Compass Executive Elections
Some key quotes from the internal manifestos document for the Executive of Compass, which most innocent by-standers, and the media, think of as a Labour think-tank/faction:
Candidate A: "He was a member of the Labour Party from 1976 to the invasion of Iraq"
Candidate C: "A member of the Labour Party from 1964 to 1999, I currently have no party allegiance." (what happened in 1999?)
Candidate G: "As a political activist and (sometimes reluctant) Labour Party member"
Candidate T: elected as an independent rather than a Labour Party candidate to a very senior position in the National Union of Students within the last couple of years
As an organisation allegedly committed to greater democracy it has come as something of a shock to the member I am in correspondence with that they have been offered the chance to vote by return of email, thereby letting Compass HQ get a full record of exactly which members voted for which candidates.
posted by Luke Akehurst at 2:48 pm
16 Comments:
"what happened in 1999?"
We sent our troops to fight shoulder to shoulder with Al Qaeda against a democratic government.
I imagine if we did that these days the self-proclaimed left would dance in the streets in celebration.
4:30 pm, June 19, 2008
On the other hand this might be an opportunity to data hack "Compass" and discover the perfect list of those who need reducation in some damp and soggy camp in the Celtic fringes !
GW
5:48 pm, June 19, 2008
Luke
You do not have to be a member of the Labour Parry to be a member of The Fabians, indeed you can be a member of another party.
Why are you not attacking them too?
7:43 pm, June 19, 2008
But this is exactly what it is needed - a movement which brings together the democratic liberal left both inside and outside the Labour party.
So many people have resigned and are looking for a political outlet.
The Labour party will never win these people back whilst the Government takes the positions it does
12:02 am, June 20, 2008
Anonymous is incorrect - you can be a Fabian if you are not a Labour Party member, but you can only be a 'Fabian Friend' if you are a member of another party.
12:47 am, June 20, 2008
"But this is exactly what it is needed - a movement which brings together the democratic liberal left both inside and outside the Labour party"
Can't agree. I have disagreed with the Party on a wide range of issues for the last few years, as have many of my significantly more Left-wing friends. But we've stayed, because frankly we want to keep a Labour government, rather than defeat one, and would rather work (slowly and painfully) to change the party's position issue by issue (eg agency workers rights, pension link to earnings) than dismiss the party in one go, and then join an organisation that tries to influence Labour policy, without holding a membership card. "With us, or against us" as they say.
12:58 am, June 20, 2008
"With us, or against us" as they say
Do you think that with your support declining you can afford the luxury of such ideological purity? I am a social liberal but I used to be a staunch Labour voter, because I thought the party shared those principles. I am implacably opposed to the illiberal crap the Labour party has pushed in the last few years. If you want me to vote for you again then you are going to have to show some change on those policies. If not then don't get antsy that I won't vote for you.
9:09 am, June 20, 2008
SO staying in a Labour party which has more in common with Thatcher then Labour ethics is better then seeing a Tory government in power, whats the difference.
10:05 am, June 20, 2008
SO staying in a Labour party which has more in common with Thatcher then Labour ethics is better then seeing a Tory government in power, whats the difference
Quite. I'd like to know what practical policy changes have been effected by these liberals and socialists who have decided to stick with the party, working 'slowly and painfully' for change from the inside? 'Cos from the outside it doesn't seem to me that they've had any effect at all.
10:49 am, June 20, 2008
Which Compass candidate started their statement with the following:
'Compass dares to believe in a maximalist vision of social democracy'
Not quite 'land and freedom' is it.
2:08 pm, June 20, 2008
I'm with Stephen. I think some of you will have to accept that there are many people who were once members of the labour party but now choose not to be.
you can reject them, but that won;t bring them back to the party.
4:57 pm, June 20, 2008
"'With us, or against us' as they say'
Do you think that with your support declining you can afford the luxury of such ideological purity?"
Staying with Labour because you think they're the least worst option is the direct opposite of ideological purity. It's about the pragmatic line you can take.
The people who choose to do so are generally as keen as you to change Labour's policies but are unable to do so, partly because people who agree with them have left the party.
5:54 pm, June 20, 2008
But it made no difference, because the ability for ordinary members to do anything disappeared. So, party membership became little more than a support group for the leadership, or became totally focused on local affairs.
I think the only option for change is the unions telling Brown to go, then enforcing reform on the party in terms of the way it operates. Unfortunately, there isn't any other mechanism left. Who pays the piper will have to call the tune
12:10 am, June 21, 2008
"Anonymous is incorrect - you can be a Fabian if you are not a Labour Party member, but you can only be a 'Fabian Friend' if you are a member of another party."
Is anyone here a member of another party (apart from the co-op)?
3:06 am, June 21, 2008
"I think the only option for change is the unions telling Brown to go, then enforcing reform on the party in terms of the way it operates. Unfortunately, there isn't any other mechanism left. Who pays the piper will have to call the tune"
Well, I await Warwick II.
It's not all about Compass, you know. ;o)
3:08 am, June 21, 2008
"I think the only option for change is the unions telling Brown to go, then enforcing reform on the party in terms of the way it operates."
The unions may or may not want Brown to go but I think it's highly unlikely that any of the major unions are keen to change the way the Party operates.
12:07 pm, June 21, 2008
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