A blog by Luke Akehurst about politics, elections, and the Labour Party - With subtitles for the Hard of Left.
Just for the record: all the views expressed here are entirely personal and do not necessarily represent the positions of any organisations I am a member of.
I think you're being a little silly again Luke. You don't need to be a Compass member to post a submission in any case - and since when was people getting excited about a political idea, however stupid, a bad thing? (Provided it doesn't get implemented, which it won't, so who cares?) And some of those ideas were very good anyway: is renationalising the utilities really 'nightmarish'? And your opposition to referenda and devolution, though perhaps justified, is hardly a great moral crusade, is it? And wasn't your hero Neil Kinnock a fan of the maximum wage anyway? Time to grow up a little.
"“England needs powers devolved downwards from Westminster” so that the Tories can wield them presumably!"
Or Hackney Councillors.
Fairly at ease with higher taxes on consumption and lower taxes on production, too. As an economy we're in a complete mess because for decades we've consumed too much and produced too little, so if people won't change that behaviour out of sense, encouraging them out of financial self-interest is wise.
Well, obviously you're politically opposed to all of these but I think in amongst the genuinely mad - “Tax business turnover, not profits" - there's quite a lot that are worth considering in part.
For example this: “Restrict the pay in public service jobs to 12 times the National Minimum Wage.”
You reckon the result would be: "the public sector loses its entire top staff to the private sector?"
12 times the minimum wage is over £120,000 per year. Maybe there are reasons why public sector managers should get a lot more than this but I think it's a case to government should at least be asked to make.
“Re-Nationalize the utilities Electric, Gas ,and water”
I'm dubious about whether straight nationalisation but there's clearly some big issues regarding regulating the utilities in the interests of people who used them.
There's a very strong case for a publicly owned energy provider, if not one with a monopoly.
Just glancing at LabourSpace, I see the following ‘campaign’
UK to join EU
“This campaign is about what peoples opinions are on joining europe or not is a great idea to find what peaples opinions are on joining europe but if they oppose it this country will never get to go forward.”
There are also campaigns to scrap trident, renationalise the railways (which is one of the best supported), introduce direct democracy, indeed many of the ideas you dismiss as balmy when posted on a Compass site. By your logic the whole Labour Party is going soft in the head.
Thank goodness we are learning the lessons of the Obama campaign, one of which is that you have to interact with your supporters and give their views a respectful hearing even when you disagree. If you look at Labour List, you will see that even Peter Mandelson says that the ‘era of command and control’ is over.
Perhaps you’re just bitter that Compass did it first!
Fairly at ease with higher taxes on consumption and lower taxes on production, too
That'll certainly go down well amongst the parasites of the square mile, which appears to be the constituency that the Labour party is most interested in feting. One has become used to the sight of Labour supporters advocating Tory solutions. Ever heard of progressive taxation?
12 times the minimum wage is over £120,000 per year. Maybe there are reasons why public sector managers should get a lot more than this but I think it's a case to government should at least be asked to make
Absolutely. There are large management jobs in the public that would certainly command substantially more that £120K if in the private sector. Perhaps the government should make the process by which such salaries are determined more transparent. The public have a right to know why a certain public sector job pays the salary it does. There is a lot of ill-informed criticism of salaries in the public sector. I doubt that transparency would shut up the halfwits who think it is 'immoral' to pay large salaries out of public money but it might reduce criticism from sensible people.
From ideas imaginative government grows - which New Labour have, sadly, forgotten. Hence the state they are in at the moment.
Given that a Tory government is now all but certain, at least someone is doing some thinking for the future now that New Labour is essentially finished.
Stephen yes, I have heard of progressive taxation. Ever heard of the fact that essentials are exempt from consumption taxes, or low-rated? Ever looked at LSE research and seen that the rich pay a higher percentage of their income in VAT than the poor?
Cut the basic rate of income tax, increase personal allowances, and raises taxes on Bentleys, Plasma TVs, holiday homes, yachts, items of clothing costing over £500, etc...
"'Just glancing at LabourSpace, I see the following ‘campaign’
UK to join EU
“This campaign is about what peoples opinions are on joining europe or not"
You know what it's like, you start typing something on a typewriter in the early 1970s, you get distracted then suddenly, 30-odd years later you've finally got it written how you want it and suddenly you've got your own PC and there's this thing called the internet to put it up on, too. Must be quite exciting.
Luke's far better at denouncing others' ideas in his customary sectarian factional fashion than coming up with any of his own.
He may not have noticed that the light touch 'intensely relaxed about people getting filthy rich', fellate-the-City dogma his wing of the Party has championed has kind of hit the wall, but most of the rest of Britain has.
If you really want to see how disaffected Labour supporters have become then I suggest you see reaction to Jon Cruddas's recent attack on the BNP in the CiF section of the Guardian.
He gets a kicking. There's no working class poster on this site. It's the middle classes beginning to feel swamped by immigration.
Never mind, keep dumping the crap on those poor bastards in Hackney, Luke.
The privatised companies are paying 10x times more for EC's and collecting more than 5.2 in subsidies than the Nationalised companies ever had-Yet these privateers are paying out dividends to shareholders and collecting massive profits! Both Labour and the Tories have stupid policies of political dogma supporting privatisation!
I think you're being a little silly again Luke. You don't need to be a Compass member to post a submission in any case - and since when was people getting excited about a political idea, however stupid, a bad thing? (Provided it doesn't get implemented, which it won't, so who cares?) And some of those ideas were very good anyway: is renationalising the utilities really 'nightmarish'? And your opposition to referenda and devolution, though perhaps justified, is hardly a great moral crusade, is it? And wasn't your hero Neil Kinnock a fan of the maximum wage anyway? Time to grow up a little.
ReplyDeleteNo mention of nationalising banks though!
ReplyDelete"“England needs powers devolved downwards from Westminster” so that the Tories can wield them presumably!"
ReplyDeleteOr Hackney Councillors.
Fairly at ease with higher taxes on consumption and lower taxes on production, too. As an economy we're in a complete mess because for decades we've consumed too much and produced too little, so if people won't change that behaviour out of sense, encouraging them out of financial self-interest is wise.
Or nationalising rail.
ReplyDeleteIf you want to back that particular campaign, check out LabourSpace. ;o)
They left out the workers' bomb...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.marxists.org/archive/hallas/works/1980/12/workersbomb.htm
Time for a comeback?
Well, obviously you're politically opposed to all of these but I think in amongst the genuinely mad - “Tax business turnover, not profits" - there's quite a lot that are worth considering in part.
ReplyDeleteFor example this:
“Restrict the pay in public service jobs to 12 times the National Minimum Wage.”
You reckon the result would be: "the public sector loses its entire top staff to the private sector?"
12 times the minimum wage is over £120,000 per year. Maybe there are reasons why public sector managers should get a lot more than this but I think it's a case to government should at least be asked to make.
“Re-Nationalize the utilities Electric, Gas ,and water”
I'm dubious about whether straight nationalisation but there's clearly some big issues regarding regulating the utilities in the interests of people who used them.
There's a very strong case for a publicly owned energy provider, if not one with a monopoly.
Just glancing at LabourSpace, I see the following ‘campaign’
ReplyDeleteUK to join EU
“This campaign is about what peoples opinions are on joining europe or not is
a great idea to find what peaples opinions are on joining europe but if they oppose it
this country will never get to go forward.”
There are also campaigns to scrap trident, renationalise the railways (which is one of the best supported), introduce direct democracy, indeed many of the ideas you dismiss as balmy when posted on a Compass site. By your logic the whole Labour Party is going soft in the head.
Thank goodness we are learning the lessons of the Obama campaign, one of which is that you have to interact with your supporters and give their views a respectful hearing even when you disagree. If you look at Labour List, you will see that even Peter Mandelson says that the ‘era of command and control’ is over.
Perhaps you’re just bitter that Compass did it first!
Fairly at ease with higher taxes on consumption and lower taxes on production, too
ReplyDeleteThat'll certainly go down well amongst the parasites of the square mile, which appears to be the constituency that the Labour party is most interested in feting. One has become used to the sight of Labour supporters advocating Tory solutions. Ever heard of progressive taxation?
12 times the minimum wage is over £120,000 per year. Maybe there are reasons why public sector managers should get a lot more than this but I think it's a case to government should at least be asked to make
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely. There are large management jobs in the public that would certainly command substantially more that £120K if in the private sector. Perhaps the government should make the process by which such salaries are determined more transparent. The public have a right to know why a certain public sector job pays the salary it does. There is a lot of ill-informed criticism of salaries in the public sector. I doubt that transparency would shut up the halfwits who think it is 'immoral' to pay large salaries out of public money but it might reduce criticism from sensible people.
From ideas imaginative government grows - which New Labour have, sadly, forgotten. Hence the state they are in at the moment.
ReplyDeleteGiven that a Tory government is now all but certain, at least someone is doing some thinking for the future now that New Labour is essentially finished.
Stephen yes, I have heard of progressive taxation. Ever heard of the fact that essentials are exempt from consumption taxes, or low-rated? Ever looked at LSE research and seen that the rich pay a higher percentage of their income in VAT than the poor?
ReplyDeleteCut the basic rate of income tax, increase personal allowances, and raises taxes on Bentleys, Plasma TVs, holiday homes, yachts, items of clothing costing over £500, etc...
See, progressive.
"'Just glancing at LabourSpace, I see the following ‘campaign’
ReplyDeleteUK to join EU
“This campaign is about what peoples opinions are on joining europe or not"
You know what it's like, you start typing something on a typewriter in the early 1970s, you get distracted then suddenly, 30-odd years later you've finally got it written how you want it and suddenly you've got your own PC and there's this thing called the internet to put it up on, too. Must be quite exciting.
Luke's far better at denouncing others' ideas in his customary sectarian factional fashion than coming up with any of his own.
ReplyDeleteHe may not have noticed that the light touch 'intensely relaxed about people getting filthy rich', fellate-the-City dogma his wing of the Party has championed has kind of hit the wall, but most of the rest of Britain has.
Ever looked at LSE research and seen that the rich pay a higher percentage of their income in VAT than the poor?
ReplyDeleteStrange how most other studies conclude the opposite. How come you didn't believe the LSE when it told you that your ID Card scheme was pants?
"Strange how most other studies conclude the opposite"
ReplyDeleteName some. Poor people spend most of their money on rent and food, which aren't subject to VAT.
If you really want to see how disaffected Labour supporters have become then I suggest you see reaction to Jon Cruddas's recent attack on the BNP in the CiF section of the Guardian.
ReplyDeleteHe gets a kicking. There's no working class poster on this site. It's the middle classes beginning to feel swamped by immigration.
Never mind, keep dumping the crap on those poor bastards in Hackney, Luke.
Luke, one of the ideas (on currency convertability) was mine and I happen to believe that it was a sound one.
ReplyDeleteSo, I ask over on my blog, why exactly my idea deserves to be insulted.
I await your reply.
The privatised companies are paying 10x times more for EC's and collecting more than 5.2 in subsidies than the Nationalised companies ever had-Yet these privateers are paying out dividends to shareholders and collecting massive profits! Both Labour and the Tories have stupid policies of political dogma supporting privatisation!
ReplyDelete