Being a Labour Party member these days can be very challenging. Knowing that in some areas the national party has lost the plot where its traditional voters are concerned is totally dispiriting.
However, I never was and never will be new Labour and I have never pretended to be. Consequently I have recently signed up to a new policy programme for Labour to bring about a radical change in political direction for the Labour Government that specifically addresses peoples' concerns as raised on the doorstep and elsewhere.
I believe that Labour can win back the support of our people by adopting a new manifesto, which should include:
- Nailing the 10p tax mistake by the introduction of a fair tax system, removing the low paid from taxation and ensuring the wealthiest and corporations pay their fair share;
- An increase in the basic state pension, immediately restoring the link with earnings, lifting people off means tested benefits and providing free care for the elderly;
- An immediate start on a large scale council house building programme and assistance for those facing repossession;
- Immediate end to programme of local Post Office closures and liberalisation of postal services;
- An end to the privatisation of our public services;
- A new pay deal for public sector workers to protect their living standards and tackle low pay;
- Abolishing tuition fees and restoring maintenance grants for all students;
- Scrapping ID cards and abandoning 42 days detention;
- Introduction of a trade union freedom bill and measures to protect temporary and agency workers;
- Rejecting the proposals to renew Trident.
5 comments:
If your party could adopt all of those proposals as its total manifesto, and mean it they would win by a big majority. But they won't, and won't.
I love it Geoff - and I'm a Tory! The trouble is you say OUR people. Blair won because people were sick of the conservatives and he appealed to middle England. Real Labour doesn't appeal to middle England and would lose. Surely that's why Labour has acted a lot like the Tories this past 11 years? Labours time is up, people want change.
If you added 'get some of the 3 million who are on permanent incapacity benefit back to work' as a policy you'd have a decent majority. Labour (and the Tories) say they'll reduce the number of workshy but never do. These people are costing us billions and believe the state can keep them from cradle to grave. It's the welfare state gone mad and its the working class who most begrudge paying for it.
WHEN WILL WE HEAR A TORY POLICY. STILL LOT'S OF GREY MEN. BB.
Geoff I love your blog, even if I don't agree with all your political views - my great aunt was a life long member of the Labour Party before she died of cancer and she had a badge of the picture above brings back lots of happy memories
And get out of Europe...
Tony Benn, Peter Shore, Barbara Castle, Michael Foot.
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