Labour Pains

Well, wasn't that thrilling?

Almost immediately after the 2017 General Election, Labour pulled ahead in the polls, where it remained until its adoption of Keir Starmer's policy of a second referendum on EU membership. It then fell into a slump from which it has never emerged, having to crow occasionally about a tie that would result in a comfortable Conservative overall majority.

Starmer now says that he wants to Get Brexit Done, but more broadly we are seeing a pernicious redefinition of "patriotism" as opposition to the idea of an independent British foreign policy, and as having a mind entirely closed to the idea that Britain could be better, especially in terms of economic equality.

It is apparently "patriotic" to adopt the mottoes, "It'll never work", "Who's going to pay for that?", and "Whatever America, Israel or Saudi Arabia wants, we have to give it to them". The first two do not apply to the third. Indeed, we have to take the lead in demanding that America fight wars that its President does not want to fight, since anything else would be "unpatriotic". 

Jeremy Corbyn's optimism for Britain, astonishingly retained into old age, apparently proved that he hated the place. Today's media script is that he "sided with Britain's enemies", by which are meant Saudi Arabia's enemies. Follow the money, I suppose. But in point of fact, and as Corbyn unforgivably understood, it is Saudi Arabia that is Britain's most active enemy.

As for the "anti-Semitism" hoax, Starmer put the hierarchy of race on full display as he bragged about being a former Director of Public Prosecutions, and as he failed to mention either the Windrush scandal or the fire at Grenfell Tower, never mind the Forde Inquiry into racism among the party's staff, an Inquiry that he has effectively killed off. He also paraded his knighthood, which was awarded for his refusal to charge Jimmy Savile. "Services to criminal justice", indeed.

But then, Starmer has presided over the victimisation of black women MPs, he has dismissed Black Lives Matter as a "moment", he has identified with those who had taken selfies alongside the bodies of black murder victims, he has replaced Diane Abbott with an all-white Shadow Home Office team that has repeatedly been outflanked on the left by Priti Patel, he has promoted Jess Phillips, he has rejected self-determination for Kashmir, he has indicated his view of self-determination for the Chagos Islands by revelling in his role in the torture of Julian Assange, he refused to bring charges in relation to the death of Jean Charles de Menezes (or in relation to the death of Ian Tomlinson), and he failed to oppose the early lifting of the lockdown despite the far higher risk of Covid-19 to people of colour.

Do not be distracted by the fact that Keir Starmer is a very boring man. He is also a very, very, very bad man. Depending on local circumstances, in each constituency at the next General Election there should be one Conservative, Labour, Liberal Democrat or Independent candidate who subscribed to this and this. The complete list of those candidates would appear here, and anywhere else that we could get to publish it. If I could raise enough money to be a viable candidate, then I would contest the seat where the most people had offered to sign my nomination papers. Please give generously.