideas like the mansion tax. For traditional supporters desperate to see a return to policies based on fairness, with radical ideas to reduce the gap between rich and poor, haves and have-nots, Labour promises next to nothing.Their lack of protest at the sale of state-owned and profitable Royal Mail and the east coast railway (Profitable and publicly owned-so why sell it? 27/10/13) reveals timidity, fearing right-wing media`s "red Ed" propaganda more than shouts of "Judas" from its own supporters.

With the consequent prospect of a low turn-out in 2015, and local activists standing against the "official" Labour candidates, some of whom no doubt "parachuted in" from London, this election strategy is extremely risky, not only because victory is far from assured, but because it leaves the low earners, unemployed and less fortunate without representation, and a voice, in parliament.