Labour's Love Lost

I have not blogged for a while and the reasons are (1) a trip to Switzerland (2) a virus that laid me low for a couple weeks and (3) loss of my Internet connection (along with land line and cable TV) - now fixed. I hope to blog more often in future.

In a past blog I mused whether Labour would tear itself apart after defeat as happened in the 80s. It seems this is happening and there are parallels in that they are looking back and asking what they should have done when in power or trying to justify past decisions. Mandelson's and Blair's books are adding fuel to the flames of fratricidal warfare. Leaving out the personality clashes between Brown and others, let's look at the arguments.

On the Blairite side, we have Blair stating that he could not deviate '1 millimeter' from New Labour. I can understand why Blair and Mandelson felt prior to 1997 that they had to move the party to the right. They had lost 4 elections and left-wing politics do not play well in the parts of 'Middle England' they had to win to form a government. They were playing it safe. In hindsight, Labour were going to win in 1997 even if they had repeated their 1992 stance; it is just that the majority would have been smaller. Short of utter incompetance or total sleaze in their 1st term they were going to win in 2001 - the economy was doing well. They could have moved somewhat to the left and stayed in power but chose not to do so. 2005 is more difficult to call, but if they had stayed out of Iraq, the they might have won again even with a more social democratic agenda.

Brown has yet to show his hand in the debate, but on the left there are those to will argue that had Labour been more left wing they could have held on in 2010. Now, this election was decided by the swing in England. Did the English vote Tory to punish Labour for not being left wing enough? Well, this was exactly the kind of nonsense touted in the 80's for the 1979 defeat. They lost because the economy went pear shaped and the English did not like Brown.

Of course, Scotland was prepared to vote Labour in large measure in 1992 as well as 1987, 1983, 1979 - need I go on? So what are the Scottish Labour Party to do? Well, as unionists they have two options: either remain centerist to keep the English happy or stick to their left-leaning inclinations and remain in opposition for a generation. There is a third option: a social democratic Scotland and a centre-right England. It would suit both nations but they can't consider that because, well, they are unionists.