And Yet So Far

Read over the following list:

• Increasing the weekly state pension to £170
• Scrapping all tuition fees
• Free school meals for all
• Scrapping prescription charges
• Re-introducing free eye tests
• Free dental care
• Free social care for all
• Opposing budget and job cuts in the public sector
• Increasing the minimum wage to £8.10 an hour
• 50% tax rate on incomes over £100,000
• No ceiling on National Insurance payments
• Re-introducing the fuel duty escalator at 8% per year
• Introducing VAT and fuel duty on aviation
• Introducing a permanent tax on bankers' bonuses
• Stripping private schools of charitable status
• Reducing the role of business in education
• Ending the use of nuclear power
• Scrapping the replacement for Trident

How would you describe this? According to Jonathan Isaby, this is "far Left". This is "far Left" now, is it? Only the bit about nuclear power is wrong. Apart from that, if either the Labour or the Conservative Party ran on this programme, then it would sweep the board. Shame on them both for leaving these things to the Greens, with all their other baggage.

Needless to say, pointing this out has set off the Tourrettes about Michael Foot's duffel coat and what have you. My point is made. These are the sort of thing that an incoming Tory Government didn't used to repeal, and probably wouldn't repeal now if it found them already in place. In fact, several of them are the sort of thing that Tory Governments used to do, having been elected on manifesto commitments to do them. Meanwhile, not a word about the fact that the real Hard Left has taken over your own party. That is precisely why your party is not promising to do anything on this list. If you knew anything about the Hard Left, then you would understand that.

But then, that is only the marriage of one bizarre sect to another. Nothing in the position of the John Marek, or the Tower Hamlets SWP, or any of the rest of the Tories' recent recruits, is any less sane than a total opposition to all government activity except wars and an unquestioning support for absolutely any war, at least so long as it has been ordered up by one or both of two foreign states.