Need for a left-leaning Labour party

 It`s a myth perpetuated by Blair that any move to the left would make Labour unelectable, as if Labour`s policies were the main reason for Tory dominance in the 1980s. What about the other factors, not least the leadership of Thatcher, and the very strong bias against Labour by Murdoch`s right-wing press? Yet it is still suggested, often by inference, that left-leaning policies now would cost Labour dear; this is evidence of a serious misreading of the current political situation.

     The surge in the opinion polls after Miliband`s proposed freeze of energy prices, plus the popularity of policies such as the retention of state ownership of the East Coast line, and the general disgust with the banking and financial institutions, indicate that Labour would benefit electorally with more left-wing proposals. Similarly, widespread popular support for a financial transaction tax, a general belief that the well-off have escaped austerity altogether, and antagonism to Goveism and the NHS reforms all point to an urgent need for Labour to be bolder.The popularity of Farage owes much to the perception that Labour and the Tories are too similar to each other for the voters` comfort, and such disillusionment is as strong with traditional Labour supporters as it is with Tory eurosceptics. Far better for Miliband to make some radical proposals now, than be forced into doing so after a Ukip landslide in the Euros.

 Blair conned a party, desperate for power, into believing "New Labour" was the way forward, but his personal ambition and duplicity have now been rumbled, and the effects of light regulation and being "relaxed" about obscene wealth-gathering are still being felt. Britain, the seventh richest country in the world, yet relying on foodbanks to feed the poor, and being 28th out of 34 in the equality league, is in dire need of transformation, and pledges to tinker will not satisfy an impatient  electorate.