Where have all the good guys gone?

By Nadeem Backus

How has Labour gone so off track in the last few years? How is it possible that a party that came to power with such enthusiasm is now on the brink of becoming relegated to being just another party to the working people of this country? Labour crushed the Liberals with lightning speed in the early part of last century; unfortunately I see the reverse as enirely possible given our current state.

Remember Robin Cook and the other so-called Big Beasts who brought so much personality and gravitas to the party in the early years; how he followed his concience in the run up to the Iraq war? He didn’t do it for political gain: in his speech you can see the resolution in his voice. Then remember all those who were whipped into place by the whips on countless issues who appeared to sell their souls to Satan for a measily pittance. Do they now have the trust of the British people?

People have seen a pattern emerge in our politics over the past few years. The reality of this is that the British people are disengaged and fed up, and why shouldn’t they be? Did they vote for mindless automatons? The pattern is of small men and women beavering away to enhance their own self interest, rather than the interests of their own constituents. This is exemplified by the disgraceful conduct of some MPs before and after the expenses scandel broke. I would bet a pretty penny that those Labour MPs who voted again and again against their own judgement also enjoyed the trappings of the John Lewis list more than they should. Funny that.

Anyone who has been out campaigning for Labour over the last few weeks willl have seen their own anger reflected back at them, frozen by the inability to challenge the public’s views, in our hearts we struggle to defend the indefensible. We all know that Britian stands for fairness, a fairness that has been terribly abused by these people.

The solution is to make sure we select people who have that glint in their eye, who earnestly want to do the right thing. Fill the Labour party with individuals, stop the whipping of matters of concience and ideology. It’s not about winning any more, it’s about being right. The public will never forgive us unless we change.