So, what do you make of it?
New Labour have been obliterated. They're finished. It's over. There's no point thinking they're anything other than destroyed. While many other centre-right Government parties in Europe held their votes despite the economic crisis, New Labour have been taken to the cleaners.
After years of targeting wavering Tory voters to try and fight for the few thousand swing votes needed to take a general election, taking for granted the millions who traditionally voted Labour because they believed it was the right thing to do, New Labour have seen it all come home to them. As soon as the Tories have got their act together and come up with a half-decent presentation - albeit without any actual policies or principles other than making Dave Cameron's extremely rich mates pay even less tax than they do already - those wavering voters have gone back to where their natural instincts probably were.
New Labour moved further and further to the right, and couldn't understand why its vote fell off a cliff. For years they had just assumed that Labour voters had the blind loyalty of football fans and would simply turn out and put an X next to the Labour candidate, regardless of what he or she actually stood for. This treating of real supporters with contempt can be seen in Labour's destruction at the polls. What's a good enough reason to vote Labour? Don't they just want the same things as the Tories - who seem a bit more competent and less tainted by the mistakes of the past 10-11 years?
Why bother voting for Labour? They don't listen. They don't care. They treat you with complete and utter disregard. When they wanted to go to war, they didn't care that it wasn't what the people wanted - in particular, their core voters. They couldn't care less. They wanted war, so voters were ignored, and traditional Labour voters were patted on the head and patronisingly told that this spivvy bunch of pompadoured barristers knew what was best for them, and that they should shut up and let the clever people get on with Government. And now they wonder why those voters didn't turn up when the party really needed them. They shouldn't wonder.
Labour have made the country a worse place. Sure, their die-hard supporters, clinging to the wreckage this morning, will point to things like the minimum wage, but it's not enough. The gap between rich and poor has got wider, under a Labour Government. The country has gone to war against the will of its people, under a Labour Government. The political class has decided to assault the freedoms and liberties of the people as part of its 'war on terror', under a Labour Government. Citizens have been tortured, under a Labour Government. The Minister for immigration has sounded like a hard-right attack dog, under a Labour Government - and yet this morning they will be wondering why so many have voted for the fascists of the BNP and the anti-immigration UKIP.
And that's the other story - that so many people have voted for hatred, prejudice, racism and fear. Look at the figures and it seems that the extreme right vote has merely held up in certain areas of the country while other voters haven't bothered to turn up, but whatever the reason, we woke up this morning to two BNP MEPs. That means more money for the BNP, more momentum they can take into future elections, and more legitimisation for a bunch of thugs whose policies are a sick joke. It means the fight against them has to go on, and get stronger. It's not an argument for first-past-the-post; it's an argument for the other parties giving a shit about the electorate and actually coming up with decent policies. You don't need to pander to the far-right to see them off at the ballot box; there's no way you can make racists suddenly see the error of their ways. What you have to do is try to ensure that the vast majority of the population have somewhere to put an X that they feel happy with. That's what New Labour have failed to do.
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Hello. I'm a Bristol-based writer and soon-to-be-redundant journalist. You can read more about me and the Enemies site here, or follow me on Twitter. Email me if you like - antonvowl at live dot co dot uk
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June 8th, 2009 - 12:22
Main stream politicians have to take a very hard look at themselves and how they have dealt with the threat from the BNP. They have been stupid to the point of negligence and need to change their ways at once.
However I am hesitant to land the blame solely on them, or even in conjnuction with the press. Both must take a large share of the blame. So, however, must every individual that walked into a polling booth and of their own volition put an x next to the name of the BNP candidate.
No one forced them to do it. And in doing so they voted to justify the rape of every woman who happens to be married by their husband, a lessor known BNP policy but one which I think just as disgusting and shocking, if not more so, than their race agenda. They voted to allow that level of violence against their Mothers, sisters, wives, partners, aunts, cousins, grand mothers, friends, colleagues and acquiantances.
I don't care how angry you are with main stream politicians or how pig ignorant you are of their policies, you have to accept personal responsibility for what you do with your own vote. Not all BNP voters are racist or misoginistic but those that aren't are un mitigated fools.
June 8th, 2009 - 13:09
Nice post.
That argument about people treating political parties like football teams is something I've been musing on for a while. Yes, it's very difficult to vote for the 'other' team, but it's not difficult like buying a Man U season ticket would be, especially when what you might consider your team seems to have decided that your support is no longer important to them, something no football club would be stupid enough to do.
So there we are. Labour politicians = more stupid than Premier League club chairmen.
June 8th, 2009 - 16:24
I wasn’t particularly happy about voting Labour. But I managed to hold my nose and do it, because I thought their European policies were decent and I didn’t want to allow Britain’s interests in Europe to be represented by Eurosceptics and the far-right. It wasn’t a very easy decision. But that’s politics for you.
For lots of other liberal-minded people, however, things seem much more clear-cut. It’s not about policies or who’s running things in Europe. It’s simply about punishing Labour. They’re so blinded by rage over expenses, or the war, or other issues that have nothing to do with Europe, that they’d sooner allow extremists in through the back door than pass up the chance to see Labour get a kicking. Above all, they want to “send a message”.
They certainly succeeded. That message will be delivered directly to the European Parliament, by members of the BNP.
We get the politicians we deserve.