To be fair to Jeremy Corbyn – and Labour as a whole –
they have some lovely ideas. No, really, they do; the kind of ideas that must
have crossed everybody’s mind at some point. For instance: everybody should
have a job commensurate with their abilities, which pays sufficient for them to
raise a family. They should live in a decent and affordable home, adequate for
their needs and be able to eat good food in sufficiency without undergoing
hardship to do so. And after their working lives they should be able to afford
a long, healthy, happy retirement before going off to the farm.
People should enjoy quality education and encourage
succeeding generations to embrace the advantages it bestows, while not
denigrating good, honest toil for the less academic. A bin-man should have the
same opportunity to live a satisfying life as a brain surgeon and assistance
and encouragement should always be available for those who wish to explore
avenues new. You should be free to pursue your lifestyle preferences just as
you should respect the choices of others.
It almost goes without saying that a decent society
should provide healthcare, clean air, good transport and reliable
infrastructure to deliver power and communication links, water and sanitation
to all. Nobody should be sleeping on the streets, nobody should be constantly
afraid of violence and everybody should be able to go about their daily lives
without being intimidated in any way. Those who transgress should be swiftly
and humanely dealt with and everybody should have access to good legal
representation.
See; who could disagree? But surely every party has the
same wish list? Is there really a significant proportion of the electorate who
would vote for parties which promise the opposite? The fact is that the only
way in which one British political party is distinguishable from any other is ‘the
plan’. And as always Labour’s plan for all these wonderful-sounding aspirations
is to simply legislate for it and tax the rich. In other words, you’d better be
happy, or else prepare to receive the full force of the law.
Jeremy models his outfit for
the Glorious Leader's address
I hear nothing new from the Labour Conference (and I
expect no better from the Tories next week) instead I hear only echoes of a
failed past. Nationalise, soak the rich, grab the land and if Dawn Butler’s
absurd utterings are to be taken at face value, bring back Militant Tendency.
Labour – once a party united in its determination to represent the working
class - has become bi-polar; Dr Jeremy and Mr Hyde, two personalities
struggling to control the same body-politic. If you want the proof, ask any
Labour MP what the party stance is on Brexit.
