http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/04/24/ed-miliband-says-len-mccluskeys-comments-are-reprehensible_n_3148810.html?utm_hp_ref=uk#comments
Ed Miliband has had a dramatic clash with Len McCluskey, calling comments by the leader of the Unite union "reprehensible" and "disloyal".
Nothing
has really changed since I left the Labour Party, or to be more
accurate, since the Labour Party left me, when the “Blairites” assumed
control and led the Labour movement to the barren desert of the
“centre ground” of British politics. There they found that the
Tories had already squatted in the area, and the Liberal Democrats
were frantically scurrying around trying to find a home for their “all
things to all men” policies. Now, in a country where the main
political parties essentially preach the same message, where a Tory
government, supported by a rag bag collection of Libdem MP's eager to
maintain their new found cabinet positions, passes draconian and
divisive austerity measures under the guise of “welfare reforms”
and where Labour acquiesces, albeit by default, to these assaults on the ordinary people in the country, can anyone really be
surprised that fewer and fewer people actually bother to vote. “You
are all the same when you get elected” is a common and accurate
criticism.
The latest clash between
the Labour Party and the Trade Unions is very reminiscent of the
differences between the Leadership and the Labour movement as a whole
back in the 1980's when any criticism was considered to be disloyal
and any views or opinions other than those expressed by “the
leadership” were dismissed as subversive.
Today we have the media
full of the Miliband McCluskey altercation and the clichéd
references to disloyalty and attempts to divide the Labour Party.
How many of the
commentators I wonder, will actually bother to read what Len
McCluskey said?
The “New statesman”
article can be see at http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/politics/2013/04/len-mccluskey-if-ed-miliband-seduced-blairites-hell-be-defeated
and in my opinion
represents fair comment on a matter which should be of concern to all
who consider themselves to be part of the wider Labour movement.
Boris Johnson has called
for a new law banning strikes from taking place unless they are
backed by at least 50 per cent of those entitled to vote. In response
McCluskey said. “It’s slightly hypocritical, because on that
basis Boris Johnson wouldn’t have been elected Mayor of London;
only 38 per cent of Londoners took part,” he points out. “It
amuses me on the one hand and angers me on the other, the hypocrisy
of Tory leaders. Here we are, at a time of enormous crisis within the
economy and all they want to do is attack workers’ rights.”
Very true Len and it is
worth remembering that in the 14 years of the “New Labour”
government, nothing was done to repeal the anti trade union
legislation imposed by the Tories during their period in office. In
fact, Blair even introduced even more restrictions on working people.
The minimum wage was only ever lip service to a long held Labour
party principle.
McCluskey's remarks in
respect of the Thatcher years, the Thatcher legacy and the
arrangements for the funeral are views held by many people in this
country and can hardly be open to criticism.
The main sense of outrage
from the “establishment” and their supporters seems to stem from
the fact that the shadow of Blair remains over the Labour Party and
many people now sitting on the front bench would dearly love a second
coming of their messiah. The remarks in reference to Byrne, Murphy,
Alexander and others are again fair comment and it is noticeable
that Labour is maintaining that in government, they too would be
offering austerity cuts but differently from the way that the Tories
are cutting. There is no commitment to reverse the welfare
“reforms”,or repeal any of the legislation introduced by
the ConDem Coalition. There is no commitment to reverse the privatisation and resultant destruction of the NHS. No reform of the banking free for all, no sign
of any transport policies, nothing other than a rehashed and warmed
up serving of the same old Tory mess but in a different wrapper.
McCluskey closes with the
comment “If he [Miliband] is daft enough to get sucked into the old
Blairite ‘neoliberalism wasn’t too bad and we just need to tinker
with it a little bit’ . . . then not only will he fail but I fear
for the future of the Labour Party.”
On this point alone, I
think he (McCluskey) is absolutely right.
Comments
Post a Comment