Two thoughts prompted by it being election day. Firstly, there are more floating voters in this country than is usually recognised. On the left (broadly defined) are millions who will vote for something other than Labour if they feel the alternative is credible and if such a vote can make a difference. On the right (broadly defined) it is possible for UKIP to get a hell of a lot of votes. The last 4 years have shown how small the Lib Dems solid electoral base really is. The Tories and Labour may have larger numbers who are dedicated to voting them, but not as many as is often assumed. And the long-term decline in those two parties memberships (especially the Tories) is profound. Secondly, Labour commands almost no genuine positive enthusiasm but at the same time the electoral system (plus small size and fragmentation of the left) means that a left-of-Labour challenge is almost impossible. The Greens are the only vaguely credible electoral machine to the left of the Labour leadership. Even left-wing voters will tend to vote Labour in first-past-the-post elections either to keep a Tory or Lib Dem out or because they simply dont see a left candidate as credible. What all this means is that prospects for electoral politics are somewhat poorer, from a left-wing perspective, than normally acknowledged. I dont mean this as a counsel of despair - I dont look to electoral politics as the main way to achieve social change - but merely as a reality check.
Posted on: Thu, 22 May 2014 18:46:36 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015