Denis Skinner, on his Twitter site, helpfully says this morning: "If Labour says it won't reverse the cuts and will spend the same as the Tories, what's the point of Labour?"
If even veteran Labour MPs are beginning to doubt whether the Labour party has any distinct identity or purpose surely this must indicate a serious problem for the left.
Is it however a problem of communication (Labour has all the policy initiatives in place but has not communicated them properly)? Or is it a problem of content (there is nothing to communicate in the first place and the Labour front bench are just playing "me too" with the Tories)? On the whole I think it is a problem of communication.
The hard left might jeer at "Zen socialism" but as a brand identity it beats Blue Labour or Red in Tooth and Claw Socialism (I made the last one up, probably the hard left would choose an unimaginative name like The People's Socialism). I would see Zen Socialism as being a gentler more unthreatening version of socialism, gaining its authority, identity and authenticity from small scale co-operatives, local trusts and charities, constituency memberships and study groups. The difficulty is that a rebuild-from-the-bottom-up exercise of this kind takes time, which is why Ed Miliband is being continually urged to get a move on.
Denis Skinner of course would like a return to nationalisation of the means of production, distribution and exchange.
If even veteran Labour MPs are beginning to doubt whether the Labour party has any distinct identity or purpose surely this must indicate a serious problem for the left.
Is it however a problem of communication (Labour has all the policy initiatives in place but has not communicated them properly)? Or is it a problem of content (there is nothing to communicate in the first place and the Labour front bench are just playing "me too" with the Tories)? On the whole I think it is a problem of communication.
The hard left might jeer at "Zen socialism" but as a brand identity it beats Blue Labour or Red in Tooth and Claw Socialism (I made the last one up, probably the hard left would choose an unimaginative name like The People's Socialism). I would see Zen Socialism as being a gentler more unthreatening version of socialism, gaining its authority, identity and authenticity from small scale co-operatives, local trusts and charities, constituency memberships and study groups. The difficulty is that a rebuild-from-the-bottom-up exercise of this kind takes time, which is why Ed Miliband is being continually urged to get a move on.
Denis Skinner of course would like a return to nationalisation of the means of production, distribution and exchange.
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