We don’t need this Fascist groove thing: Panic on the Streets of……Part I 

 

“Because the music that they constantly play
It says nothing to me about my life” 

 

 

One of the key tenets over the 9-yrs of this column has been of those “left behind”, either economically or by progressive politics. These are the voters who feel disenfranchised by the traditional parties, and, as a result, are turning their backs on them. 

 

Our forthcoming local elections are widely predicted to be a rout for the Labour government, with their traditional opponents, the Tories expected to fare little better. 

In Wales and Scotland, nationalist parties are expected to be the winners, and in London and the cities, the Greens are contenders. 

However, the true battleground for Labour is in their former heartlands of the post-industrial Midlands and north of England. The so-called “Red Wall”, where they look likely to lose hundreds of councillors to Nigel Farage’s Reform party.  

 

“I cannot stand the lot of them”; “We just don’t want to vote any more. Sometimes I just don’t want to listen – they are all just the same”

 

Representing constituencies in the red wall are several cabinet members Yvette Cooper, John Healey, Ed Miliband, Dan Jarvis and Bridget Phillipson, which indicates there could he high-profile casualties in a general election. 

Barnsley, is an interesting example of the problems local politicians face. As a town it is unrecognisable from the one that had “gone off a cliff” after mine closures and the loss of 20,000 jobs. Yet for all the council’s achievements, council leader, Stephen Houghton said it was “very difficult” to get a hearing on the doorstep as two issues dominate: “It’s the prime minister. And it’s migration.” 

 

‘two issues dominate: “It’s the prime minister. And it’s migration.”’

 

Houghton said the challenge for his party was much bigger than Starmer. “Labour has got to stop looking like and feeling like a big city party,” he said, urging the government to focus strategic investment in technology, defence and roads into areas across the Midlands and north. 

There is a disconnect between what Labour has delivered at local government level compared to nationally. One resident said: “In terms of around here I don’t think Labour have done a bad job. As a family man, my kids have been really well looked after by Labour”. At a national level the same voter said the government had failed to deliver its promises and was handing benefits to families who did not need it. 

Or, “The Labour council has been fine and where I live the councillors are quite good. But the national party has missed the point. The policies are not for the working man.” 

Another former stronghold was County Durham; in 2017 Labour had 94 of the county council’s then 126 seats, in last year’s elections this fell to 5 of 98,  with Reform the main beneficiaries. This time around a similar is expected in Sunderland, Gateshead and South Tyneside councils, each of which has a Labour majority.  

Here voters feel disenfranchised by politics, saying: “I cannot stand the lot of them”; “We just don’t want to vote any more. Sometimes I just don’t want to listen – they are all just the same”; Everyone is just sick to their back teeth of politicians, especially in the north-east, in Sunderland. We are the forgot-about city.” 

 

‘the national party has missed the point. The policies are not for the working man’

 

Another summed-up how Labour is no longer seen as representing workers: “I was Labour all my life when Labour was for the working class, now they’re for people with money. 

Wakefield is another Labour stronghold, with the party currently holding 49 of 63 council seats. 

On the subject of illegal immigration, one local said: “Legal I don’t have a problem with…” 

Another resident said he was not worried about the effect of the anti-immigration sentiment as a Tunisian living in Wakefield, because “civilised people don’t have a problem – or they don’t voice it.” 

Two keys issues seem to dominate the discourse; the PM and immigration, 

The former is based on the governments non-delivery with a focus on PM Starmer.  

Starmer’s problem is simple; what you see and hear isn’t what you get, there is a personality crisis. He was elected Labour leader based on a series of policies he promptly forgot, and much the same applied when his government was elected. The reason that it’s all “samo, samo” is because it is. I christened him “light blue Kier” because he is a Blairite, a closet-Tory. 

 

“Lots of people think Keir Starmer is a good man who is out of his depth. Wrong. He’s an asshole who’s out of his depth.” 

 

Politico reported one Labour insider saying: “Lots of people think Keir Starmer is a good man who is out of his depth. Wrong. He’s an asshole who’s out of his depth.” 

The overall conclusion is that he cannot manage teams, will throw anyone under the bus to save himself, cannot do the job, therefore his fate is sealed. The only question being, when? 

In the interim we have yet another era of zombie government, a PM surviving out of inertia and lack of options. An aimless government, presiding over a slow, continual collapse in living standards, adding to voters ongoing feeling of being disenfranchised and disenchanted by politics, creating a form of political paralysis. 

 

‘An aimless government, presiding over a slow, continual collapse in living standards’

 

Labour’s zombie period comes at a pivotal time, with the Iran war pushing up fuel prices and increasing inflation. Reports by the IMF find the Uk facing the biggest hit to growth of all G20 economies, and the joint highest inflation rate in the G7. This is, of course, in addition to the pre-existing cost of living crisis and high food prices. To-date, we have yet to hear what the government proposes. 

Labour has already alienated many of its traditional voters as, in attempting to see off the challenge of Reform, channelling  an anti-migrant hostility that has had little, if any, impact. Their defeat in the Gorton and Denton byelection highlighted this. All Starmer could do was to dismiss the outcome as “sectarian politics”.  

Starmer is a non-entity for all seasons. He represents the culmination of a progressive politics that has failed to refashion its role in a changing Britain, where its traditional industrial and working-class heartlands have been eroded by neoliberalism prioritising capital over labour. The crux of the problem is a growing inequality which his party seem unable, or unwilling to recognise, let alone deal with.  

‘Starmer is a non-entity for all seasons’

 

What are our options? 

Both Reform and the Greens are populists, presenting solution to complex, decades old problems that appear simple and obvious, which they clearly aren’t. Added to this, neither have the experience of anything akin to running a country. 

The Tories have tried and failed too many times to be trusted by the broader electorate. Labour are fast joining them. 

Then there is the LibDems…… 

Looks to me like we will all drift along in a zombie state for a while longer.    

Part II will look at the impact of immigration….errr!  

 

 

“I wonder to myself
Could life ever be sane again?” 

 

Another two-parter, as I consider our politics in-light of the forthcoming local elections.

What we know is this:

The government will get trashed, the Tories will make a lot of noise about anything that looks vaguely positive, and the LibDems will prevail in the south and home counties where voters can no longer accept the Tories.

The big winners will be Reform and the Greens, both full of wonderful promises, and …..

The big losers will, once again, be an electorate that gets poorer and more unequal by the day, having fallen for the seductive promises of the two populist parties.

I haven’t bothered writing about Mandygate, largely because it’s unclear what was wrong or by whom.

Mandy was the right choice but for all wrong reasons.

In my opinion, Starmer’s real crime is blaming everyone but himself and throwing anyone under a bus to save his skin. Even at the height of partygate, Johnson stood-up for himself.

The Starmer era is over, the only questions are when and who? The when, I’d say June, the who is more difficult. The popular, smart choice would be Burnham, but his opportunity was scuppered by Starmer’s need for self-preservation.

No awards for guessing the lyrics which are from “Panic” by The Smiths.

 

@coldwarsteve

 

 

 

Philip Gilbert is a city-based corporate financier, and former investment banker.

Philip is a great believer in meritocracy, and in the belief that if you want something enough you can make it happen. These beliefs were formed in his formative years, of the late 1970s and 80s

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