Reaction to Glasgow By-election Result
I have sent out the following press release as a first reaction to the disastrous by-election result in Glasgow.
Fatal to dismiss Glasgow result as protest vote.
Commenting on the result of the Glasgow by election Labour MP John McDonnell said If this result does not demonstrate to the Labour Government the need for change nothing will. It would be a fatal mistake to dismiss this result as a by election protest vote. The message is straightforward. Labour must change or we are finished.
Fatal to dismiss Glasgow result as protest vote.
Commenting on the result of the Glasgow by election Labour MP John McDonnell said If this result does not demonstrate to the Labour Government the need for change nothing will. It would be a fatal mistake to dismiss this result as a by election protest vote. The message is straightforward. Labour must change or we are finished.
posted by John at 2:42 AM
10 Comments:
Yet again John you have been proved correct. Last year when you tried to challenge for the leadership you warned that if the Labour Party did not change direction we would lose Parliamentary seats. Well now we have lost a seat that should never have been lost. This party must now either change direction or change the leader but preferebly both
Unfortunately it is too late for that.
This government is finished. The problem is that good, decent MPs like yourself, Frank Field, Sadiq Khan etc risk being dragged down with it. I hope that does not happen. I have nothing personal against the prime minister. I have no political allegiance either. It just seems like this Government has run out of steam and will hit the buffers at the next election, like all Governments do eventually. As usual, Mr Blair played the market perfectly and got out at the top.
The seeds were sown from the start of Brown's tenure with the lack of a leadership contest. People were irked by that and the resentment has since grown over a number of issues. The Parliamentary Labour Party lost a lot of credibility which was entirely avoidable in my opinion, and is the root cause of the by-election results. Also, the fruits of the PFI obsessed previous chancellor's policies are ripening. How much debt is off the books? It is clear we will never know until a new Government is in place. They do not want to tell us because it would be suicide.
My local MP, Anne Snelgrove has a majority of fifteen hundred. She appears to be a perfectly capable MP but with any majority of under five (maybe ten?) thousand seemingly a no-brainer for a loss either side of the Scottish border, she would be as well saving herself the bother of campaigning and go on holiday instead. The result will be the same but the journey will be more pleasant.
All this stuff about 'listening to the message from the people about the current economic climate' in the wake of the by-election is frankly offensive. The message is actually that the people want this Government to go away permanently. I cannot be the only one pulling out my hair while listening to such tripe. The Government is facing a crushing on a scale seldon-seen, and it is entirely their own making. The question is when? I hope you keep your seat as you represent the kind of politician most of 'us' like to see, even if I frequently disagree with you.
John; I left the Labour party because of Iraq. But unlike you, I never thought of myself as on the left of the party - more a progressive social democrat, Crosland was my inspiration.
But when I look at the current disaster, well, these policies aren't remotely social democratic. They are free market Tory through and through. How the hell did Hutton and Purnell ever get to be Labour MP's let alone in the cabinet.
Perhaps its too late now. the electoral cycle may have turned - but there absolutely has to be a recognisably left-of-centre alternative and 'New' Labour isn't it.
I don't think Gordon Brown gives a damn about anyone but his blustering self. I can only imagine the same applies to the majority of Nu Labor MPs who haven't got the courage to have him removed.
the Bush administration are changing their foreign policy e.g. towards Iran at the last minute - probably as they can see that Barack Obama is going to win adn becaseu even they can see teh way the world's tide is trurning unlike G Brown! It's crucail to read both of Barry Obama's book to understand his ideas..
Brown has his head in the sand like the disillusioned Hillary supporters who think McCain McSame will win!
Obama scores on foreign policy - willling to talk to iran etc and family froendly/versus careers as he and his wife adn falso his extended family in Africa and his Mother etc experience/d and being against nukes. I don't know if he's righ tto fight teh Taliban and Al-Quaeda but the y shod lhave no safe haven. we need to ge t akeynote speech to Labour conf to turn the tide...Bush has to go as his term is up so he can do things Brown won't..our previous left leadrship bid was airbrushed out of the BBC's coverage after Paul Kenny's call for Brwon to go at teh NPF at Warwick - we should complain as it's against journalistic integrity..
Hi John,
I really think that you should re-launch your bid for the party leadership. We really need to hit the ground running on this before those who would change the personel, and not the policies, get started with their infamous "round robin" letters.
An open campaign could also help focus attention on the real policy issues, rather than the usual Westminster gossip.
Dan Nichols
Labour Link Officer, UNISON LFEPA
we should complain as it's against journalistic integrity..
Since when has the BBC been concerned with journalistic integrity? Let's not forget that it is complicit in war crimes where both Blair and Brown are liable to answer for war crimes.
Through his stirling support for Make Wars History, John McDonnell will know of the significance of the International Criminal Court Act, 2001.
So opposition from the Left to Brown is being air-brushed out with the BBC only reporting today that Jack Straw is telling Labour MPs to "calm down."
Tony Benn was on yesterday and was predictably outspoken. But he was treated like Nitro Gylcerin. I haven't seen John so can only assume he's one of those who was airbrushed.
So can the Left not use the Internet more effectively to ally themselves together to provide a defence against the corroding effect of Nu Labour Toryism?
I just saw Jeremy Corbyn on BBC News 24. In my opinion, Jeremy is one of the few honourable MPs who has the courage to express his deeply-held convictions.
The Labour Party has to abandon its Nu-Labor 'neoliberalism' and go back to the social democracy of Old Labour. The IMF may not want that but the people do.
That is the ultimate paradox.
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