The so-called ‘centre ground’ is a vapid term used to normalise austerity and neoliberalism, writes BEN GRANT-FOALE
AMONG the many political buzzwords the “centre ground” is one of the most pervasive. I have never seen a definition of it and I never expect to. This is because it is a meaningless phrase politicians use to slander those they disagree with.
For politicians like Nick Clegg, the centre is the site of rationality and reason and the only form of “sensible” politics. It is also the only position that isn’t infected with the extremist ideologies of left or right. But this view masks the Lib Dems’ lack of substantive policy, as they use the mythical term to define themselves against others instead of providing their own political vision. This is shown by the current plight of the party under Tim Farron, as he resorts to begging for Labour voters and incessantly casting Jeremy Corbyn as a dangerous ideologue for opposing the economic consensus.
It became necessary for Clegg to employ the term after he became leader and entered into coalition with the Conservatives. After moving the party to a more fiscally hawkish position, it was a useful way of concealing the fact that the party had moved to the right and accepted austerity.
Similarly, Tony Blair took up the term after he helped create New Labour. After accepting neoliberalism, he used it to present the party as the “middle way” between socialism and market capitalism.
But this hid the party’s rightward shift after the banks were deregulated and the City ran rampant. Like Clegg, he also used it to conceal his lack of political vision. Instead of offering a genuine alternative, the party became a machine for winning elections, contributing to the present-day belief that the main parties are all the same.
The Conservatives also talked of “colonising the centre ground” as a way of normalising austerity. It also helped them to link their free-market policies to a “sensible” brand of economics. As well as this, they often refuse to engage with issues by using the term to present themselves as the only sensible party whenever Labour mention economic alternatives. In this way anything that opposes right-wing economics is dismissed as extremist and austerity can be portrayed as the only viable economic theory.
But the idea that the country unfailingly supports the current system is false, as 56 per cent of the public support a 75 per cent top rate of income tax and 58 per cent back nationalisation of the railways.
Centrists also rely on the patronising notion of the “ordinary voter,” as though the public don’t have a plurality of opinions and can be roughly homogenised into a cosy group.
While some may point to the re-election of right-wing parties as evidence of the left’s need to shift to the centre, the current wave of populist sentiment indicates that large sections of the electorate feel left behind by neoliberalism and want substantial economic change.
But the left has an opportunity to offer radical change to millions of people and be the positive force that many so desperately need. The rise of left-wing economists such as Thomas Piketty and Paul Mason shows that people recognise the credibility of a different economic system, while Theresa May’s disingenuous promise to help working-class people indicates that politicians are aware of the growing need to address class divisions.
If the left can offer a comprehensive and radical new form of economics that resonates with voters, they can achieve electoral success. What is not required is another lurch to the centre and the acceptance of economic orthodoxy.
People are tired of being patronised and told that anything other than the status quo is madness. Therefore the centre must be abandoned before it does any more damage.
Famous Glee Club night held on last night of party’s conference in Brighton
The annual ritual – called the ‘Glee Club’ – mocked the Labour party and branded leadership challenger Owen Smith a ‘s****’ in a song written to the theme of Robin Hood.
The four-hour sing-along – one of the best attended events of the four-day Lib Dem conference – aimed abuse at a string of politicians.
The Glee Club is one of the weirdest events in the political calendar, with the 65-page song book containing popular tunes rewritten with political lyrics.
Owen Smith, Owen Smith,
Always on TV
Owen Smith, Owen Smith
Who the hell is he? Hated by the left, loathed by the right,
What a shite, what a shite, what a shite.
And the crowd sang: “Tony Blair can fuck off and die” with particular gusto during a cheerful ditty to the tune of American Pie on Lib-Labism that’s been a firm Glee Club favourite since back in 1995.
One line went: “On the first day of coalition, the Tories gave to me, nothing you would notice, very little really and a referendum on AV. Which we lost.”
This music video from England says about itself:
The 12 Days of Coalition (Lib Dem Glee Club)
27 September 2013
Grassroots Lib Dems list the achievements that have been won in this coalition government.
But Jennifer Churchill, who represents Richmond in west London, said Mr Farron “doesn’t seem to stand for anything.”
And speaking to the Twickenham Times about her decision, she said: “I wouldn’t say it has been coming for a long time — when Jeremy Corbyn was elected it became a real possibility.
“The Labour Party’s policies are more in line with my own views.”
Ms Churchill becomes Labour’s first councillor in Richmond, which was represented by Vince Cable, for over 13 years until May.
Defections from the Lib Dems to Labour were predicted this week by former Richmond Park MP Baroness Tonge.
“I know lots of Lib Dems that are contemplating supporting Jeremy Corbyn, including me,” she said.
Tim Farron urges Lib Dem activists to reject motion to scrap Trident
A debate over whether the party should abandon Britain’s nuclear deterrent is a test of the new leader’s authority at the Bournemouth conference
Tim Farron faces a test of his authority in his first conference as Liberal Democrat leader after urging activists to oppose a motion on scrapping Trident.
The Lib Dem leader has acknowledged that the proposal due to voted on at the gathering in Bournemouth was “seductive” but the party had to consider the implications for the UK’s global standing if it abandoned the nuclear deterrent.
The motion, backed by former MP Julian Huppert, calls for plans to renew the Trident weapons system to be scrapped, with the existing warheads decommissioned at the earliest possible opportunity.
An amendment tabled by the party’s establishment would commit the Lib Dems to voting against a like-for-like replacement for Trident and establish a committee to consider future policy on the nuclear deterrent.
In an article aimed at grassroots activists on the Lib Dem Voice website before the conference, Farron said: “Undoubtedly the lure of a definitive, ‘no ifs, no buts’ position on nuclear disarmament is seductive.
“What’s more, we’ll work to push for this vote to happen because there is absolutely no reason why the Tory government should be allowed to wave through a decision on such an important issue.”
JO SWINSON has been criticised for saying without hesitation that she would be prepared to use nuclear weapons if she became prime minister. The Lid Dem leader stated her intentions on ITV on Tuesday night once PM Boris Johnson and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn had debated on a separate programme. The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament said it was a “disgraceful response”: here.
TIM FARRON botched his bid to woo Labour voters and MPs to the Lib Dems this weekend by describing some of Thatcher’s most divisive acts as “undoubtedly necessary”.
The Lib Dem leader used his conference speech on Saturday to make an “unashamed land grab” on Labour ground.
Speaking in Bournemouth, Mr Farron claimed Labour had taken an “1980s nostalgia trip” by electing Jeremy Corbyn as leader.
He claimed it left the Lib Dems as the “credible progressive alternative” to the Tories.
“I am nostalgic for my youth but I am not nostalgic for those Labour economic policies which created the space for Margaret Thatcher to win in the first place and which kept her in power for a decade,” he said.
The speech came days after he claimed to have been contacted by Labour MPs disappointed by Mr Corbyn’s election as leader.
It was designed to further stir up division within Labour with a view to sparking “dozens” of defections to the Lib Dems.
But Nick Clegg’s supposedly left-of-centre successor will have alienated many in the Labour movement by defending Thatcher’s attacks on trade unions and privatisations.
Mr Farron remembered that Thatcher had “created mass unemployment” and “sowed the seeds of division and separation.”
In an unashamed volte-face, he added: “Some of what Mrs Thatcher did then was undoubtedly necessary.
“She was very good at tearing things down — the over-wielding power of the union bosses, old-fashioned industrial practices stuck in the past, public-sector monoliths removed from the people they served.”
Shadow cabinet minister Chris Bryant was among Labour MPs to dash Mr Farron’s defection hopes yesterday, saying he “wouldn’t jump shop for all the tea in China (and India).”
And the Lib Dems should be more worried about defections from them to Labour, according to peer and Lib Dem member Baroness Tonge.
The former MP for Richmond Park described Mr Corbyn’s “honest” politics as “a breath of fresh air.”
“I know that lots of Lib Dems are contemplating supporting Jeremy Corbyn, including me,” she told the Sunday Times.
The Lib Dems boasted this weekend that their membership had risen to more than 61,000 — fewer than the number of people who have joined Labour since Mr Corbyn was elected leader last weekend.
Mr Kennedy’s greatest political tribute came from the anti-war movement, to which he became something of a hero in 2003 when, as Lib Dem leader, he broke the Establishment line to condemn the Iraq war — although he did so on the basis that there had been no UN resolution.
Labour anti-war MP Diane Abbott said that opposing the war was a difficult call for Mr Kennedy to make. Establishment-minded Lib Dem politicians were pressing their leader to back the government.
“You cannot overstate Charles Kennedy’s bravery in finally coming to the right decision,” said Ms Abbott.
“I was on the huge Stop the War march and rally. It was the biggest ever and on the platform at the end was Charles Kennedy. He was not a regular on left platforms but his determination and convictions shone through and the crowd loved him for it.”
Mr Kennedy’s family announced his death in a statement “with great sadness and an enormous sense of shock,” adding that they would comment further following a post-mortem investigation.
“Charles was a fine man, a talented politician and a loving father to his young son,” said the family statement.
“It’s no wonder that people are scared and confused.
“I say this to you quite seriously as somebody who personally happens not to be a pacifist but has the utter respect for anyone on grounds of conscience who is. As somebody who’s not actually anti-American but who’s deeply worried by this Bush administration and as someone who is under no illusion about the brutal dictatorship and appalling regime that is Saddam Hussein.
“But I conclude by returning to the United Nations.
“If the great powers of the world ignore it, then great damage will be done to the world order and the best hope of international justice for everybody in the world.
“And without a second UN resolution based on authoritative fact from the weapons inspectorate, I can assure you there is no way, in all conscience, that the Liberal Democrats could, or should, support a war.”
The famous boast of Britain’s welfare state was that people would be looked after, from the ‘cradle to the grave’, yet the proposed cuts by the government may have a detrimental effect on those who need them the most.
The Broadhead family, made up of Matthew, Dominic, and their mother Lisa, who is suffering from an aggressive form of multiple sclerosis, are currently living off toast.
Matthew has to prove to the government that he works 35 hours a week caring for his mother in order to receive the grand total of $75 a week to live on.
Al Jazeera’s Laurence Lee reports from Leeds, United Kingdom.
SOCIAL JUSTICE campaigners warned yesterday that people will die on the streets this week after the Tory victory was labelled “devastating” and the “worst outcome” for Britain’s most vulnerable.
Housing, disabled rights and anti-nuclear groups were just some of the many vowing not to give up their fight against further austerity measures, cuts and privatisation.
Homeless support group Streets Kitchen founder Jon Glackin told the Star: “We will continue to support our streets, with no funding, and resist attacks any way we can.”
But after homelessness figures reportedly doubled under the outgoing coalition government, Mr Glackin could not help but admit that homeless activists “await with dread this greater Britain promised by Cameron and the Tories.
“People will die this week on our streets due to this new Tory government.”
Effects of the Conservative landslide in England were quickly felt on the housing market, as estate agent Foxtons’s share price soared 13 per cent.
Housing campaign Hackney Renters member Kieran Aldred admitted that the group had not expected such dire results, adding that, for “everyone caught up in the gnashing teeth of the housing crisis, this is the worst outcome.”
However, he pledged his campaign would not “slip into a coma of despair and rage.”
“Now, more than ever, we need to be focused, vocal and organised,” he said.
Debbie Jolly of Disabled People Against Cuts said that, while “disabled people will be pushed even further into poverty and fear” under the incoming government, campaigners “won’t give up, and must fight harder.”
She said the struggle would go on “until every hardship, every death and every misery has been exposed and accounted for.
“It’s not the end. This is a new beginning and we’re ready, but we need all disabled people and our allies to stand firm and fight back even harder than they have done in the last five years.
“Apathy is not an option any of us can now afford.”
As previously reported by the Star, demonstrations against the Conservatives are set to take place across London this weekend, with a rally outside the Tory HQ expected to gather over 4,000 people.
JUST hours after the ballot counting finished yesterday, the Tories were already proposing a cap on access to work funds for people with disabilities: here.
TRADE unionists appealed yesterday for a united front against a new Tory government in order to defend public services and the welfare state: here.
IRISH trade unions warned that the people of Northern Ireland would “suffer” under the new Tory government yesterday: here.
The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) said the SNP’s “spectacular gains” in the general election are “a stark indicator of opposition to the Trident nuclear weapons system, which is based in Scotland.”
CND general secretary Kate Hudson said: “When Scotland has spoken as clearly as it has at the ballot box — it’s a reality check for those who believe there could be business as usual with Trident replacement.
Ms Hudson called on the government to “scrap Trident now, save £100bn, and spend taxpayers’ money on things we really need.”
JIM MURPHY refused to resign as Scottish Labour leader yesterday despite presiding over a catastrophic election result which left his party with only one seat north of the border — and saw him booted out of Parliament.
Ian Davidson, another of the Labour casualties, called on Murphy to “do the honourable thing” and resign.
“Morally, as the man who has led us to the biggest ever disaster that Labour has suffered in Scotland, of course he can’t continue,” the former Glasgow South West MP said.
“The process of rebuilding the Labour Party has got to start with an examination of both personnel and ideas.”
But Mr Murphy insisted that he would remain as leader and pledged to stand in the 2016 Scottish Parliament election.
He said: “The leader carries the can and there’s no shirking away from this.” But he insisted: “Our determination is to rebuild from here, with a continued sense of energy, with a continued sense of teamwork.”
Mr Murphy lost in East Renfrewshire as safe Labour seats and former cabinet ministers tumbled all around.
Former shadow foreign secretary Douglas Alexander lost Paisley and Renfrewshire South to the SNP’s Mhairi Black, who at 20 becomes the youngest MP in the House of Commons since 1667.
Former shadow Scottish secretary Margaret Curran lost Glasgow East.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon hailed her party’s 56-seat haul as a “historic watershed.”
She said: “Labour has been losing touch with the Scottish people over many years now” and they had now “put their trust in the SNP.”
Ms Sturgeon added: “This election wasn’t about independence. The government at Westminster cannot ignore what has happened in Scotland. People have voted overwhelmingly for Scotland’s voice to be heard and for an end to austerity.”
In the extraordinary rout, the labour and trade union movement lost stalwart socialists in Parliament, notably Katy Clark in North Ayrshire and Arran and Ian Davidson in Glasgow South West.
Labour MSP Neil Findlay said: “This now requires the most full, frank and honest debate about the future of the Scottish Labour Party — our very survival is at stake.”
Lib Dem humiliation compounded by 170k lost in deposits
Saturday 9th May 2015
THE Lib Dems’ finances have taken a heavy hit from the loss of deposits after their humiliating general election defeat left them with just eight parliamentary seats and triggered the resignation of leader Nick Clegg.
The crushing Tory victory forced the deputy prime minister to quit the party leadership, although he retained his Sheffield Hallam seat.
To add insult to injury, the party is out of pocket to the tune of £170,000 after 335 candidates who took less than 5 per cent of the votes cast forfeited their £500 deposit.
Forty-nine seats that gave them a chance to form a Conservative-led coalition in 2010 were snatched away, leaving just a scattering of Lib Dem constituencies across the country.
The former deputy prime minister — who was strongly criticised for his U-turn decision on trebling tuition fees — looked crestfallen and exhausted while making a resignation speech.
He said: “Clearly, the results have been immeasurably more crushing and unkind than I ever could have feared.
“For that, of course, I must take responsibility and I will be resigning as leader of the Liberal Democrats.”
Lib Dem former business secretary Vince Cable was defeated by Tory challenger Tania Mathias by 25,580 votes to 23,563 in Twickenham, which he had held since 1997.
He was heavily criticised for his bargain-bin sell-off of Royal Mail and short-changing taxpayers of up to £1.2bn by pricing shares too cheaply.
A Communication Workers Union (CWU) spokesman said: “The Lib Dems have been punished for going into coalition with the Tories. Their credibility was badly damaged by trebling — instead of scrapping — university tuition fees.”
“As the main architects of Royal Mail privatisation, they were unpopular with many CWU members.”
Other Lib Dem Cabinet members turfed out of Parliament included former justice minister Simon Hughes and chief secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander.
LIB DEM business minister Jenny Willott was the highest-profile casualty of the general election in Wales, writes Luke James. Ms Willott paid the price for her party propping up the Tories as an 11 per cent swing to Labour saw Jo Stevens claim the seat: here.
THE Greens led a clamour for electoral reform yesterday after a record one million votes across Britain left them with a single seat: here.
United States economist Paul Krugman on the British election results: here.
POLICE are to reopen an investigation into “cash for honours” after the Liberal Democrats’ three biggest donors received peerages.
The trio, who were nominated by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, handed over £600,000 — 40 per cent of all donations to the Liberal Democrats in 2012.
Mr Clegg has in the past complained that the House of Lords is undemocratic and called for peers to be elected.
Top peer Lord Oakeshott, who recently quit the Lib Dems, said in his resignation statement that his “efforts to expose and end cash for peerages in all parties including our own … have failed.”
It would been even more interesting if the present Liberal Democrat party leader would say that. And if he, if the Conservative other government party would want to continue the bloody war, then would break up the coalition, bringing the government down.
The 11-year campaign has so far cost 438 British lives. Lord Ashdown writes in The Times today urging Britain to pull troops out of the country as quickly as “decently” possible.
He says the campaign is “not worth the life of one more soldier”.
“It is now crystal clear that we have lost in Afghanistan,” said Lord Ashdown.
“We have succeeded in only one thing; albeit the big thing we first said we went to war for – driving out al-Qaeda. In almost all other tasks we set ourselves, especially the establishment of a sustainable state, we have failed.”
The cost of life has stretched further than the battlefield. An inquest has heard how Rifleman Allan Arnold from Cirencester was found hanging in 2011 while he was home on leave.
An inquest into his death heard how he struggled to come to terms with the deaths of five comrades killed in a roadside blast in Sangin, two years earlier.
The 20-year-old soldier with 2 Rifles left a note saying he could not cope any more and apologised to his mother.
Another Gloucestershire life lost to the conflict has had his name added to a Nailsworth war memorial.
Mark Chandler, shot dead in Afghanistan, has been added to the Church Street monument.
At the time of his death Captain John Mercer, fire support commander on the patrol, described the former Archway School pupil as “the perfect soldier”.
Lance Bombardier Mark, 33, of the 3rd Regiment Royal Horse Artillery, was killed in Nad-e Ali, Helmand, during a patrol that ended under intense fire back in June 2010.
Captain James Townley, who grew up near Glastonbury, was on his third tour of duty when he was killed on Friday, September 21 – the day before his 30th birthday.
He is the only former Bruton Sexey’s School pupil to be added to its memorial since the Falklands conflict in 1982.
Lord Ashdown’s calls come as Government plans are finalised to exit Afghanistan by 2014.
As a former member of the Special Boat Service, he argues the word “defeat” is inappropriate because of the individual success in battles fought by British and Nato troops against the Taliban.
This year, 61 coalition soldiers have been killed in green on blue attacks – the Afghan National Army or police. Of those, 14 have been British.
Dear Kitty. Some blog 