More Nonsense From Someone Who Should Know Better (But I Keep On Writing It)

In the real world, I spent this morning getting soaking wet canvassing the Wigan House and Leaview House estates with a large group of other equally rain-soaked Labour activists, for the Springfield by-election. Half an hour of that crap was enough for anyone, so the three of us dived into the Anchor & Hope for a couple of pints of Old Scroagie's Bollocks Scruncher. When I got home, I changed out of my drenched clothes and dived into the steaming hot bath that Linda had run for me, with a glass of champagne and the copy of this week's New Statesman that someone had carelessly left on the 243 bus. And that's when I read this:

"I believe we can win a fourth term in office, and despite the unacceptable behaviour so vividly displayed recently, I earnestly hope we do, because it'll be the poor, the sick and the old who will suffer if we don't. But unless we cleanse the Augean stables, and that will involve a root and branch transformation of the Party and its relationship with the professional political class, we won’t deserve the luxury of basking in yet another election victory."

- Tony Robinson, 7 December 2007

I'm sick to death of reading yet another contribution to the la-la land of defeatism and miserablism that passes for debate on the Labour left. And if anyone lives in the defeatist and miserable state of la-la land, it's the rancid and dour ex-NEC member and pretend archaeologist Tony Robinson:

But that, of course, is the make-believe Tony Robinson of the muddy medieval field and the impoverished peasantry. The video clip below shows a different Tony Robinson - part of the foie gras and claret society that I inhabit myself. Recorded shortly before Tony Blair stood down, there's no pretence poverty here. Just left-wing polemic. What we get from Tony is a long ramble through what a terrible insight being on the NEC had given him into the evil Stalinist apparatchiks who run the Labour Party. It's Baldrick time. Listen and judge for yourself.

Quote from Baldrick, June 2007		What I think
I think the biggest challenge facing British democracy is that people don't really care about Party politics.		That's not my reading of the polls. Judging from the latest figures, too many people care about Party politics.
They don't feel empowered by Party politics, they don't feel part of it, they're cynical about it.		If you want to be empowered, stand for election like me. If you want to be a cynic, join the LibDems.
That could carry on... as long as house prices are going up, as long as the economy is staying pretty good.		With Gordon in charge there's no chance of house prices falling or the economy suffering any wobbles.
If things start to collapse... or if something else happens - a war or an oil shortage... I think it's quite possible that politics as we know it could completely implode and something else could take its place... we've seen it happen in other countries.		If politics as we know it implodes, we'll start another war to distract everyone. What about Iran? OK - they may have abandoned their nuclear intentions years ago, but we could always blame them for Omid Djalili. Cut the fascist scare crap, Baldrick.
I think there's a chance that the political party as we know it has had its day.		B***ocks. If we didn't have the Labour Party, we'd have to devote all of our efforts to our day jobs as PR Directors, lawyers and media consultants. And what would happen to all the members who actually work for the Party? I'd lose quite a few of my Councillors.
If people do suddenly become dissatisfied, we want to make sure that there are new structures that we can offer or that we can radicalise the old structures sufficiently to be able to keep people onside.		Typical left-wing drivel. "Radicalise old structures to keep people onside", my a**e. Chuck out the trouble makers and bribe the other ones. That keeps people onside.
What I want to see is professional politicians saying: "It is us who need to rethink our attitude towards politics in this country, not blame it on other people".		Why should we rethink? It's all other people's fault. The cyclists, the LibDems, the media, the BBC, the People's Front of Stoke Newington. Of course we should blame it all on them.
Change your ways, think about who you are, have a bit of humility.		Sorry, how do you spell that?
What about in your own constituency, your own town, your own village? There are things that always need to be changed, there are things that aren't right.		Chatham Ward is perfectly OK. That's why I spend so much of my time elsewhere. I mean to say, Tony, you don't actually expect me to live in the Godforsaken place, do you?
If I was the political fairy, I would wave my wand at all the professional politicians up at Westminster and say to them: "Look, you've been talking about political change for the last 10 or 20 years, it's actually you who've got to change. You've got to start listening properly... You've got to start listening to the people who you at the moment pretend to consult. None of that any more. You are the servants of the people who vote for you. Have humility. Listen, learn and then change your politics and your policies - that to me is the big issue."		You hit it on the nail, Robinson. You're a big fairy. We need people like you in the Labour Party like we need a hole in the wallet. Sod off and form your own Party. Join Galloway. We don't need left wing loonies like you.