It seems to me that the Labour left have for too long held on to a false analogy. It goes something like this, the Labour Party is like a bird and has a left wing and a right wing. The wings can take the party in either direction but you need both wings to achieve flight.
In general what happens is that when the left are ascendant the right emphasises the need to be a 'broad church' and the left accept this as, after all the party needs both wings to fly.
However when the right are ascendant, their broad church idea is dropped. Parts of the left wing are purged or silenced to make the party more "electable". The Left never expel, the right almost always expels the left or disciplines them.
When Jeremy was leader he didn't expel or discipline the right when they undermined him and the leftwards move in party policy. As soon as the right in the party were back in power they openly attacked and rid themselves of the left again. The Labour Left need to toughen up, to expel the right should they ascend again. Better still, in my opinion, would be to dump the Labour right now and form an alternative Party of Labour.
Around 200,000 left the Labour Party or were expelled. Some have become inactive, but many of them would return to active politics if there was a new Left wing organisation involving Jeremy Corbyn.
The right wing are not supporting the left in flight, they are a weight holding the left down. Cut off the right wing and you may actually soar!
agreed in principle but if Corbyn had expelled anybody on the right of the party there would have been cries of stalinist purges as well as the as that was so cynically used.
remember we have all been subjected to the same propaganda since before the wars engendering fear of and conflating the left with communism.
it would have been the russian hat fiasco on steroids.
the left would face exactly that same problem now even if they had the power.
i don't know what the answer is, my hope is that this neo liberal capitalism will destroy itself & something fairer may then rise from the ashes.
i doubt i'll live to see it but you never know, endings can happen very quickly.
Absolutely, but the right are never scared of a fight, the left shouldn't be either. The media will never be on the side of the left, but we have lots of evidence of right wing purges to throw back against charges of Stalinism. Starmer uses more Stalinist methods, lies and expulsion, than the left have ever used.
I agree for the most part with your views. But Jeremy Corbyn is saintly in nature, and very loyal to the Labour Party. I would not be surprised if he becomes a full time grassroots activist and steps away from Westminster all together.
I'm sorry to say you're right Rona. He is like Tony Benn in that respect. He won't let go of the Labour Party. Perhaps the time when it was necessary is gone. I was in the Labour Party for a couple of years but I resigned when I saw the same right wing come out of the cracks. I'm in the SWP now as I believe there has to be a revolutionary socialist alternative. Only time will tell if the Labour left become brave enough to leave, like some of the Councillors.
He's confirmed he's standing as an independent against the parachuted in Labour candidate. What will the Labour left do I wonder? If they support JC they will be expelled from the Party. We live in interesting times!
How different things could have been 😞
It seems to me that the Labour left have for too long held on to a false analogy. It goes something like this, the Labour Party is like a bird and has a left wing and a right wing. The wings can take the party in either direction but you need both wings to achieve flight.
In general what happens is that when the left are ascendant the right emphasises the need to be a 'broad church' and the left accept this as, after all the party needs both wings to fly.
However when the right are ascendant, their broad church idea is dropped. Parts of the left wing are purged or silenced to make the party more "electable". The Left never expel, the right almost always expels the left or disciplines them.
When Jeremy was leader he didn't expel or discipline the right when they undermined him and the leftwards move in party policy. As soon as the right in the party were back in power they openly attacked and rid themselves of the left again. The Labour Left need to toughen up, to expel the right should they ascend again. Better still, in my opinion, would be to dump the Labour right now and form an alternative Party of Labour.
Around 200,000 left the Labour Party or were expelled. Some have become inactive, but many of them would return to active politics if there was a new Left wing organisation involving Jeremy Corbyn.
The right wing are not supporting the left in flight, they are a weight holding the left down. Cut off the right wing and you may actually soar!
agreed in principle but if Corbyn had expelled anybody on the right of the party there would have been cries of stalinist purges as well as the as that was so cynically used.
remember we have all been subjected to the same propaganda since before the wars engendering fear of and conflating the left with communism.
it would have been the russian hat fiasco on steroids.
the left would face exactly that same problem now even if they had the power.
i don't know what the answer is, my hope is that this neo liberal capitalism will destroy itself & something fairer may then rise from the ashes.
i doubt i'll live to see it but you never know, endings can happen very quickly.
Absolutely, but the right are never scared of a fight, the left shouldn't be either. The media will never be on the side of the left, but we have lots of evidence of right wing purges to throw back against charges of Stalinism. Starmer uses more Stalinist methods, lies and expulsion, than the left have ever used.
I agree for the most part with your views. But Jeremy Corbyn is saintly in nature, and very loyal to the Labour Party. I would not be surprised if he becomes a full time grassroots activist and steps away from Westminster all together.
I'm sorry to say you're right Rona. He is like Tony Benn in that respect. He won't let go of the Labour Party. Perhaps the time when it was necessary is gone. I was in the Labour Party for a couple of years but I resigned when I saw the same right wing come out of the cracks. I'm in the SWP now as I believe there has to be a revolutionary socialist alternative. Only time will tell if the Labour left become brave enough to leave, like some of the Councillors.
Truthful and saddening. There was hope with Corbyn, that is all gone now
While there's life, there's hope!
He's confirmed he's standing as an independent against the parachuted in Labour candidate. What will the Labour left do I wonder? If they support JC they will be expelled from the Party. We live in interesting times!