So after a god awful General Election result earlier this year for The Labour Party, they now seem to have begun what can only be decribed as a `Kafkaesque nightmare ‘ of a leadership contest. Instead of embarking on a process of uniting the Labour Party members & appealing to prospective Labour voters it would seem the following is happenening.
Contenders campaigns for the Labour leadership so far;
Liz Kendall is demanding that the members of the Labour party vote for her because;
- She wants to win.
- She really wants to win.
- She really wants to win & if she doesnt she will stamp her feet & there will be trouble.
Yvette Cooper asks you vote for her because;
- She is doing her utmost to look sincere & has been practising her best hand wringing middle class angst pose.
- She really has honestly, & if that doesnt denote a great leader, well you just dont know how lucky you are to have her.
- She will explain all her policies & ideas after she has figured out what a socialist feminist is. She really wants to win.
Andy Burnham would like you to Vote for him because;
- He likes to flip, he likes to flop & he truly will not stop.
- He likes to flop, he likes to flip, the vote for uni fees was just a slip.
- He wants to win…..or maybe not….yes he does.
Jerermy Corbyn would like you to consider voting for him;
- He has consistantly voted against austerity measures that have impoverished many working, disabled, unemployed people & children in Britain.
- He wants debates, not soundbites by rote.
- He possibly wants to win, but if not he will continue to oppose the current Conservative Governments policies & fight for a fairer society.
It would seem that three of the candidates in this leadership contest are spending more energy & campaign resources trashing a member of their own party than offering up any meaningfull opposition to the current Conservative government.
Along with all this, questions are being asked about former members of the Labour Party being unable to rejoin, Labour Party members being unabled to vote. Threats to oust a leadership candidate if `the wrong one wins’. Lord Mandalson slithering around in the shadows trying to dictate the outcome, & an ex Labour PM who really does think he’s a messiah figure, bleating on & on & on that the winner needs to be of the centre ground, which in actuality has moved to the right of the political spectrum thereby, making the Labour Party look like a `Torylite’ spin machine.
Political discourse will, & action within the Laboutr Party, cannot simply be about maintaining the status quo at all costs, it has to be inspiring, innovative, & inclusive for all Party members in order to have a strong united party. It can then go to the country & offer sound policies & ideas to the betterment of all sections of society. The sooner the blairites of the labour Party realise this isnt suposed to be a narcissistic vanity bitchfest the better, perhaps then the real business of politics can begin.