But what is the point in being in government if all you're going to do is implement the same broad agenda & policies as the other guys?
Look, I've been there, back in around 1992, pondering if Labour needed to be more like the Tories to win power. Then NuLabour was spawned, I came to the above conclusion, and abandoned the party I'd supported since being politically aware & had been a member of.
I still see Labour as one of those old friends you were really pally with when you were kids, but who then goes in a life direction totally at odds with yours, so you drift apart & end up with nothing in common.
I'll add that it's incredibly difficult being on 'the left'. It's a broad church that attracts some real f*cking imbeciles and loony ideas. The nature of socialism means that everyone makes an effort to be inclusive, and it's this which has 1) diluted the left's message, as crackers side-issues (equal rights for one-legged lesbian Muslim basket weavers) get adopted; and 2) allowed opponents of the left an open goal to denigrate & ridicule the whole principle of leftism.
The left needs to refocus on core beliefs - addressing extreme wealth inequality, improving rights for workers, providing strong & well-funded public services, etc - and, more importantly, putting forward a coherent, simple narrative to present as the argument against the corporate-capitalist message.
Originally Posted by: Saint Snow