Stop Pulling the Wagon

Britains Labour Party suffered a huge defeat in their recent elections.

Paul Embery is a Firefighter, trade union activist, pro-Brexit campaigner and ‘Blue Labour’ thinker. Following the defeat of Labour at the polls he wrote an article titled “Is this the end for Labour?” which is printed on the UnHerd website. For the complete article go to: https://unherd.com/2019/12/is-this-the-end-for-labour/

The article is several pages and much of it is directed at a British audience but it contains a great deal of common sense that should apply to our own Political Parties here in America and I am sharing excerpts from his text below. As you read these excerpts, wherever you see the word “Britain” substitute “United States” in your reading and where you see “Labour” substitute “Democrats or Republicans” (your choice). Similarly, you should substitute “Washington D.C.” for “London”. His words are intelligent, articulate and right on target!

Excerpts from: “Paul Embery – Is This The End For Labour”

“So there we have it. It turns out that the British working-class was not, in the end, willing to throw its weight behind a London-centric, youth-obsessed, middle-class party that preached the gospels of liberal cosmopolitanism and class war. Who’d have thought it?”

“Labour’s meltdown in these places will come as no surprise to anyone who was paying attention and wasn’t blinded by ideology or fanaticism. Some of us had long warned that working-class voters across post-industrial and small-town Britain were becoming increasingly alienated from the party.”

“But the woke liberals and Toytown revolutionaries who now dominate the party didn’t listen to us.”

“They believed that constantly hammering on about economic inequality would be enough to get Labour over the line. In doing so, they made a major miscalculation: they failed to grasp that working-class voters desire something more than just economic security; they want cultural security too.”

“They want politicians to respect their way of life, and their sense of place and belonging; to elevate real-world concepts such as work, family and community over nebulous constructs like ‘diversity’, ‘equality’ and ‘inclusivity’. By immersing itself in the destructive creed of identity politics and championing policies such as open borders, Labour placed itself on a completely different wavelength to millions across provincial Britain without whose support it simply could not win power. In the end, Labour was losing a cultural war that it didn’t even realise it was fighting.”

“Labour must stop treating the traditional working-class as though they were some kind of embarrassing elderly relative. It must learn to respect those who, for example, voted for Brexit, oppose large-scale immigration, want to see a tough and effective justice system, feel proud to be British, support the reassertion of the role of the family at the centre of society, prefer a welfare system to be based around reciprocity – something for something – rather than universal entitlement, believe in the nation state, and do not obsess about multiculturalism or trans rights.”

“Such people were once welcomed by the Labour party and felt entirely comfortable voting for it; but now so many of the party’s activists look upon these voters as if they were a different species altogether.”

“Cliché though it is, Labour stands today at a crossroads.”

“We are witnessing the beginnings of a fundamental realignment in British politics. The old tribalisms are crashing down around us. How Labour responds to this will determine whether it remains a serious political force or is instead destined to become a party of permanent protest.”

End of Excerpts:

If you agree, as I do, with Paul Embery’s words and conclusions as they would apply to the United States at this time, please share (forward, pass on, Tweet, Facebook, or PDF copy) this post with your own elected Representatives as well as your neighbors and friends. I find his logic to be flawless when I compare it with many things happening in our own political climate.

Bob Bandy – December 2019