A New Popular Front for Labour?

It is somewhat unusual to say the least for me to agree (mostly) with these similar posts on Socialist Unity and Grimmer Up North. Respective bloggers Andy Newham and Susan Press who I have crossed online swords with in the dim and distance past were unusually sharp and dismissive I thought about some of our comrades on T-h-e L-e-f-t who had turned up to the demo outside the Labour Party conference the other week and who made an absolute spectacle of themselves.

I was a CLP delegate at conference and I was going to come outside and say hello to the marchers (my fellow blogging sad sectarian Dave was suppose to be there to buy me a beer) but I was late getting into Brighton, saw the heaps of placards waiting to be picked up and couldn’t be bothered so I just hurried into the conference hall. So I missed the march which inside conference to my knowledge no one even mentioned.

I have been on mainstream demos in the past were the ultra extremists have simply high jacked it and just p***d absolutely everyone else off with mindless placard sloganism, chanting, postulating and grandstanding. I suspect they really just don’t realise how much damage they do to their creditability and that of the protest they have taken over.

While I don’t generally mind that this sort of behaviour on their own marches since it keeps them as fully paid up members of the lost deposit brigade I do think that this is just another yet own goal in the wider Labour movement. Which is a genuine bloody shame.

I think that the penny is finally beginning to drop and the prospect of a possible Tory Government led by a real right wing Eton Mafiosi is beginning to wake up those who (not Andy or Susan or course) had fallen into lazy and thoughtless anti-Labourism. IMO.

If people genuinely do not want to support the Labour Party during the next few months then I can understand and while I think they are wrong that is their choice. But those who profess to hate the Tories but won’t do anything for Labour “because they are just as bad” I have nothing but scorn. There is no alternative to Labour at this time (and I hope never) so if you support anyone else but Labour or do not vote then really you should go the whole hog and just vote Tory.