Diane Abbott et al.

 Subject: Diane Abbott et al.

When we vote do we invest in our local politician or the party they represent. Do we support the parliamentary manifesto, in other words what the party says it will do irrespective of the fact that many of these objectives will be ditched once in power and the problems arise.

Most parties have their stars or at least the people who seem more charismatic in terms of personality. Boris was such an example, Jeremy Hunt isn’t, yet you wouldn’t trust Boris with your shopping but you might expect to get change from Mr Hunt.

Why do we expect politicians to be entertainers, shouldn’t we be more sure about Rishi Sunak who has held top jobs in banking and sleeps next to one of the richest women in the UK where perhaps even some ‘pillow talk’ might be useful.

On the labour side I’m quite disappointed in Kier Starmer’s intransigence over Diane Abbott and his unwillingness to reinstall the whip and now, the confusion over whether she can stand in a seat for the party. Factionalism is a major problem in today’s Labour Party as the leadership seems fixated on ridding the party of its socialist roots.

Attlee’s labour group in 1947 were a very mixed lot, as was Harold Wilson in 1964. There were many internal ideological differences from the right and the left and it was the strength of the leader which guided the factions to get things done. Tony Blair was perhaps the first to realign the party towards the centre with his famous repudiation of Clause 4 which related to securing for the workers the common ownership of the means of production, distribution and exchange. This brought him into direct competition with the unions and has led to the insecurity of ordinary workers ever since. He was described as ‘Tory Light’ and perfectly fitted the David Cameron street of minimising services and the privatisation of what’s left.

In the centrist guise of political direction, Kier Starmer’s placation to certain ideological and racial cohorts has made him hostage to powerful influences within the party. The car crash of Diana Abbott chastising for her comments regarding juxtaposition her experience as a Black Woman with a Jewish person or an Irish person or the Traveller class was to my mind a perfectly understandable everyday reminder, on the one hand of carrying your ethnicity as your skin colour and apart from the ‘ultras’ is invisible if you are, Jewish, Irish or a Gypsy.

Somehow what seems obvious has become an incontrovertible sin, for which she has paid dearly but I believe was stoked up by the anti socialist faction which has the  print of the Jewish lobby all over it.

Because she was a confidant of Jeremy Corbyn, she fell foul of Starmer and, if this type of ideological assassination is what he stands for then I don’t want any part of it.