Compass vs. Progress
I meant to post on the debate between Neal Lawson and Robert Philpot in the Guardian today; but Two Doctors says all I would do. Progress represent everything wrong with modern Labour. Doesn’t Philpot notice the corellation between Labour adopting their philosophy and votes falling away?
Compass, on the other hand, have many admirable policies:
“… we could start building council houses, mandate a living wage, create a national well being index, provide fee school meals for all primary kids, stop taxing people earning under £10,000, place a ban on advertising to children, introduce a fair voting system, drop ID cards, elect local health boards, introduce a graduate solidarity tax instead of fees and phase out our reliance on oil.”
- but can’t put them in place. The Parliamentary Labour Party is dead as a vehicle for socialism. The left-wing backbenches are virtually bereft of influence; when the government bargains with the DUP before its own MPs, they must realise that. Other, moderate MPs, meanwhile, buy fully into Progress’ baseless argument that voters will abandon Labour in droves should it dare to be nice to them (because, of course, voters aren’t abandoning Labour now.). So, they vote for the party right, and prevent any leftish challenge from reaching a contest across the party; as last year. Unless those MPs find their guts and start to make noise, Compass will need a revolution from the demoralised grassroots up to make the frontbenches.
Or, of course, they could find a new party. They wouldn’t be in government immediately - but at least those MPs they did elect could vote against measures like 42 Days, rather than cower beneath the Whips.
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