Now, for someone who blogs to admit they're not 'on' social media, these days seems like a counter-productive action. And yes, I'm aware that my recent blogs are far from recent (but then, like the boy in the joke, 'up until now, everything has been satisfactory")
But I dropped Facebook in December, and recently I lost my enthusiasm for Twitter. My political leanings meant that, at some point, it was a dead-cert I'd offend someone in my circle of FB friends, by rounding on UKIP, or the ubiquitous Help For Heros, or my dislike of religious dogma. So, I dropped off that radar, and felt all the better for it. Plus, it's much easier to give that up than smoking (coff, coff).
But no-one knows me on Twitter, and that seemed a reasonable way to stay in touch with favourite artists, and movements, and some of the people I admire, as well as drop in the occasional bon-mots about what the Tory Party are doing to our country, or what the Religious Right are trying to achieve in the U.S.
Imagine my surprise then, shortly after I re-joined the Labour Party in September when it appeared to have come back to the people, to find all sorts of in-fighting going on within the Twitterati. Nothing new there, I suppose, since everyone knows the interweb is full of trolls and bullies who take pleasure in belittling people's thoughts, ideas and beliefs. Except, a lot of these people throwing words like Trot, Commie, and traitor around at the new-found enthusiasm for the left of the Labour Party, were not Right -Wing nuts, or EDL bigots. Oh no, they were - that's right, folks - Labour Party MPs!!
In a horrific example of standing up for democracy, and then complaining when it doesn't bring the results they wanted, a large number of the PLP have spent the last few months roundly accusing supporters of Jeremy Corbyn and Tom Watson, as well as John McDonnell, of being Extreme Left Wing, Militant Tendency Trotskyists who want to storm the Houses of Parliament, string up the Lords and share the wealth around using insurrection and anarchy. I myself, and a number of my Twitter friends and acquaintances, were immediately blocked by Tom Blenkinsop MP, for simply asking questions about why they were undermining the will of a majority of the Party by sniping and infighting around Jeremy's style of leadership. There was no discussion - scores of people were tweeting the same thing about Mr Blenkinsop - that he, or someone on his team (because surely he had better things to be doing) was blocking anyone who posted such a question, without having the decency to even respond to them first. Mr Blenkinsop is not alone - Michael Dugher MP has also been casting aspersions about the direction the Party is now headed, simply because they seem to be scared that their careers will suffer if Labour aren't elected.
Now, I've stated before on FB (when I was still addicted) that the best thing they could do would be to start a new political party to put forward their, mostly spin-driven, brand of centre right opinions and policies. A party where they could pick a leader on their image, or their lifestyle choices, and on their electability alone. Then they could spend 5 years back-tracking on pledges and manifesto promises, the way New Labour did once they'd become the establishment, or Nick Clegg did when he finally flip-flopped his way to a decision on which party the Lib-Dems would attach themselves to in 2010.
What MY Labour Party doesn't need is the petty back-biting and sniping that's been taking place since the leadership election. Especially now, when there are so many things imploding in the Conservative Party, who've traditionally been seen as the divided ones. At a time when we could and should be widening those cracks in their facade, and showing how our party can and will listen to the voters on taxation, Europe, Trident and austerity, we are losing the fight because of the deliberate apathy of large parts of the PLP who want to take their ball (or Balls) and go home.
I really hope that, together, the Party can put these ridiculous arguments to one side (or preferably see the light and forget them completely), so that we can unite to bring the country back to becoming once again a socially caring, responsible assortment of people of all creeds, colours and beliefs. That is what the Labour movement has always been about. Let's allow people to see that side of us. Please?
And now, a man who should, by rights, be standing trial in the Hague, is trying to cut the throats of his party by accusing Jeremy of not being interested in power, only protest. In that sentence alone, rests the ambitions of all the embittered old Blairites (c. Livingstone). How self-obsessed can they get?
ReplyDelete