Gordon Clown, Brown envelopes, etc., etc. It was inevitable that the Sunday papers were not going to make good reading for Labour, and so it has proved. This is one almighty mess and the sad fact is it is self-inflicted.
'Events, dear boy, events', as Harold MacMillan said all those years ago. There are some problems that come along in life that you can't predict and can't really do much about, and Gordon Brown's government has been buffeted by one mishap after another. Leaking viruses from research centres, incompetent staff managing to lose the records of half the population, Northern Rock ... all very worrying, but not issues that can be laid at the door of the government. The funding scandal, however - and it is a scandal - is something completely different. Some people have broken the law here - we still don't know how many will be implicated - and the government's reputation is in tatters. There's been an attempt to steady the ship - loyal apologist Hazel Blears was wheeled out this morning in an attempt to spread the blame across all parties - but for the moment at least this is a Labour problem.
Although I have been a member of the Labour Party for over 20 years I never signed up to this so-called New Labour 'Project' - it strikes me that these New Labour entryists have caused the Labour Party every bit as much damage as Militant ever did - and at least Militant were socialists! These New Labour types, with their fawning admiration of wealth, big business and celebrity, have brought a once-great working people's movement to it's knees. 'Real' Labour members have deserted in droves - leaving the shell of a party which bears little resemblance to the party I joined all those years ago. A party filled with too many people who are there for what they can get out of it, people for whom principles are expendable (if they ever had any principles in the first place) and a Party that appears to have lost it's soul, it's very raison d'etre.
I never left the Labour Party - I have always believed that we will return to our roots and that the New Labour phase will come and go (the New Lab types won't stick around when things start to go belly-up, they'll move on to some new 'project'). I personally feel some responsibility for being part of a silent majority of the membership who acquiesced and did nothing to stop this takeover happening. With a few honourable exceptions (Glasgow MP Ian Davidson, take a bow!)elected politicians of the old school have also been very reluctant to speak out - claiming their silence is down to 'party loyalty', sadly for many it's a bit more pragmatic than that. It's the fear of losing their incomes - be that their seats, quangoes or other forms of patronage. No doubt these Bastions of the Left will find their voices again later when it's safe and convenient to do so.
While the Westminster saga is bad enough - and it comes to a sad day when a Labour Prime Minister can be humiliated by stand-in Lib Dem (or should that be stand-up) leader Vince Cable, who has the Commons rolling in the aisles when he cracks jokes about Mr Bean - we've also got our own wee Tartan version of sleaze, les and corruption up here now too.
Sure, the sums of money are not as large - but the issues are the same: deceit, concealment, lies, breaking the law. And incidentally, why did Wendy need £17,000 to 'fight' a campaign anyway? was she shadow-bowing herself? It seems a lot of money for what was basically a coronation tour!
My hope is that when the enquiries are concluded - those responsible pay for their criminal activities not only with their jobs, but with their freedom. Only then can you start to rebuild confidence in a democratic system that too many people now see as inherently corrupt.
As to the future, it's inevitable that party funding must be looked at again but I would strongly advise against any attempt to force taxpayers to pay for political parties. Political parties are in essence clubs with memberships, and non-members e should retain the right to decide whether or not they want to join or donate to these organisations. My guess is that many would choose not to, with the upshot that the political parties must offer more to appeal to members. And if the donations just aren't forthcoming, the parties will just have to adapt and fight smaller, less expensive election campaigns with fewer officials on the payroll. That's not rocket science - that's the real world.
There will be casualties - and so there should be - but in an odd way I think the events of the last week could turn out to be of lasting benefit to the Labour Party. It's an opportunity to clear out the corrupt, ditch the New Labour spin and get back to Real Labour politics. A chance to start afresh in rebuilding trust with both the electorate and party members. The next General Election could still be two years away and I genuinely believe that there is still enough time to recover from what is undoubtedly a dire situation, although Labour cannot afford any more mishaps. Remember Neil Kinnock enjoyed a percentage point lead over John Major that was double that enjoyed by David Cameron at the moment. The result of the General Election? Yes, indeed.
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