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Anyone not yet taking that on board need look no further than Duncan Robinson’s article for The Economist, “Why Britain’s Labour Government Enjoys Hippy Punching”, and yes, the “grownups in the room”, having declared that anyone able to show empathy is a “Trot”, have also decreed that those individuals are also “hippies”, a word they couldn’t define.
Other than to point at said lefties, that is. Here’s a flavour of the article: “Hippy-punching is in vogue for two reasons. Partly, Labour’s leadership think it is good politics. More voters lurk to Labour’s right than to its left. It can afford to lose ‘vegan’ constituencies such as Bristol Central to the Green Party. A single voter in marginal Leigh [yes, Leigh is now ‘marginal’] is worth more than a pile of them in the Labour heartland of Liverpool”. Do go on.
“A positive piece in the Sun, a reactionary tabloid, is worth 99 simpering editorials in the Guardian, the hippy bugle … Partly, Labour’s leaders simply enjoy it. The party has a near-psychotic approach to its internal politics, and people now at the top have long dreamed of kicking lefties out of the party”.
There was more. “‘Country first, party second’ is a well-worn slogan of Sir Keir’s Labour. Factionalism still comes before both. Work combines with pleasure”. But not all remaining Labour MPs are enamoured of the puerile game playing, as Adam Bienkov of Byline Times noted.
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Pro-nationalist Scots outlet The National splashed a photo of Labour apparatchiks celebrating, telling “LABOUR’S MESSAGE AFTER VOTING FOR TWO-CHILD CAP … ‘Celebration’ picture posted in aftermath of vote sparks condemnation”, to which Dan Hancox added “Good to see this made a front page. If you're going to spend 4 years lecturing the left that they don't know how to work with the media, are too unserious to effectively 'play the game' etc - then you deserve this”. It also revealed another NEC player.
Right in the middle of that group, rictus grin on display (as so often), the bloke holding a plastic glass half full of (apparently) beer, is one Abdi Duale. Who he? One of those on the NEC who has worked behind the scenes against the left, pal of Luke Akehurst, now celebrating the maintenance of poverty.
I have a question for Duale, Akehurst and indeed Morgan McSweeney: after all the self-congratulation, answer me this. How many members and supporters has this less than “grown up” behaviour alienated? How many people will be there to turn out and canvass for Labour next time round?
The Lib Dems held by-election trophy South Shropshire, and both constituencies that came out of the Tiverton and Honiton split. Labour failed to hold on to Mid Bedfordshire, in addition to all the independents taking seats from them, or running them close. What advantage will accrue from having your pure strain of authoritarianism lording it over everyone else?
It’s almost as if no-one in the Labour machine thought of that. Sad, really.
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