Ok, so it was a joke, and not a bad one at that (for a politician) but Liam Byrne's casual glibness over the £170bn deficit does sum up the lack of direction that Labour is suffering right now.
A 'haha, we spent the country's money' legacy, as New Labour's will undoubtedly be, shows how complacent Labour has been with its golden opportunity of 13 years of power.
The gap between the richest and poorest has widened, the House of Lords remains in its unelected state and Labour's power base of unions and working class has grown politically homeless. Socialism has gone awol in the UK and that should be a worrying situation. It's bad enough that the Lib Dem's income tax fillip for middle earners is held up as everyone's favourite buzzword 'progressive'.
I would go as far as to suggest that Britain's main left of centre party is still to the right of Sweden's 'conservative' party, that's how far off the charts we're falling.
After all, Labour loses power, by not very much, and its chief concern is that it didn't connect with its base on immigration. Immigration!? Talk about reconnecting with your base.
A recent Swedish political furore indirectly highlights Labour's misplaced reason to be. The Social Democrat leader Mona Sahlin, who is the clear favourite to be the next Prime Minister, faced negative headlines and even calls for her resignation for being in possession of a $850 handbag. Her Socialist credentials were tested to the limit over the affair.
For me, it puts Mandelson's £21,500 watch, Blair's property portfolio and the Labour-led expenses scandal into perspective.
You can't stand if you've lost your stance and you can't lead if you've lost your direction. Labour can't out-Tory the Tories and should lurch to the left if they want to leave New Labour behind and enjoy a brighter future.
Labour may have spent all of our money (and are laughing about it) but has it spent its future political capital too?
A 'haha, we spent the country's money' legacy, as New Labour's will undoubtedly be, shows how complacent Labour has been with its golden opportunity of 13 years of power.
The gap between the richest and poorest has widened, the House of Lords remains in its unelected state and Labour's power base of unions and working class has grown politically homeless. Socialism has gone awol in the UK and that should be a worrying situation. It's bad enough that the Lib Dem's income tax fillip for middle earners is held up as everyone's favourite buzzword 'progressive'.
I would go as far as to suggest that Britain's main left of centre party is still to the right of Sweden's 'conservative' party, that's how far off the charts we're falling.
After all, Labour loses power, by not very much, and its chief concern is that it didn't connect with its base on immigration. Immigration!? Talk about reconnecting with your base.
A recent Swedish political furore indirectly highlights Labour's misplaced reason to be. The Social Democrat leader Mona Sahlin, who is the clear favourite to be the next Prime Minister, faced negative headlines and even calls for her resignation for being in possession of a $850 handbag. Her Socialist credentials were tested to the limit over the affair.
For me, it puts Mandelson's £21,500 watch, Blair's property portfolio and the Labour-led expenses scandal into perspective.
You can't stand if you've lost your stance and you can't lead if you've lost your direction. Labour can't out-Tory the Tories and should lurch to the left if they want to leave New Labour behind and enjoy a brighter future.
Labour may have spent all of our money (and are laughing about it) but has it spent its future political capital too?
5 comments:
For many this was THE golden oportunity to reshape Britain, with 179 and 165 seat majorities in their first two terms. And what did they do with it? Continue the Thatcher line of making Britain the nearest the EU has to a tax haven and carving up our public services for consumption by private companies.
Is it any wonder they have dropped 5 million votes between 1997 and 2010?
Well said. Most worrying thing (well one of them, there's been a lot tae worry about) is Labour's supine rolling-over intae opposition. That party needs tae reconnect wi' its ain heart, if it still has yin.
Now I'm never going to be able to look at Peter Mandelson without thinking of Alec Baldwin in Glengarry Glen Ross.
"Sorry, there's no money left"
Well at last Labour have come out with the truth but I really hope this remark confines them to the political history books and we never have a Labour government again.
BA has won its court order against the Unite union again, good news for those of us who do not wish to live under the iron grip of the unions who fund Labour and hold the country to ransom.
Excellent post Jeff. Bang on the button.
It's worrying that one of the left of centre parties has gone into coalition with the Tories and the other is more right wing than the Tories are themselves on some things.
Sophia: I think they may need a rest. 13 years of government has left them with no talent and no energy... and as Jeff says, a disconnect from their core followers. A de facto leader who wears a watch that cost more than most of their followers earn in a year is a sign that they have lost the plot.
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