Archive for December, 2009

In March 2003 I became the first councillor in the UK to start a blog. That blog is now defunct, as it was very definitely a ‘councillor blog’ and not about national politics (as The Guardian made clear in Blogging for better bins). When I stood down as a councillor I let that blog die as I concentrated on my professional b usiness blog at A PR Guy’s Musings. I frequently reference political issues on my business blog, but usually within a public relations or communications context.

As we enter an election year I’ve increasingly wanted to be more political in my blogging, but haven’t been able to on my business blog as it’s directed at a different audience. That’s why I’ve started this new blog where I can talk about lots of the issues that really matter.

Guido Fawkes blogs that The Online Left Thinks 2010 Will Be Their Year and disagrees. I’m inclined to agree with Guido as I don’t think that any of the left-wing blogs will knock the right-wing supremos off their pedestals. However, it isn’t all about the blockbuster blogs. They are only part of the picture, what’s going to also make a difference is the myriad of smaller blogs and thousands of individuals on Twitter, Facebook and other social media and social networking platforms.

Guido also says:

“The left has to get the post-election civil war out of the way first before it re-groups. Given that the online left is way to the left of the electorate, there is a good chance that the Labour blogosphere will help consign the Labour Party to irrelevance for a good while.”

Personally I’m not a great believer in the left/right divide in the Labour Party, but it’s unlikely that any of the tribalists that do would put me on the left of the Labour Party. That’s part of my motivation for starting this blog. I’ve got things to say and the old-fashioned, out-dated structure of the Party isn’t up to modern political discourse (there’s a subject for a future blog post).

Guido’s prediction of a post-election civil war in the Labour Party assumes that we’re heading for a massive electoral defeat, but that’s not what I believe. I’m still in it to win it. But win or lose, there is a need for a massive debate in the Labour Party and I want to be ready.