Brown's New Labour election vow

[mr blur]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4281456.stm

"Mr Brown wants a "home-owning, share-owning, asset-owning, wealth-owning democracy, not just for some but for all".

For one horrible moment there, I thought Thatcher was back.

[billyskank]

1. Thatcher is back

In fact she never went away. Everyone is a thatcherite nowadays. :(

[StevieM]

2. I hate that Blair has rewritten history to ignore the fact

that Labour was in an incredible position when he took over the reigns of the party. John Smith had just led them to a 25-point victory in local elections, with the Tories coming in 3rd. When Smith died suddenly Margaret Beckett took over for a brief period. She led them to a 20-point victory in the European parliamentary elections. Blair won his election by only 12.5 points. Labour was coming back with or without him. He had absolutely nothing to do with it.

While we're on the subject of rewritten history, I also hate the fact that the GOP has convinced so many people that Perot cost Bush Sr. the 92 Election. Polls showed that he took equally from both candidates. And that was only on Election Day. Before then he had been taking more from Clinton then from Bush. That's why Bush wanted Perot in the debates. With one month to go Clinton had a 20-point lead until Perot re-entered the race. I might add that in 96 polls showed Perot taking more from Clinton then from Dole. But the GOP is on-message and they sold the rewritten history to a lot of people, including many Democrats. The biased, conservative new media helped them, of course

Steve

[non sociopath skin]

3. Must tell Sid!

:puke:

Bet Jimmy, my Big Issue vendor will be excited, too!

The Skin

[ikri]

4. He'll lose Labour the next election

If that's his position.

Someone needs to tell him that the reason many people want him as Labour leader is because he's thought of as being way to the left of Blair. If he's just going to continue the same old crap then he won't win back the voters who left for the Lib Dems in the last election and, more importantly, he may lose a load more voters to a Ken Clarke led Tory party (assuming the Tories actually want to win, if not they'll choose a different leader then Brown will win by default).

It is the great fallacy of New Labour that it was their new ideas that won them the 97 election. A tub of lard could have beaten the Tories in 1997. The size of the victory simply demonstrated the hatred of the Tories at that point, it was never a mandate for Blair's public sector "reforms".

[Briar]

5. What I don't understand is why

he is thought of as way to the left of Bliar? He's been at his right hand throughout. The economic policies were his. He's the one who has crammed PFIs down our throats. He visits the US and comes back in love with neocon policies. He backed the war. And faith schools. I just don't get it.

[ikri]

6. Not sure

He certainly brought in some genuine left-wing legislation in the first term - minimum wage, windfall tax, etc.

Besides, considering the current make-up of the Labour party, he is pretty left-wing.

Now if the Lib Dems weren't so damned duplicitous they'd win the next election.

[muriel_volestrangler]

7. Proably because he doesn't make speeches condemning liberalism

and when faced with a trade union, he tries to placate it rather than attack it. Yes, his policies are in lockstep with Blair, but in his speeches he tries to include 'old' Labour, rather than deriding it as Blair does.

[mr blur]

8. Fact is, there is no "Old Labour" and "New Labour",

there's just the Labour Party and the Blair Party and the two have little in common with each other. The former (of which I was proud to be a member) is gone and the latter (which doesn't deserve my support) will be gone, I hope, as soon as possible. Blair rode into No. 10, as Ikri points out above, on a wave of disgust at the Tories; he will be washed out on a tide of disgust at what he has done to the Party, the country and the people of Iraq.

[fedsron2us]

9. The Peoples Flag is palest pink

It is not as red as they would have you think.

[LeftishBrit]

10. Actually...

I think Tony misunderstands the song "The Red Flag" as meaning red in the sense of an American 'red state', i.e. Republican.

Our Tony's flag is red for Bush;
For right-wing policies he'll push!

[fedsron2us]

11. I have to admit I stole the quote

The full words are

The peoples flag is palest pink.
It's not as red as you may think.
White collar workers wave and cheer.
A labour government is here.
We'll change the country bit by bit.
So nobody will notice it.
And just to prove we're still sincere.
We'll sing the red flag once a year.