Labour Show Their True Colours

The veteran left-winger Michael Meacher has today thrown his hat into the ring with a direct challenge to lead the Labour party while calling for Trident nuclear weapons to be scrapped, huge investment in renewable energy, curbs on City bonuses and nationalisation of the railways.

For Gordon Brown at least, this can only be good news. Michael Meacher has stepped up to the podium as yet another willing sacrificial lamb for the slaughter – just another no-hope candidate for Gordon to beat. However, as one Labour MP commented last year, “We don’t do coronations.” The Labour party therefore need to put on the appearance of a democratically contested selection, but I think there is little doubt in the ultimate outcome.

Despite Tony Blair being, in my opinion, the main reason for Labour’s previous three electoral victories, it now seems to have become common practice for leadership and deputy leadership candidates to openly attack the Prime Minister, his record in office and his polices – each doing their level best to undermine Blair in the waning days of his leadership and gain favourability with the Unions and grassroots party membership whom will ultimately decide their fate.

Peter Hain only the other day made the ridiculous suggestion that city high earners should make a compulsory payment equal to two-thirds of their bonus to charity, and Meacher with the contestants for the Labour deputy leadership have proven in the last few weeks that the old left is still very much alive within the party. Of course, in reality the old left; in favour as they still are of nationalisation, even higher governmental spending than Gordon Brown, and the massive extension of the welfare system and state dependency, never disappeared – they were merely fronted by Tony Blair masquerading as someone ‘moderate.’

The BBC in their profiling of Mr Meacher today made what I think was an extremely revealing comment:

But he has rediscovered his left-wing fervour since his return to the backbenches, attacking the government’s record on the environment, foreign affairs and Trident.

When in Government – at the heart of power and influence, these Labour ministers are quite willing to say and do anything to maintain their position (much like the Lib Dems really, though actually, possibly not quite that bad.) They will put aside any convictions and opinions (Lib Dems don’t have any of those which is why they’re worse) in the pursuit of governmental position and authority – but when that power is brutally ripped from their hands (because none of them tend to give it up willingly,) they return to their old socialist ways.

Michael Meacher, like many of his Labour colleagues has had several brushes with the press, notably being accused of hypocrisy in 1999 for suggesting a ban on owning a second home, at a time when he owned three properties. One rule for us, one rule for themselves as usual.

What is also quite interesting to note is the way in which John McDonnell and Michael Meacher have been described by the media at large (especially the BBC) as “left wingers.” I myself used the same analogy – because it is true. However, this does tend to give the impression that Gordon Brown is moderate; which of course is untrue.

On the one hand, to think that Gordon Brown will be any different to Tony Blair would be fool-hardy. He willingly voted for everything which Blair proposed during his ten years in office. However, Brown will do his utmost to appear as if he’s made a clean break from Blairism – though, as his party descends into anarchic infighting, will he truly inherit a party worth leading?