Maybe I'm too much of an idealist and maybe its always been that way, but I personally believe that standing for what you truly believe in is more important than holding power and puting into practice policies that don't truly have the support of the grass roots membership.
There has been a lot of media hype suggesting that if Jeremy Corbyn becomes Labour leader the party will move back to its traditional left wing ground, as if that is a bad thing. They say this will make Labour unelectable, as it was considered to be in the 1980s under the leadership of Michael Foot. The implication is that only by being, in effect, Tory-lite and moving back to Blairism can Labour ever become electable again. For me it is the move towards the centre ground that begun under Tony Blair and continues to this day with Harrie Harmon supporting the Tory Welfare Bill that makes Labour unelectable, that means the local Labour canddate did not get my vote in May.
The Labour Party should not be thinking about what will make them electable. They should instead be standing up for the poor, the weak and the disadvantaged in our society, forming policies that put justice and righteousness to the fore and, yes, redistributing wealth from the rich to the poor.
Labour should be forming these policies and then persuading the electorate why they should support such policies; rather than formulating policies that they think will be popular so that they can win a General Election.
I want to see a Labour Party that gets back to its working class roots and supports first and foremost the poor, the underprivileged, the oppressed, those that society has cast aside: not by supprting benefits sanctions that force them to work and punish individuals and families leaving them without even the basics of life, but by progressive taxation that means this country can afford to give benefis that really help people. I want to see a Labour Party that renationalises the water, gas and electricity
so that thesev essential services are provided as cheaply as possible on a not for profit basis. I want to see a Labour Party that renationalises the railways (it can be done very cheaply. As contracts expire they are simply not renewed so that gradually all rail servces are publically owned and managed) .
I would not and could not support a Tory-lite Labour Party but if Jeremy Corbyn wins the leadership election I would join the Labour Party and help them persuade people that what our country needs is justice and equality for all!
As the prophet Amos wrote, "Let justice roll like rivers, and righteousness like an ever flowing stream."
