Labour, still refusing to face reality after their election drubbing in the UK, are continuing to remain utterly deluded. There are none more deluded than leadership aspirant Rebecca Long-Bailey.
She has declared that she will stick with the socialist policies that were soundly defeated in the election. The Guardian reports on her grand delusions:
Rebecca Long Bailey has announced that she is standing to become leader of the Labour party with a stout defence of Jeremy Corbyn’s political programme in the general election.
Widely seen as the favoured candidate of the left of the party, the MP for Salford and Eccles announced her candidacy on Monday night with a piece criticising the party’s election strategy and lack of narrative. She promised to defend policies within the party’s current socialist programme with “unwavering determination” in the article for Tribune magazine.
In the article, she says: “It is true that one reason we lost the election was that Labour’s campaign lacked a coherent narrative. But this was a failure of campaign strategy, not of our socialist programme.
Riiight, sure it was.
“I don’t just agree with the policies, I’ve spent the last four years writing them. Labour’s green new deal, our plans to radically democratise the economy, and to renew the high streets of towns across the country, are the foundations for an economic transformation that will combat the climate crisis and hand back wealth and power to ordinary people.”
The green new deal, which she said was “tragically undersold” in the election, would remain at the heart of her programme if she became leader, she said.
“The popularity of our green new deal bridges the divides in our electoral coalition, with huge support in the cities and marginals in the south-east too. It should have been a core part of our offer: this is how Labour will help you take back control,” she wrote.
She has also promised not to move back to tactics employed by Ed Miliband on immigration. “Never again will our party put ‘controls on immigration’ on a mug,” she said. “It would be a betrayal of our principles, and of our core supporters and activists.”
If that doesn’t fill you with mirth, then check out what one candidate who has withdrawn and now endorsed Long-Bailey has said:
Ian Lavery, the party’s chairman and former National Union of Mineworkers executive, has dropped out of the leadership race, a source confirmed on Monday night.
Lavery released a statement offering Long Bailey his support. “Having worked with her in the shadow cabinet, I know she has the intellect, drive and determination to take forward and develop the popular, commonsense socialist policies that Jeremy Corbyn has championed,” he said. “And after more than a century, it’s about time the Labour party was led was a woman.”
Straight into the same politics of intersectionality that was so thoroughly rejected. You’d think they’d learn, but apparently not. I really hope that she wins the leadership battle: the lolz will be tremendous as they continue towards their complete destruction.
And in case you stopped laughing, another article in The Guardian outlines how candidates are being urged to sign a statement prepared by the unions to try to halt job losses amongst Labour staffers affected by the demise of their hapless MPs:
Labour’s main leadership contenders have been urged to join calls for a halt to a party reorganisation that would result in multiple sackings of party staff.
As the timetable for the leadership race was set out, representatives of Unite and GMB sent a letter to leadership and deputy leadership contenders urging them to sign a statement to stop a clear-out of staff members.
Leadership contenders Keir Starmer, Emily Thornberry, Jess Phillips and Lisa Nandy and deputy candidate Angela Rayner said they would support the statement. Rebecca Long Bailey, who declared her candidacy on Monday night, has also reportedly offered her support to staff.
The move comes amid reports of significant internal party changes after last month’s calamitous election result. Jeremy Corbyn’s chief of staff, Karie Murphy, and the party’s general secretary, Jennie Formby, are reportedly drafting an overhaul of party structures before he steps down in the spring.[…]
The decision by Unite and GMB to send the letter to candidates is significant, as both unions will influence the contest. Both Murphy and Formby are former senior Unite figures.
The joint union statement reads: “As candidates in the leadership and deputy leadership campaigns we firmly believe that a thorough review should be the duty and responsibility of the next leadership team when a full and frank debate has taken place. It would be a mistake for the party to undertake any steps towards reorganisation of the party until a new leader and deputy leader are in place.”
On Monday night leadership favourite Starmer offered his “wholehearted” support for the letter.
He said: “Hard-working staff need immediate reassurance, not a rushed reorganisation. It’s important any structural changes to the Labour party are undertaken by the new leadership team following a full consultation with staff and trade unions.”
A senior union source said: “How can anyone think it’s a sensible idea to restructure the entire party before a new leadership team is elected? We lost. If the people proposing this restructure had the answers, they’d be in No 10 by now.
“Rushed, politically motivated hirings and firings are part of the problem, not the solution.”
No, union domination is part of the problem, and these unions will be right in the thick of the looming donnybrook over the leadership. Ironically it was the actions of those unions in the leadership battles that caused the problems that Labour is still suffering from.
Just when I thought the day couldn’t get any better I find Polly Toynbee has an op-ed:
The public can be badly wrong – but winning requires nationwide success, not narrow segmentation targeting particular voters. Lisa Nandy’s plea for northern towns is full of excellent local campaigning plans, but a countrywide vision is what wins. Or, in Johnson’s case, a better feint at a vision than the other party.
It may take finely tuned ears to spot the subtle nuances between candidates’ messages, so take the advice of Herbert Morrison (Peter Mandelson’s grandfather): “Don’t tell me what’s in the motion, lad, just tell me who’s backing it.” Look behind the candidates to see their promoters and Phillips has captured those on the right who, like her, have been most fearless in speaking out truthfully against Corbyn when electoral disaster beckoned – Neil Coyle, Wes Streeting, Margaret Hodge.
Nothing about Long Bailey’s pitch, as set out in these pages, marks her out as especially far left, with her talk of “progressive patriotism” and no mention of socialism. An impeccable working-class girl made good who became a solicitor by her own efforts, Long Bailey’s problem is her history and her supporters. When hoisted into her seat with the aid of Len McCluskey’s Unite union in 2015, she immediately joined the 36 Corbyn nominators. She was rewarded with rapid promotion to the shadow cabinet, where Corbyn and McDonnell both pushed her as heir apparent.
With a seat on the NEC, she has voiced no objections to a series of inside fixes, not even protesting during the antisemitism row. She voted to back Jon Lansman’s failed “drive-by shooting” attempt to abolish Tom Watson’s post. Though respected for developing the excellent Green New Deal, which promised good jobs in former manufacturing zones, and though personally well-liked, that silent obedience in the face of backroom skulduggery will drag her down – as will the names of those promoting her, Lansman especially.
Oh dear, it seems bitter infighting is Labour’s short-term future. Toynbee’s statement about avoiding narrow segmentation goes totally against the statement of Ian Lavery.
Labour appear even more hapless and rudderless than at the election. Long may it continue as Boris Johnson gets down to the business of government, and draining Whitehall’s swamp.
If you enjoyed this BFD article please consider sharing it with your friends.