Shuddering to a halt

In the 1890s and 1900s a vast new party was created in Britain called the Labour Party. Oh no - I hear you shout. Been there; done that. But bear with me.

Gorgeous George and many others say the labour Party's origins lie in the mass working class movement of the day. And now the LP has 'gone over' to the enemy. In reality the LP always stood (albeit uneasily) on two foundation stones. One was a huge organised workers movement (although unionised workers were still a minority). The other was the Imperial heyday.  Some of us are (barely) old enough to remember the Falklands War. In 1900 Britain conducted a major war in South Africa, successfully, and still had a navy twice the size of the US and German fleets put together. Britain's rulers could make huge and lasting concessions to their working class (albeit reluctantly) based on its export of slave-like conditions and social turmoil to its Empire. And that was the shared premise of most Trade Union and Labour Party leadership politics of the time - and later. More often than not, and not surprisingly, these concessions were sought by Labour leaders under the  banner of 'the nation' or the 'national interest.'

Both foundation stones have crumbled to ruins. Bodies like the TUC are cartoons of their former selves. The Empire has been flushed away by a century long anti-colonial revolution. Consequently Labour leaders have narrowed the concessions they seek on behalf of 'hard working families' and more and more desperately sought a new social base. New Labour was simply the announcement that a new base had been discovered, in the rising numbers of the self-employed, among the enormous state sector of  professionals (etc) and in the South (of England.) The working class, post industrial and with its unions hammered into their last bunkers, were 'ancient history.'

Today, the two main parties in British politics account for less than half of the voting population (down from more than 80% after WW2.) 16% - in General Elections - more in others - vote for small parties. And the rest don't vote at all. When people say about the big parties, in disgust, that they are all the same, they are stating an absolutely profound political truth. So there.

But, moans the Guardian, that is surely not enough? Certainly. But this fundamental truth, hard won by the people, is and remains the starting point for all political wisdom on the left of politics in Britain for the foreseeable future.

I have an itch to talk about what this means. Sadly (typically I suppose) I do not believe that what there is of a debate about the collapse of the LP - at least among those who call themselves left - has got very far (despite the burbling about social media and new radical forces, Arab springs etc.)

But you'll all have to wait (a bit) while I do a check on what everybody is saying about this, if at all, before frightening those angels.