Sunday 18 January 2015

Brent North CLP want to see rethink of Ed Balls' austerity-lite strategy

Ed Balls reacts to the Brent North motion (not really!)
As the Green Party positions itself as the only anti-austerity party in the forthcoming General Election, and recruits hundreds of  ex Labour voters, many in the Labour Party are dismayed that Ed Balls seems to be painting them into an 'austerity-lite' corner.

Locally this has emerged in a motion tabled by Labour veteran Colin Adams at Brent North Labour Constituency Party General Meeting last Thursday.

The motion claimed that Balls' approach is 'hardly designed to  win over any of our potential voters who may be wavering, as it send a message that there is not much to choose between the main parties in their approach to austerity and its impact on the welfare state.'

I couldn't have put it better myself.

This is the full text as tabled:

Brent North CLP is extremely concerned that the Coalition government`s cuts to public sector spending are causing huge damage to the fabric of the welfare state. The Coalition parties have shown that their policies are not governed by economic necessity but by ideology. They are committed to shrinking the role of the state and allowing public services to be taken over by the market. In Brent, as in other councils, impossible decisions about which services should be prioritised for cuts are being forced upon local politicians.

Labour must go into the upcoming election with policies that show clear differences with the Coalition parties, otherwise there is a grave danger we will not win an overall majority. In particular we need to show that we are prepared to fund local services adequately.

We were thus dismayed at the recent statement by the shadow chancellor, Ed Balls, that the election of a Labour government would not necessarily lead to an easing of the pressure on public services. This approach is hardly designed to win over any of our potential voters who may be wavering, as it sends a message that there is not much to choose between the main parties in their approach to austerity and its impact on the welfare state. It is electorally damaging to say we are going to stick with the existing government`s spending plans.

We call on the Labour leadership to rethink this strategy and state that, upon  the election of a Labour government, a new budget will be drawn up for immediate implementation with the aim of reflating the economy and protecting public services.                   

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Too little, too late. For the first time ever I'm voting Green

Ella said...

Seems we've got a bit of a political hokey pokey going in with the Labour party in Brent- Brent North Labour putting there left leg in with this statement, and Dawn Bulter putting her right leg in as she's just had Progress (right-wing of Labour) campaigning for her in Brent Central. Still, as a Labour voter it's going to take more than that for me to 'turn about', so to speak.

Martin Francis said...

Do you remember the words to 'Doing a Reggie Prentice' to the tune of the hokey cokey? He of course went Tory.

Anonymous said...

Dawn Butler is on the left of the party, but she knows that winning elections requires a coalition of different factions.

Something the Greens don't understand, I'm afraid.

Martin Francis said...

Interesting observation. Where would you put Barry Gardiner in the L-R spectrum? in 2010 when I was the Green Brent North candidate I noticed that his literature barely mentioned Labour except in the small print and the major colour theme was a sort of purple/lilac

Anonymous said...

Barry Gardiner would have good reason to worry. Todays Independent gives Greens a much higher share of the overall vote hitting Labours marginal seats.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/britains-political-landscape-a-commentator-who-accurately-predicted-the-european-election-results-has-been-reading-the-runes-again-as-the-general-election-approaches-9985761.html

Anonymous said...

Bloody hell, Reg Prentice! I'd completely forgotten he ever existed. Thanks a lot, Martin. Ruined my night.

Anonymous said...

Last time she was an MP Dawn Butler voted for ID cards, for 90 day detention, for restrictions on asylum seekers and against an inquiry into the Iraq War. If that's "the left of the Labour Party" then I'm out.

Anonymous said...

Not factional, though more of a Blairite than a Brownite.

Projects himself as non-party-political and focussed on local issues. Quite Lib Dem in that sense...

Anonymous said...

'Left' or 'Right' (what they to claim to be) is irrelevant compared with 'lobby fodder' or 'independent' (what they do in practice when elected). The selection process these days seems to effectively ensure that all aspirants to selection are conformist clones. All that distinguishes them from each other is rhetoric, and that's all it is. You can choose from a 'left wing' MP who 'voted for ID cards, for 90 day detention, for restrictions on asylum seekers and against an inquiry into the Iraq War' or a 'right wing' MP who 'voted for ID cards, for 90 day detention, for restrictions on asylum seekers and against an inquiry into the Iraq War'.
It's called 'choice'. Don't knock it, it's what makes our society great.
Mike Hine

Martin Francis said...

You may think Reggie was right-wing. You should have met Frank Tomney Labour MP for Hammersmith North as I did as a Young LP Socialist living in Shepherd's Bush at the time. Would have made Farage look like a liberal on issues such a race, homosexuality and capital punishment.

Anonymous said...

Hopefully we are all focused on getting rid of the Tories at the next election.
That should be the priority.
The left 'eating' itself is a wonderful gift to the Tories.
Same old, same old.....

Anonymous said...

I'm focused to getting rid of neo liberalism, whether it comes in red, blue or yellow tie

Anonymous said...

shame we can't get rid of the red tories.

Anonymous said...

very true, some people have very short memories, not you, well said.