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I like Corbyn, I really do, but his leadership will be marked more for his dogmatic commitment to the Party, over his better judgement on matter's socialist, and at a critical time for the relevance of parties to offer a meaningful choice to the electorate.
@Keir_Starmer is an authoritarian, the likes of which the Tories haven't seen since Thatcher, and he is her living embodiment in seeing off any opposition to the status quo. More so than Blair. Labour is irretrievably lost to capitalism and the Right-wing.
The only way to counter this coup against representative democracy, is to abandon the system that propagates it, and contrary to popular belief, it isn't FPTP that is the problem here; it is the party system itself.
Not convinced? Look at what the party system has delivered; a toxic morass of Right-wing capitalism, fronted by political parties who place more currency in their own projected image, above the representation of either its membership or the electorate.
There is, as I see it, one final hope for reinstalling a meaningful democracy, and that is to reject the systems that have led us down this path, and to leverage the power of FPTP to deliver a non-partisan constituency based fight against political parties.
You have literally never voted for a political party, a PM or a government in a General Election. Ever. The law doesn;t allow for this. This is why there is no legal requirement to have by-elections when MPs are turfed out from their respective parties.
The only thing the law recognises is the individual you vote for in your constituency. That person is there to represent you and your constituency's best interests. The reality is, if they wish to retain their party's support, they have to fuck you and your constituency over.
And you can bet your ass that is precisely what they will do. Staying to fight to win the Labour Party back, is like staying to fight with an abusive partner so you can change them. But you know you can only win by leaving. Staying empowers the abuser. Always.
And, no. A new party isn't going to help. The nature of the party system is always abusive. Any effort you put in to support them, helps them abuse you further. That's the whole fucking point.
So, what to do?
So, what to do?
Simple. Reject even the notion of party politics. Even putting aside partisan sentiment. Neither have got us anywhere before. Organise in your constituencies with people of all political persuasions. Yes. All of them. Really.
The truth is, there are a number of national policies that greater then 50% of the population want. They aren't partisan. They are popular. Maybe your constituency doesn't seem a good fit for that. My response? How do you know? No one's ever asked, as far as I know.
Creating a democratic mandate should come singularly from you, the electorate. Instead, we've blithely trusted parties to cobble together watered down approximations of these policies, rarely delivering any of them. Elect PPCs who will.
This is the key part, so pay attention. Caucus openly in your constituency to select your desired Independent PPC, from those that will not only vote for the >50% national policies, but will also best reflect your constituency's interests.
Then vote for the winning Independent PPC, even if you disagree with the general direction of play.
Congratulations. You have now wholly removed any power the party system has over your vote, and delivered a candidate that will actually do your bidding without selling you out.
Congratulations. You have now wholly removed any power the party system has over your vote, and delivered a candidate that will actually do your bidding without selling you out.
I make it sound easy, eh? Remember, if you've worked hard enough to get a ~1,000 people involved in the caucus, you've likely already done more to represent your constituency than the party PPCs have. Your PPC will have a stronger democratic mandate /before/ even entering a GE.
You don't need the resource heavy national parties to help organise. The people that do that work already live in your constituencies, and you aren't activating nationally anyway. Of course, aim for professionalism, but concentrate more on the passion, and (I hate this term)
Get out the vote.
Use the same methods the parties use, and then use the ones they don't. Meet people, and ask them things. Whatever they want to talk about, there'll be some political angle you can sell to them.
Use the same methods the parties use, and then use the ones they don't. Meet people, and ask them things. Whatever they want to talk about, there'll be some political angle you can sell to them.
I don't want to hear how this is all a pipe dream, by those who continue to support the theft of democracy, by giving their time, money and support to our abusers. Such people are the apologists that maintain our abuse. They haven't lost any authority to opine on democracy.
Whatever you think about the lock-down ending, start planning today, for when you can get out and make yourself known. And more than anything, enjoy yourselves doing it.
Democracy will be returned, but only if you want it enough.
Democracy will be returned, but only if you want it enough.
[Adding my previous pinned Tweet, with some of my other thoughts on this matter. It's a work in progress, certainly, but hopefully you'll agree that I have, indeed, progressed it some already.] https://twitter.com/Tris_Stock/status/1257574192251392000
#Poll
Have you ever voted for a political party in a UK general election?
[Yup, it is a trick question]
Have you ever voted for a political party in a UK general election?
[Yup, it is a trick question]
