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The end of New Labour?
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
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I for one would like Labour to become a left-of-centre party again, so if 'New' Labour were really to cease to exist and take its PFIs, third ways, US imperialism arse-kissing with it, I'd be cheering for years to come. Whatever happens though the Labour party will be there in one form or other, and will go on be in power again in the future, just as the Tories are going to be in power again before them.
Hopefully the Tories dont bugger up the improvement (although its come at a huge cost) of public services.
Although incidentally, does anyone notice how ironic this is? For years, Brown has believed his own hype, and repeatedly told anyone who'll listen how brilliant he was at running the economy when Chancellor. Yet now, Fuhrer Brown, who shares a job with his glove puppet Alistair Darling, he starts pretending that these economic difficulties are actually nothing whatsoever to do with him. In other words, he took all the credit when times were good, but now that things have started going wrong, he's changed his story. It wasn't actually him who was responsible for any of this, oh no. And he wonders why he's got a reputation as a Macavity type character?
The sad thing is, had the aforementioned Macavity had shown some guts last year and called that General Election, he would have won comfortably. Just about all of Failed Labour's misfortunes at the moment are self-inflicted - the shameful abolition of the 10p tax band, the blatant lies he told us to get out of the manifesto promise to give a referendum on the EU Constitution/Treaty, his pathetic dithering over whether to scrap the planned 2p increase in fuel duty amidst rocketing fuel prices... the list goes on. Nothing would make me happier than seeing this government fail miserably, and they are doing an extremely good job of things.
But ask yourselves, would David Cameron be any better at the job? Almost certainly not. Whilst it's truly wonderful to see the architechts of New Labour tearing it to pieces and killing it, Cameron is the man who is ready to take over the Blair legacy. New Labour will live on, albeit under slightly different faces, in "the heir to Blair" that is David Cameron. Tony Blair can feel proud of himself - he has ensured that his brand of politics will live on well into the next decade. What a shame that no one else will be able to share this warped sense of pride.
They ran the same lame sort of smear campaign over there that they did during the mayoral election in London. And, surprise surprise, the electorate saw through their bullshit.
I think it's too soon to say that this is the end of Nu-Labour but one can hope.
But if the Conservatives get into power, I don't expect much will change. At best, they'll carry on most of Labour's social policies, they won't have any more of a clue that Labour about how to improve the economic situation, and they'll introduce a few things to appease their core voters, like abolishing inheritance tax. I think everything else will remain pretty much the same. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing.
No chance whilst Nick Clegg is leader. (He contributed to the Orange Book) For as long as the LibDems fight in Conservative areas as 'Tory lite' and claim to be a real left wing alternative in Labour areas.... it's hard to take them seriously. They get away with being a mishmash because it's assumed they'll never get into power. And whilst the trade unions aren't fans of New Labour they're not going to start supporting the LibDems... TBH, I see the LibDem vote getting squeezed by Cameron's 'new' Conservative brand. I really don't think they'll ever become the 'main' centre-left party... The LibDems I think will just carry on as they've always done: the third party which can criticise Labour/Conservative from every angle safe in the knowledge that they won't ever get into power. What will be interesting I think is where Labour goes next, assuming they lose the next election...
:yes:
Even if Labour loose I can't see it being such a wipe out that they are reduced to the third party - there's too many constituencies where voting Labour is hard-wired into the voters.
If by some miracle the Lib Dems did become the second party they're the ones who are likely to change the most. It's alright taking a position when you have no chance of power, but if you look like there's a sniff of it they need to build a mass electorate and that will mean many of their policies being dumped.