Won't Get Fooled Again?

Although the ascendancy of Jeremy Corbyn would no doubt be a positive for our archaic and corrupt political system, it seems Labour are beyond hope. Why do they continue to allow their politics to be dictated by the right. The centre ground has shifted so far to the right that we have the sad spectacle of the other leadership candidates arguing against Jeremy because we mustn't upset business.

Here they all, including, sadly, Corbyn, on LBC engaged in a leadership debate. The problem with this is that, again, they are letting the tail wag the dog. Iain Dale, the host, is another tedious right wing attack dog; people like him don't give a toss about the rights of workers and exist only to reinforce that same central position of business, quite literally as usual. He even asks Jeremy why he thinks he's qualified to be PM, asserting that Jez hasn't run a business or a bank or a corporation (a bit like Cameron, Howard, Hague and especially Iain Duncan Sauron). In fact there is a banker in government, Lord Fraud. He wasn't elected, he has no idea of life on benefits and yet is integral to teh creation of hideous policies such as the Bedroom Tax, and the notion that disabled people should be patronised by employers instead of treated well.

By participating in this farce Labour not only allows itself to look like a group of squabbling kids, which is no doubt what Dale and the right wing want from this, but allows the right, through Dale, to dictate the terms of the discussion. As he's the host of the show he has complete control - which is the sad nature of living in a media dominated society - he has the power of the button and can thus control what's said and when. If someone, in this case a prospective labour leader, speaks 'out of turn' he can interrupt and accuse them of being difficult or obtuse. In fact this is what made Jeremy's recent interview with Krishnam Guru Murthy so odious, on C4 news: KGM asked long winded questions that demanded a longer answer than time would allow, by trying to answer Jeremy then runs out of time and looks stupid. Or the question takes so long to ask that only a simple short response can be slotted in; couple this with provocative subject matter (such as perceived support for terrorists) and the interviewee is made to look foolish.

This is what happens when the opposition allows the right to dictate the terms of the debate. This is why I would have counselled against going on LBC. Inevitably, with four labour candidates arguing for the same job, there will be disagreements. This is the very definition of airing your grievances in public. Instead they could have held a private hustings. But their idiotic advisers thought this was a good idea, in a particularly Thick Of It fashion, and so they appear, to a right wing audience (as I imagine Dale has, most radio phone ins seem to) like a bunch of petty schoolkids. This only reinforces the notion that Labour aren't fit to run anything.

What is the logic of a party that claims it opposes austerity appearing on a debate controlled by adherents of austerity?