I don’t know whether to feel miffed or pleased to have been allowed in. I left when the first Blair government started to denigrate single mums as work-shy spongers, not least because my old mum was one and living partly off benefits, in her case a war widow’s pension.
I wish I’d stayed in a way because then I could have left over the over the Iraq war.
Anway, I’ve rejoined and I think I’ll be voting for Jeremy for leader and as deputy, for Caroline Flint. I’ve listened to the other leadership contenders and watched them trim this way and that as the Jeremy bandwaggon trundled happily along. I like Andy and I like Yvette despite her being married to Ed, who managed the scapegoating of Sharon Shoesmith and then defiantly tried to justify his bluster and bullying. The memory of a Labour Secretary of State running with a pack led by the Sun, Mail and Express was less than edifying. Andy is genuinely able and I like a lot of what he says. But, but, but…….Labour won’t win Scotland, won’t see off UKIP, won’t recruit shattered lib-dem voters by fighting for the centre ground, and, if being electable means being quite like the Tories, what’s the point. They’ve gone after the poor, the disabled, the refugees, the education system, the health service, local democracy and local government. They’ve established a virtuous funding circle by selling off our state to business interests who then fund the Tory party from company profits – what’s not to like. But, I’m naive enough to believe in:
- social justice,
- equality of opportunity,
- that if you’re down you might need support not sanctions to drive that last nail in your coffin
and - that the market and global capitalism may not be our best hope for the future.
And I don’t believe an economic system that causes shortages of food and basic commodities in the name of profit makes much sense any more than I think asset-stripping the planet is a sustainable strategy.
Why didn’t young voters vote last time? Because they didn’t know that one of the parties had come out of struggle and martyrdom to fight for oppressed and exploited working people. Without that history they were forced to look at what the parties said and, afraid of losing the centre, Labour trimmed and trimmed, terrified of upsetting anyone. So I’m voting for Jeremy. He may not form a government but he’ll certainly form an opposition that’s worth listening to. Of course the ‘free’ press will go for him and forecast calamity and chaos, but that’s what austerity is like now for many people.
