Progressive London = Left Unity?
This is a guest post by a young labour party activist.
The Left, broadly defined, has become quite fractious and
fissiparous. There are left-wingers in Labour, in the Lib-Dems, in the Greens, in Marxist groups and in no party at all.
The Progressive London Conference aimed to gather together speakers from the capital’s left. As an attendee, I found some of the sessions interesting and some of the speakers good. Others, however, notably Harriet Harman, fell flat. People were not happy with the government’s record and with its rhetoric. As Deputy Leader of the Labour Party she failed to inspire people with confidence in the leadership or with optimism that the government was going to move leftwards.
Although all wanted to see a Conservative defeat, many of those present did not want a Labour victory. The Lib-Dems and Greens present would obviously rather people voted for them rather than Labour. Unless left-wing voters unite behind the strongest anti-Tory candidate in every seat, the Tories will benefit from the splits on the centre-left.
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How we should respond to the riots
An African-Caribbean woman venting her frustration at the rioters [contains swearing]
Looted: The Money Shop on Rye Lane, Peckham
On Tuesday morning, I took the time to go around Peckham Rye and High Street to survey the damage of Monday night’s riots. It wasn’t as bad as I had feared but the damage was considerable. Gregg’s the bakers was burnt out, destroying the several homes above it and endangering the families that contained them. It was fortunate that no one was killed. Sadly this was not true in Birmingham where 3 people have tragically died whilst trying to protect their community.
This phenomenon isn’t rooted in purely economic or social failings but a complex web of factors. Rather than seeking the causes or motivations of the rioters, we should recognise what this represents and discuss how we should respond to it.
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