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Real Labour people don’t quit

January 16, 2012 2:16 pm

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“To betray”, noted Kim Philby “you first have to belong”.

His excuse was that he never did; making it easy to sell out his country and friends. He died in obscurity; with Mother Russia never willing to clasp a traitor to her bosom.

Such is the fate of those who sell out.

By Philby’s standard, Luke Bozier’s defection to the Conservatives today is small beer.

Who’s Luke Bozier the cry goes up? Exactly. Outside of the ever-more suffocating Westminster bubble no-one has heard of him. Nor should they have.

A decade ago, when Labour was in its ascendancy, we had MPs switching sides: Alan Howarth, Shaun Woodward, Peter Temple-Morris. These were each significant players in the Conservative Party.

“Labour’s former e-comms manager joins Cameron” is thin gruel in comparison. And party staffers are not in fact obliged to be members of the party only ‘sympathisers’. Was Luke even a member, one wonders?

I don’t mean that to sound sneery. Well not too much. Let’s be clear, Luke deserves a boot up his jacksy; but as a blogger he always passed the first test of anyone commenting on politics: he had an opinion.

Not ones I often agreed with – or frankly recognised as particularly Labourish – but sometimes thought provoking stuff nonetheless. I respect him for that at least.

But the reality of politics – the depressing truth – is that it is full of fair-weather friends – ideologically-barren arrivistes who migrate towards power. Anyone’s power. They never really belong, so, on Philby’s terms, they must think themselves incapable of betrayal.

The true significance of the ripple caused by Bozier’s flouncing off is its very insignificance. This is not 1981. There is no SDP-style schism in the offing.

If Luke thinks the Tory party is a home for those seeking to make this a better world, then he is deluded. If he simply sees politics as a game of chance for the uber-ambitious, then joining the governing party is, I guess, an obvious move. Cynical, but obvious. But real Labour people don’t see politics that way.

We hold on to our values, willing to stand our ground and state our case. But we also recognise ours is an eternal battle between what we want to do and what we need to do to become a party of power. Finding the right intersection between those two competing demands is what we are currently working out as a party.

And we will. What you don’t do is cut and run when you don’t get it all your own way.

Luke, adios. Like Philby you will find your celebrity is fleeting and your new buddies will never trust you. You are a useful idiot for a day.

Never mind. We have 65,000 new recruits to replace you.

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  • http://liberty-view.blogspot.com/ LM.

    How about you spend more time trying to attract people to your party by coming up with some vote-winning ideas and answering why it is that people are leaving, rather than sniping and attacking people who have lost faith in your ability as a party to govern a country?  It is this condescending “we know what is best for everyone else” drivel that has driven away the aspirational class that Blair attracted to the party in 97.

  • Anonymous

    Tom Harris, interesting he has just had to step down for his silly Hitler  jibe , Luke the  nice New labour chap has to leave.

    We have a Tory MP having his knuckles bashed for paying for a Hitler Uniform.

    With the attack on the poor the sick and the disabled what next concentration camps, sorry sorry I mean holiday camps.

    Luke has gone he was a nobody a bloke looking to make a living speaking to people who would listen, he will not be missed except of course by the people who agreed with him, a few Progress MP’s and a few councillors who hope to keep the Blair legacy alive.

    But you know something who gives a Toss about these people, but you would have though Harris would have  enough crudos to know better.

    • Anonymous

      What is it about politicians and Twitter. I did advise them a few weeks ago to resist the temptation.

      And what is this fixation with Hitler?. He has been dead 67 years. Personally I blame BBC2s constant repeats of Dad’s Army.

      I have to say Tom Harris was another example of a politician far too pleased with himself – what’s that German word? – schaudenfraude?

      • Anonymous

        It is, but I’m not sure it’s what you mean. Hubris perhaps?

        The downfall videos are really a different kettle of fish to the dressing up etc. It’s more of an internet meme that happens to feature Hitler than a Hitler meme in its own right.

        They’ve been done for everything from Derek Draper and Labourlist to the
        vuvuzela        . Some of them are hilarious, but as Mark rightly  points out elswhere on this site, they’re a bit old now.

  • Anonymous

    “Luke deserves a boot up his jacksy; but as a blogger he always passed the first test of anyone commenting on politics: he had an opinion.”

    All of us humble posters on LL have an opinion, but whether it would be advisable or desirable for all of us to blog…… well, I wouldn’t read me!

    I left Labour Kevin – or – rather more to the point – Labour left me. I felt as if I were a member of the junior Conservative Club thanks to the likes of Blair, Hutton, Milburn, Reid Straw etc. I would never say Blair was the worst Labour leader ever – suffice it to say, I don’t believe he was “Labour” at all. he was the greatest Conservative leader of his generation. I currently support the Green Party but I am not a member in as much as I can’t sign up to all of their policies: some are just totally unpractical, unfortunately, and I am beyond the age when I want to use energy flogging a dead horse.

    When Gordon Brown replaced Blair I really willed him to succeed, but what did he do?. he appointed Conservative Socialist James Purnell to persecute the sick and the disadvantaged and then he bought back from exile Mandelson, and even rewarded the much-disgraced ex minister with a title.

    I will Ed Miliband to succeed too, and wish him well. He at least was not personally dishonest and didn’t claim all the expenses he was entitled to (unlike his brother) and that sort of personal integrity goes a long way with me. The expenses scandal reflected very badly, especially on the right wing of the Labour Party

    But I still could not rejoin Labour because I am not sure that the party is free of the taint of the Blair years – there are still too many ghastly old waxworks getting out of their coffins trying to communicate from beyon the political grave. What is even worse is that there are – there are two amongst the LL posters – still young men in a hurry who seem to revere Blair. perhaps they will grow out of it?, but it is not a risk I am currently willing to take.

    I still wish Labour well, and I certainly won’t be joining Mr Bozier in the Conservative party

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Mike-Homfray/510980099 Mike Homfray

      Understand what you are saying, but we could really do with people like you inside the party

  • Anonymous

    So some guy called Luke Bozier spat the dummy. So what? Why all the fuss?

    • Kevin

      Yep, that’s about right…

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1557475545 Jack Bonner

    I think anyone who actually bothered to join a left wing political party would actually end up defecting to a left wing party too if they got fed up. But then again this guy sounds like a centrist Tory-lite Labour party supporter who could easily join any political party and fit in easily. 

    As you say, if he really cared, he would’ve stayed, not joined the party he’s supposed to be working actively against 

    • Anonymous

      I think that is the problem, Jack. A lot of “Labour” supporters, especially those with ambitions for a career in politics joined Blair’s Labour party because for a time it looked invincible. The quickest route to success, but they have no real attachment to the party or it’s ideals, it was a means to an end. Also a lot of disaffected Conservatives became temporary “Labour” supportyers partly because they knew the Conservatives for quite a time were un-electabale, and they felt instinctivly Blair was really an old fashioned Tory at heart.

  • Joe Caluori

    (apologies this is copied from my FB page)
    Like all other Labour to Tory defectors (and I have met many in my time for one reason or another), the thing I find surprising about Luke Bozier is that rather than simply leaving the Labour Party and not being a member of a political Party he feels the need to join the Tories. There was an ideological gulf between Labour and the Tories when he joined Labour a few years ago. Why join the Tories now and not then? Why is it so important for him to be a member of a Party? I put this down to people wanting to be part of the decision making establishment as an elite club rather than advancing a political viewpoint. It’s about status and intellectual gamesmanship rather than ideology.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Paul-Barker/1546990341 Paul Barker

    But  Real Labour people are leaving, several thousand every Month in fact. They are leaving quietly, letting their subscriptions lapse & they are, mostly leaving active Politics altogether.

    • http://twitter.com/Newsbot9 Newsbot9

      Exactly. There are millions of left wingers out there without a party.

      As Labour isn’t interested, time for a new party.

  • http://twitter.com/Newsbot9 Newsbot9

    “Real” labour left the building a long time ago.

  • http://twitter.com/Rich_Head Rich Clare

    I find your tribalism and hostility towards those that lack that tribalism quite worrying. All Luke Bozier has done has joined the Conservative party. He’s said he has no plans to work for them  or anything like that. All he’s doing is responding to his own ideological instincts, not seeking power.

    • Anonymous

      So why not just go, after all thousands of people have left the Liberals to Join labour, but of course with Balls and Miliband making their big speeches, your saying this was not done for maximum impact for the Tories.

      Of course the bloke is basically a Tory, and he’s gone home.

    • Anonymous

      If only Liam Byrne and Caroline Flint would do a Bozier I’d be a happy man. 

  • Franwhi

    You may have 65 000 new members but not in Scotland where poeple who were Labour to the core really do feel betrayed and have moved to a party that does “Labour” better than Labour. We did belong and did really care’ For every Luke “fairweather” Bozier there are probably 50 former diehard Labour supporters in Scotland who grew up with the party but feel themselves betrayed. My dad is 75 – worked for Scottish Labour all his life – over 50 years as an adult activist – but will never vote Labour again. How many years did Bozo give to the party  ? Get some sense of perspective    

    • Anonymous

      six years….but that was six years I suspect of sucking up to make a living

  • David Boothroyd

    I thought it was George Blake who said “To betray, you first have to belong”. Kim Philby came from an upper middle-class English family while George Blake’s parents were Turkish and Dutch.

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