Opinions from a loyal Labour Party member
Posts tagged Labour Party
Eddie Izzard talks about Brilliant Britain with Labour
766 days
While you’re waiting for tonight’s debate (#leadersdebate) between Gordon, David and Nick you could do worse than check out Labour’s latest party political election broadcast with Eddie Izzard:
UPDATE: I didn’t want to admit this at first, but I’ve now just tweeted about the fact that I cried when I first watched this. Eddie’s right. Britain is bloody brilliant. It’s not all down to Labour, in fact it’s mainly down to how brilliant the British people are. But Labour wants to celebrate that brilliance and help people. I’m old enough to have grown up under Thatcher’s Tories and it was bloody horrible. Whatever you think Labour’s faults are don’t let the Tories wreck any hope we have for a brighter future. Trust me, they will, that’s what Tories do. I’ve experienced it.
Labour’s manifesto launch showcases cabinet talent
769 days
Today’s manifesto launch highlighted yet another of Labour’s key strengths – the depth and strength of Labour’s cabinet.
Cameron can’t put forward his cabinet team, because it’s no match for Labour’s. Can you imagine Alan Johnson v. Chris Grayling? Alastair Darling v. George Osbourne. Andy Burnham v. Andrew Lansley. Hilary Benn v. Nick Herbert. In each and every case it’s no contest.
That’s why Gordon had the cabinet with him to answer questions. He knows he’s got a talented team.
In contrast Cameron knows he’s got to distance himself from the rest of his cabinet. Not only does their appearance highlight how lightweight they all are, but more importantly it shows people that for all Cameron’s slick salesmanship about compassionate Cameron, it’s still the same old nasty Tories underneath.
For all that Cameron likes to pretend he’s Tony Blair’s heir, the big difference is that Blair had the ability and courage to change the Labour Party. Cameron doesn’t even have the ability or courage to change the Conservative Party so how can we believe him when he says he’ll change the country?
Labour manifesto launch
769 days
Labour’s manifesto launch is a bit different to what a lot of people were expecting. Usually general election manifestos are only bought and read by real political junkies*. But the problem with that is that most people just see what the media chooses to report, they don’t actually get to see the real policies free if media spin and distortion.
Labour’s innovation is to provide the manifesto in a multitude of different formats to suit a wide variety of needs. The most innovative is the film produced by Ridley Scott Associates and Saatchi & Saatchi which is ideal for sharing with friends and family. In just two minutes it gives people a real insight into Labour’s policy pledges in its manifesto.
For those who want more detail you can click through and see a series of other films on specific policy areas such as the economy and health. You can also click through to download PDFs of the actual manifesto. It’s in the PDFs that you get the policy detail that highlights how solid, serious and substantial Labour’s manifesto actually is. Douglas Alexander explained that the rationale behind the animated films was to allow voters to “paddle, swim and dive” into Labour’s manifesto.
Labour’s launch is about putting members and voters at the forefront. Before 1997 Peter Mandelson used to talk about winning the ‘air war’ and the ‘ground war’. The air war was the mainstream media, the ground war was pounding the streets talking to voters. Today it’s even more about the ground war. Except the ground war isn’t just on the streets, it’s online with voters and local party activists talking to each other.
In contrast to the Tories negative advertising campaigns Labour has deliberately chosen a positive theme, reflecting bright sunshine coming up over the horizon and a family looking forward to a future fair for all.
The creative manifesto isn’t just creative for the sake of it, but is also designed to reflect the importance of the creative and digital sector to the UK economy.
That’s why Labour isn’t relying on the broadcast and print media for the manifesto launch. The launch wasn’t introduced by a cabinet minister, but by Labour blogger Ellie Gellard. At the same time Labour is sharing the links to the films with party members so they can share them directly with friends, colleagues and family through email, social media and social networks.
Impressed as I am by Labour’s innovation and as new media as I am, I have to confess I’m disappointed that I won’t be walking down to WH Smith to buy all of the manifestos. Keeping an online video or PDF just isn’t the same.
DISCLOSURE: I did have a sneak preview of the manifesto.
* I used to have a collection of manifestos going back to 1979 which was the first election where I was really aware of and interested in politics (I was nearly 11).
XP: Also posted on A PR Guy’s Musings.
Labour’s party election broadcast – the road ahead
769 days
Labour’s first party election broadcast – the road ahead
I warn you not to be ordinary
812 days
If David Cameron is elected as prime minister this year, I warn you.
I warn you that you will have pain–when healing and relief depend upon payment.
I warn you that you will have ignorance–when talents are untended and wits are wasted, when learning is a privilege and not a right.
I warn you that you will have poverty–when pensions slip and benefits are whittled away by a government that won’t pay in an economy that can’t pay.
I warn you that you will be cold–when fuel charges are used as a tax system that the rich don’t notice and the poor can’t afford.
I warn you that you must not expect work–when many cannot spend, more will not be able to earn. When they don’t earn, they don’t spend. When they don’t spend, work dies.
I warn you not to go into the streets alone after dark or into the streets in large crowds of protest in the light.
I warn you that you will be quiet–when the curfew of fear and the gibbet of unemployment make you obedient.
I warn you that you will have defence of a sort–with a risk and at a price that passes all understanding.
I warn you that you will be home-bound–when fares and transport bills kill leisure and lock you up.
I warn you that you will borrow less–when credit, loans, mortgages and easy payments are refused to people on your melting income.
If David Cameron wins this year –
- I warn you not to be ordinary
- I warn you not to be young
- I warn you not to fall ill
- I warn you not to get old.
Actually it was Neil Kinnock on Margaret Thatcher in a speech in Bridgend, Glamorgan, on Tuesday 7 June 1983, but 27 years later the terror of a Tory government hasn’t changed.
David Cameron is right when he talks today about the need to fulfil your patriotic duty. But he’s wrong in his conclusion. It is our patriotic duty to do everything in our power to prevent the terror of a Tory government. Now is not the time to gamble that Cameron can keep the old, nasty Tories at bay. He can’t. They are waiting in the shadows to clip Cameron’s wings and implement policies that will damage British business
- attack the ordinary
- attack the young
-attack the ill
- attack the old.
#labourdoorstep was great for a future fair for all
820 days
Today thousands of political activists from all the parties, up and down the country, were out tramping the streets and knocking on doors. It was a bright, sunny day and that pretty much matched the feeling of the team out working for Jamie Hanley, the Labour candidate in Pudsey.
By and large we had an invigorating welcome on the doorstep, giving those that wanted them a copy of Labour’s new A future fair for all booklet. What was really inspiring was that some people already knew about it and were interested after seeing it on this morning’s news.
One of the most telling things is that despite the fact that the election is at most 100 days away people still don’t trust the Tories. Even those that are disillusioned with Labour aren’t inspired by the Tories. At the moment it looks most likely that they will stay at home with a possibility of them switching back to Labour. Unless the Tories do something spectacular between now and the general election it doesn’t feel like the swing voters I’ve been speaking to will swing their way.
Yorkshire Labour Party members on Twitter
833 days
After this afternoon’s excellent Go Fourth Leeds Tweet Up I’ve pulled together a quick public list on Twitter of Yorkshire Labour Party members. It has only got 33 people on it at the moment, so apologies if I’ve missed you off. To get added just tweet to @stuartbruce or leave a comment on this blog.
You can follow the list here and thanks to @johnprescott for organising it all.
“On the ground the yellow team are spiteful and vicious” Guido Fawkes
840 days
by Stuart Bruce
in Campaigning
The Liberal Democrats love to pretend that they are the fluffy, cuddly alternative to the nasty politics of the Tories and Labour. The truth, as any Labour or Conservative activist could tell you, is that the Lib Dems are usually the dirtiest, nastiest political campaigners around. They never usually trouble themselves with inconveniences such as facts or the truth.
Guido Fawkes reports that The Mirror’s Kevin Maguire has a delightful little tale about overhearing a Lib Dem activist on a train boasting on his mobile about he’d got the Evening Standard to claim Labour has secret plans to shut Kingston Hospital. Lib Dem MP Susan Kramer can now run a ‘successful’ campaign to save a hospital that we never going to close. It’s straight from the Lib Dem astro-turfing play book – whip up an artificial campaign and then claim the victory.
Guido Fawkes comments: “Once again it is another blow to the image of the Liberal Democrats as fluffy and nice that Clegg and Cowley Street constantly spin. On the ground the yellow team are spiteful and vicious.”
Let this be cautionary reminder for voters in the Leeds by-election for Hyde Park and Woodhouse. Labour has an exemplary candidate in Gerry Harper.
It still never ceases to amaze me how indiscrete people can be on train. This incident isn’t too dissimilar from the one I experienced in June when I overheard and Twittered the conversation of two Total executives discussing the Lindsey refinery dispute, which was then picked up and run by The Guardian.
UPDATE: According to Guido it appears that this wasn’t a rogue Lib Dem activist, but that Susan Kramer, the Lib Dem MP, was actively involved in this plot to mislead the electorate.
Gordon Brown must not go V2
865 days
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
Gordon must not go
868 days
Ask any of my friends and they’ll tell you how vehemently opposed I was to Gordon Brown becoming Labour Party leader. It wasn’t because I didn’t rate or like Brown. I rate him extremely highly. He’s the one you’d always want on your team. He’s the one you’d always ask for advice. He’s the one whose counsel you would treasure. It’s just that I never thought of him as a leader. A leader is someone you’ll trust and follow even if your own instincts say something else. A leader is a communicator. A leader is someone who inspires. Gordon isn’t that sort of leader.
But he is the leader that we’ve got. It’s far too late to regret our mistakes. Sheerman, Clarke and Pope need to accept that. We must rally around Gordon and fight to win. Because Labour can win. No matter how poor a leader Gordon is, he’s still a gigantic political figure who gave sterling service as chancellor. And he’s surrounded by cabinet colleagues who bar two or three would all be capable of stepping up and leading the Labour Party and the country. Contrast this with what the Conservatives have. Cameron is it. He’s the best they’ve got. He’s all they’ve got. Who have the Tories got to replace Cameron? The boy George? I hardly think so. William Hague is a possibility, probably the only possibility.
And how popular are the Tories under Cameron? The simple answer is that they aren’t. They might be leading in the polls, but by nowhere near enough. People aren’t making a positive choice in favour of the Conservatives. They’ve lost faith and turned away from the Labour Party.
Labour can still win the general election. But only if we present a clear vision for the future. It’s not enough simply to point to our record or what people would lose under the Tories. We need to offer them something more.