Opinions from a loyal Labour Party member
Posts tagged BBC
Gordon Brown must not go V2
Jan 6th
The second post on this new blog said Gordon must not go.
This evening I’m on BBC Radio 5’s Matthew Bannister show. To give you a heads up on where I’ll be coming from I’ve just added my name to this letter from LabourList:
We are dismayed that Labour’s positive start to the New Year has been overshadowed after only two days by veteran Labour MPs who should know better. As candidates and activists, we know that nothing turns the public off more than introverted infighting in the corridors of Westminster and we hope that this distraction fizzles out as quickly as it started. Whether Labour wins or loses the next election will rest on whether we have the right answers for the challenges of the next decade and the right approach to politics.
This new approach has to recognise that there can be no return to the old style of politics after the next election. The public, rightly, have lost the last vestiges of faith in the political class after the expenses scandal, and the only way we can win it back is if the Labour Party tries to do things differently from the usual political cribsheet. We must not resort to negative attacks on the basis of class war. What matters is not the school someone went to, but whether they can understand the hopes and needs of all our people and are able to govern in the greater interests of our nation. It means that Labour must be willing to accept not everything it has done in government has been perfect, but that it’s ready to learn from its mistakes. And it means that we must go to polls on the boldest, most progressive platform we can muster. This is not a time for triangulation or cheap dividing lines. It’s a time for clarity of vision and ambition.
As the grassroots of the Labour Party we don’t doubt that the next four months will be difficult, but part of being a progressive is to maintain hope that nothing is insurmountable. We believe that an authentically Labour manifesto combined with our significant achievements in government and our passion for organising could bring about a historic fourth term. We call on Labour’s leadership in parliament, in government and in Downing Street to focus on bringing about a better future for the people of Britain.
Stuart Bruce
The Tax Payers Alliance doesn’t represent me
Jan 5th
I don’t understand why the media given any credence whatsoever to the so called Tax Payers Alliance. The idea that it anyway represents ordinary tax payers like you and me is ridiculous. It represents a narrow sectarian interest of rich people who don’t have a patriotic bone in their bodies.
The vast majority of people in this country understand that you pay tax in order to fund essential public services such as the NHS, education and the defence of the nation. Every tax payer is a recipient of services that are paid for by tax. Britain is a democracy and we vote to elect a government that represents our interests. We don’t need an unelected, shadily funded, unaccountable pressure group pretending to defend our interests.
A real Tax Payers Alliance would represent ordinary tax payers who also benefit from the essential services the state provides. A real Tax Payers Alliance wouldn’t necessarily stand for “lower taxes” it would stand for fairer taxes.
John Prescott’s Go Fourth campaign deserves praise for exposing the TPA as a partisan pressure group rather than a legitimate think tank or support group. He did well with the Charity Commission investigation and the response from the BBC that acknowledges:
"I do accept that the TPA’s publications and policies come from a distinctive political position and think we should try to avoid our output giving the impression that it is an impartial body.
