I don't believe the claim that Starmer's Labour abandoned progressive politics to appeal to Reform voters. I think that's just their excuse.
I believe they're appealing to their donors. The Labour Party is owned and controlled by the ruling class now, as evidenced by many of their top leadership having close connections to Epstein.
The Green Party is the only hope left for progressive politics in the UK.
places still list Labour as centre-left and as an outside observer i can't say i see it that way. i'm remembered of the 1970s when in the US the coal labor unions got so much power that the union leaders became the new bosses. they worked with the mine operators and the courts to keep the mines open even as the workers pled with them to do more and call a strike to get respirators so they'd stop dying of black lung (btw, black lung is part of the inspiration for white plague in one piece).
Yeah, Labour are left in the same way that the Democrats are left, which is to say, they're not at all, but in the absence of truly left-wing parties, I guess they're slightly less far-right than the alternative(s).
There was a whole bunch of internal drama and in-fighting, hopefully they've straightened the ship up a bit since. They've said that they see the Green Party as allies, whatever that means, so if they run at all at the next General Election, I would assume that they do so under some sort of agreement with the Greens not to split the left vote. Long story short, they're still just cooking away quietly in the background, whether they have any real influence on UK politics more broadly remains to be seen
My guess is that, after losing the leadership faction-fight to Corbyn, Zahra Sultana will disappear.
It's probably better that Your Party's members favored Corbyn, but he's got some issues that a more self-aware leader would compensate by selecting other party leaders to fill the gaps. So far, I haven't seen that happening.
The Greens look like a better option. We'll see how they do once the press start attacking them, which will happen now that the billionaires and fascists recognise them as a threat. Polansky's been good at pushing back against media idiocy so far, but it's early days.
As an American, following the recent move to the Green Party in the UK, I wanted to find more information about the Reform party I had also heard about, since I was mostly familiar with Labour and the Tories.
I was surprised that apparently, one of the most common reasons to criticize the UK Reform party is that they're perceived to be racist. And perception is quite important to voters deciding which party to support. How would Labour plan to court this type of voter? It doesn't make sense to me. To date, they'd be voting for Reform instead of Conservative due to their far-right-wing views, right? Or am I just oversimplifying/misunderstanding?
And now he's backing a war of aggression against Iran.
Seems he's got form. And it doesn't seem tactical in any way. It looks to me like he's acting on his beliefs. All the more reason to remove him after the bloodbath that'll be the May local elections.
12 Comments
bearboiblake@pawb.social · 36 pts · 189d
I don't believe the claim that Starmer's Labour abandoned progressive politics to appeal to Reform voters. I think that's just their excuse.
I believe they're appealing to their donors. The Labour Party is owned and controlled by the ruling class now, as evidenced by many of their top leadership having close connections to Epstein.
The Green Party is the only hope left for progressive politics in the UK.
Quill7513@slrpnk.net · 2 pts · 189d
places still list Labour as centre-left and as an outside observer i can't say i see it that way. i'm remembered of the 1970s when in the US the coal labor unions got so much power that the union leaders became the new bosses. they worked with the mine operators and the courts to keep the mines open even as the workers pled with them to do more and call a strike to get respirators so they'd stop dying of black lung (btw, black lung is part of the inspiration for white plague in one piece).
the labour party seems pretty right to me
bearboiblake@pawb.social · 4 pts · 189d
Yeah, Labour are left in the same way that the Democrats are left, which is to say, they're not at all, but in the absence of truly left-wing parties, I guess they're slightly less far-right than the alternative(s).
Tiresia@slrpnk.net · 3 pts · 187d
Modern Labour parties are left-wing only by virtue of the geometry of the assembly hall.
Shikam@slrpnk.net · 1 pts · 189d
What ever happened to the Your Party? I haven't heard anything about them in awhile but I also don't follow UK politics much
bearboiblake@pawb.social · 4 pts · 189d
There was a whole bunch of internal drama and in-fighting, hopefully they've straightened the ship up a bit since. They've said that they see the Green Party as allies, whatever that means, so if they run at all at the next General Election, I would assume that they do so under some sort of agreement with the Greens not to split the left vote. Long story short, they're still just cooking away quietly in the background, whether they have any real influence on UK politics more broadly remains to be seen
phutatorius@lemmy.zip · 2 pts · 188d
My guess is that, after losing the leadership faction-fight to Corbyn, Zahra Sultana will disappear.
It's probably better that Your Party's members favored Corbyn, but he's got some issues that a more self-aware leader would compensate by selecting other party leaders to fill the gaps. So far, I haven't seen that happening.
The Greens look like a better option. We'll see how they do once the press start attacking them, which will happen now that the billionaires and fascists recognise them as a threat. Polansky's been good at pushing back against media idiocy so far, but it's early days.
Korhaka@sopuli.xyz · 8 pts · 189d
Glad I voted green instead.
BillyClark@piefed.social · 7 pts · 189d
As an American, following the recent move to the Green Party in the UK, I wanted to find more information about the Reform party I had also heard about, since I was mostly familiar with Labour and the Tories.
I was surprised that apparently, one of the most common reasons to criticize the UK Reform party is that they're perceived to be racist. And perception is quite important to voters deciding which party to support. How would Labour plan to court this type of voter? It doesn't make sense to me. To date, they'd be voting for Reform instead of Conservative due to their far-right-wing views, right? Or am I just oversimplifying/misunderstanding?
bearboiblake@pawb.social · 9 pts · 189d
Nah, you pretty much nailed it in one. That's why I wrote in my other comment, I don't believe it, it doesn't pass the sniff test.
phutatorius@lemmy.zip · 1 pts · 188d
phutatorius@lemmy.zip · 2 pts · 188d
And now he's backing a war of aggression against Iran.
Seems he's got form. And it doesn't seem tactical in any way. It looks to me like he's acting on his beliefs. All the more reason to remove him after the bloodbath that'll be the May local elections.
Korhaka@sopuli.xyz · 2 pts · 188d
Just a bit of gentle war with Iran at first. Its not us, its the Americans that are bombing schools. We are just providing airbases for them to do it.