Conservative Brexiteers, every one of whom voted to save Theresa May last night, she thinks less of you than she does of Plaid Cymru. She has been, and she will be, meeting Plaid Cymru. But she has not met you, and you ought not to be holding your breath for any such invitation.
As for Jeremy Corbyn, yes, the job of the Opposition is to oppose. We are not governed by Grand Coalitions in this country, and we never should be. Even during the War, the Independent Labour Party held to that principle. But this is a different situation, and if you are not at the table, then you are on the menu.
Corbyn, far more than any Labour MP who might be co-opted into this admittedly sorry process, is the voice of the people whose votes determined the outcome of the EU referendum. Had we voted the other way, then Remain would have won, as the entire British Establishment, including the tactical pretend Leavers, had expected.
We revolted against 39 years of economic dispossession and political oppression, under all three parties and beginning with the Callaghan Government's turn to monetarism in 1977. The result from Sunderland stunned Boris Johnson and shook the international money markets. Dozens more such results followed through the night, and decided the overall outcome. Most of those areas then elected Corbyn's Labour Party a year later. But who will speak for us now?
For that matter, who will speak for the equally dispossessed and oppressed areas of London that voted Remain as a revolt against the British Establishment in general and Boris Johnson in particular? Living cheek by jowl with it had subjected them to ludicrously inflated prices and to endless petty "security" measures, while eight years of rule by him had made them sure that they were never going to give him any other kind of victory, any more than they were ever going to give the British Establishment any more power, even power that was currently exercised by the European Union.
For that matter, who will speak for the equally dispossessed and oppressed areas of London that voted Remain as a revolt against the British Establishment in general and Boris Johnson in particular? Living cheek by jowl with it had subjected them to ludicrously inflated prices and to endless petty "security" measures, while eight years of rule by him had made them sure that they were never going to give him any other kind of victory, any more than they were ever going to give the British Establishment any more power, even power that was currently exercised by the European Union.
Within and beyond the Labour whip, there are members of both House of Parliament who could indeed give voice to these positions. They need to organise in order to do so. For be in no doubt that the people who hold both of those perspectives in scorn, if they are even aware of them, will already be hard at it.
The Prime Minister's utterly Blairite speech yesterday contained nothing of her more Milibandian agenda of workers' and consumers' representation in corporate governance, of shareholders' control over executive pay, of restrictions on pay differentials within companies, of an investment-based Industrial Strategy and infrastructure programme, of greatly increased housebuilding, of action against tax avoidance, of a ban on public contracts for tax-avoiding companies, of a cap on energy prices, of banning or greatly restricting foreign takeovers, of a ban on unpaid internships, and of an inquiry into Orgreave.
Labour MPs seeking to work with her on Brexit, as she desperately wants them to do rather be thrown back on her own motley crew, need to insist on the reinstatement of these priorities, and on acceptable legislation to give effect to them, as well as on the abandonment of Universal Credit, and on the repeal of the Trade Union Act. Either that, or she would be taking afternoon tea with the ERG. Every day. For months.
The Left needs to assert itself in turn, by insisting to Corbyn that Labour MPs who participated in these discussions retain party membership only if it were removed from Tony Blair, and that the Left be given one of the Labour seats on each Select Committee, thereby entitling it to all the resources necessary in order to prepare and publish minority reports. There have been problems with the concept of Select Committee minority reports in the past, but allowing them would be a small matter compared to some other innovations that have lately been permitted by the present Speaker.
Where are the MPs with the gumption to do this? To work with the Government on Brexit for, and on behalf of, the people and places that decided the outcome of the referendum by revolting against 39 years of economic dispossession and political oppression, under all three parties and beginning with the Callaghan Government's turn to monetarism in 1977? To do so while also giving a voice to the people and places whose revolt against that dispossession and oppression was expressed as a rejection of the further enrichment and empowerment of the British Establishment in general and of Boris Johnson, whom they knew of old, in particular?
To insist that cooperation with the Prime Minister over Brexit must entail a return to her agenda of workers' and consumers' representation in corporate governance, of shareholders' control over executive pay, of restrictions on pay differentials within companies, of an investment-based Industrial Strategy and infrastructure programme, of greatly increased housebuilding, of action against tax avoidance, of a ban on public contracts for tax-avoiding companies, of a cap on energy prices, of banning or greatly restricting foreign takeovers, of a ban on unpaid internships, and of an inquiry into Orgreave? And to demand the representation of the Left on every Select Committee, with the right and the resources to prepare and publish minority reports?
Another hung Parliament is coming, however, and we need our people to hold the balance of power in it. It has become a local commonplace that I am on 30-30-30 with Labour and the Conservatives here at North West Durham, so that any one of us could be the First Past the Post. I will stand for this seat, if I can raise the £10,000 necessary to mount a serious campaign. Please email davidaslindsay@hotmail.com. Very many thanks.
The Prime Minister's utterly Blairite speech yesterday contained nothing of her more Milibandian agenda of workers' and consumers' representation in corporate governance, of shareholders' control over executive pay, of restrictions on pay differentials within companies, of an investment-based Industrial Strategy and infrastructure programme, of greatly increased housebuilding, of action against tax avoidance, of a ban on public contracts for tax-avoiding companies, of a cap on energy prices, of banning or greatly restricting foreign takeovers, of a ban on unpaid internships, and of an inquiry into Orgreave.
Labour MPs seeking to work with her on Brexit, as she desperately wants them to do rather be thrown back on her own motley crew, need to insist on the reinstatement of these priorities, and on acceptable legislation to give effect to them, as well as on the abandonment of Universal Credit, and on the repeal of the Trade Union Act. Either that, or she would be taking afternoon tea with the ERG. Every day. For months.
The Left needs to assert itself in turn, by insisting to Corbyn that Labour MPs who participated in these discussions retain party membership only if it were removed from Tony Blair, and that the Left be given one of the Labour seats on each Select Committee, thereby entitling it to all the resources necessary in order to prepare and publish minority reports. There have been problems with the concept of Select Committee minority reports in the past, but allowing them would be a small matter compared to some other innovations that have lately been permitted by the present Speaker.
Where are the MPs with the gumption to do this? To work with the Government on Brexit for, and on behalf of, the people and places that decided the outcome of the referendum by revolting against 39 years of economic dispossession and political oppression, under all three parties and beginning with the Callaghan Government's turn to monetarism in 1977? To do so while also giving a voice to the people and places whose revolt against that dispossession and oppression was expressed as a rejection of the further enrichment and empowerment of the British Establishment in general and of Boris Johnson, whom they knew of old, in particular?
To insist that cooperation with the Prime Minister over Brexit must entail a return to her agenda of workers' and consumers' representation in corporate governance, of shareholders' control over executive pay, of restrictions on pay differentials within companies, of an investment-based Industrial Strategy and infrastructure programme, of greatly increased housebuilding, of action against tax avoidance, of a ban on public contracts for tax-avoiding companies, of a cap on energy prices, of banning or greatly restricting foreign takeovers, of a ban on unpaid internships, and of an inquiry into Orgreave? And to demand the representation of the Left on every Select Committee, with the right and the resources to prepare and publish minority reports?
Another hung Parliament is coming, however, and we need our people to hold the balance of power in it. It has become a local commonplace that I am on 30-30-30 with Labour and the Conservatives here at North West Durham, so that any one of us could be the First Past the Post. I will stand for this seat, if I can raise the £10,000 necessary to mount a serious campaign. Please email davidaslindsay@hotmail.com. Very many thanks.
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