Wednesday, August 10, 2016

The SDP is not much of a model

I assume that nothing is now going to stop the Corbyn/Momentum group capturing the party machinery and reconstructing the PLP in its own image.

This may be the work of a year or two, but the issue which interests me is .. what then?

Specifically, how stable and durable is the movement which is currently funnelling hundreds of thousands of new members into the party?

My guess is not very. Momentum folk seem to be amateur, lifestyle activists - their involvement in politics faute de mieux. Something else will come along in due course.

I don't think the 'brand loyal' Labour voters, the 21% of the broader electorate, will necessarily stay on board during the forthcoming flight into terrain. Regular, non-PC working folk are being explicitly targeted by Theresa May's new model conservatives but that's a complex project for the Tories - it's eminently contestable.

Trouble is, there are no leading cadres in the Labour party who are even interested.

A clear political programme or manifesto would be a good start.