Election 2015 :the defeat of a moderate manifesto-debunking the myth labour was too "left wing"

Labour's 2015 general election manifesto was by any standards a moderate,nuanced and relatively anodyne document.It defies credibility that some extreme blairites could in all seriousness criticise it for being dangerously "left wing".Yet this is the urban political myth that they are trying to develop.
In the first place the 2015 manifesto made no critique of the austerity agenda but simply endorsed it wholesale.Labour proposed to continue with public expenditure cuts,albeit at a slower rate and with less intensity.This is classically a right-wing labour stance.It is reminiscent of Denis Healey acquiesing in 1976 to the IMFs demand for similar austerity cuts.Labour lost-and lost resoundingly-on a blatantly right-wing economic platform.
This uncritical acquiescence to Conservative economics and rhetoric was further reinforced by Labour simply agreeing that the last labour government did "overspend" and with it the implication that this caused the budget deficit.Labour prostrated itself to a conservative economic agenda and the result was a cataclysmic defeat.This particular example of political mythology was never challenged.In reality it wasnt labour's public expenditure that caused the deficit.In 2008 Alistair Darling had to borrow billions to save the banks and the entire economy from n acopalytic demise.This was entirely the product of unfettered financial markets engaging in spectacular levels of risk.Free market capitalism caused thr crisis-government management of the economy saved the day.
The meteoric ascent of Jeremy Corbyn and his popularity owe much to his honesty and courage in debunking these myths.He is doing what the two Ed's should have done.
The characteristically right-wing nature of the manifesto can also be seen in labour's commitment to renew Trident.At a time of draconian cuts in public expenditure nuclear deterrence was still seen as imperative.How left-wing was this?
Fundamentally Labour never challenged the premise that free markets are still optimal.There were proposals for regulating energy prices and for a living wage-but this is classic social democratic reformism.They were certainly welcome-but even these popular measures were lambasted by the wannabe tories in labour's ranks,notably Liz Kendall.This is despite Tony Blair's 1997 manifesto contained similar proposals.
The 2015 defeat wasnt a repudiation of "left-wing labour".It was a devastating rejection of labour's adherence to the centre-right austerity agenda and its timidity and lack of ideological confidence in proferring an alternative.As the electorate kept saying "they're all the same".Labour has lost two successive elections on a pro-austerity platform echoing though slightly ameliorating the centre right tory consensus.
It is repeating the tory lie about labour's spending and swallowing the cuts agenda that has undermined labour's reputation for economic confidence not being "left wing".It is time to demythologise this political caricature once and for all.

VOICE OF CONSCIENCE: Why Labour copycatting the tories would be fatal

VOICE OF CONSCIENCE: Why Labour copycatting the tories would be fatal: For many of us Ed Miliband's election as labour leader seemed to augure well.He officially administered the coup de grace to the dis...

Why Labour copycatting the tories would be fatal

For many of us Ed Miliband's election as labour leader seemed to augure well.He officially administered the coup de grace to the discredited New Labour agenda and attacked unacceptable aspects of capitalism.It greatly encouraged many of us who want a centre-left party that aspired to social justice,redistributing income and breaking away from the centre right political consensus that deified free markets.This consensual paradigm was utterly destroyed by the credit crisis.

 However,recently these attempts to create a genuine alternative to neo-liberal austerity have been jettisoned.Instead Labour is reverting to "copycat" policy formation.I was stunned to hear that Labour intends to stick with tory spending plans for 2015-16 if elected.This ersatz toryism-,sticking to austerity plans- will be seen as cynical opportunism,crude copycatting. It will greatly undermine Labour's credibility.It will be seen as unprincipled .Given a choice between a party with an ideological love of austerity(the tories) and a fickle "me too" party labour will appear disingenuos and fake.Electorally it will be disastrous for labour.People will simply vote for the true believers.The disaffected majority will simply not vote or vote for the greens or UKIP.
On an economic level,Ed Balls himself has rightly criticised Osborne's plans as destructive to the economy and society.
Deflationary austerity is killing growth,fostering 1980s levels of unemployment and widening inequalities.Austerity is exacerbating the debt problem as Ed Balls again has rightly claimed.Zero growth and job creation mean lower tax revenues which makes it longer to pay the debt back.Demand stimulus is the only way to resolve the debt situation.No more borrowing is needed.Instead of printing money for Quantitative easing what is needed is to increase the money supply to stimulate businesses and inaugurate a large scale job creation programme.The spectre of inflation is often used to discourage this.However,wage pressures are very low and for many wages have fallen.So inflationary pressures are negligible.In any event,price controls and collective bargaining norms could be used even if inflationary pressures were there.
People are crying out for an alternative-for hope,for a future and for jobs.My message to the two Eds is: people do not want more of the same,it will destroy your credibility if that's all you offer.Offer people a future of growth,prosperity and fairness-not cynical copycatting.



Slaughter of the innocents

We like to think of ourselves as humane,animal-loving beings.Gratuituos cruelty to animals is anathema to most "civilised" human beings.How would we react if meerkats were being bred and slaughtered for their coats or skin? we can imagine the outcry.
A farm dedicated to breeding and then slaughtering elephants for their tusks would be universally rejected as repugnant.A facility that bred and killed tigers to manufacture coats would be regarded as odious.
However,an endangered species,renowned for its beauty is being bred and cruelly slaughtered in such farms in most civilised countries.The chinchilla,a critically endangered rodent, native to South America(where it is now almost extinct) has been farmed since 1920 for its fur.The founder of fur farming,Chapman, stole 12 chinchillas from the Andes Mountains in the 1920s to breed for their fur.All chinchillas alive today in captivity are descendants of these 12 animals.
It beggars belief that such extermination of an endangered species,renowned for its incredible beauty is tolerated.An entire species undergoing its own holocaust to placate human vanity.
Chinchillas bred on fur farms are killed with great cruelty.They are electrocuted,with an electric cable attached to their genitals at one end and ears at the other.Undercover investigations by the animal welfare charity PETA have revealed footage of chinchillas writhing in pain for five to ten minutes.It would seem to take a particularly cruel,sociopathic personality to inflict such suffering on a beautiful,small animal.Most animal lovers would squirm at such sadistic cruelty.Even more alarming is that Chinchillas are being exported to China where along with rabbits and foxes thay are skinned alive.Footage by PETA and other charities have disclosed horrific levels of cruelty on Chinese fur farms.
A free market without morality,capitalism without ethics and the worship of profit without scruples is the basis for all this.In the USA for example,there is no protection against cruelty for any farm animal,whether reared for food or fur.This same unadulterated greed caused slavery,human trafficking and drug cartels.These are all illicit activities today.With a raising of popular consciousness about the chinchilla and the holocaust perpetrated on it-one day this endangered species will be free from such an undeserved fate.