Guardian columnist Nesrine Malik has a to the point piece (3rd June) on why Labour’s Great Moving Right Show means that numbers no longer feel obliged to vote Labour at the Election. One impact which the bourgeois media is already noticing (Times Editorial 3rd June) is the potential for a low turnout.
There are of course still reasons for voting Labour. Firstly because in a First Past the Post electoral system its the only way to eject the Tories from Office. The moment of change can lead in unanticipated directions. Secondly because despite the best efforts of the Starmerites there remain some decent Labour candidates on the ballot. Thirdly because Labour offers something the Tories never will which is more rights in the workplace. Of course as in 1997 what this ends up looking like will be modest, but even small differences matter to those at the bottom of society.
Beyond that there will be a range of left independent candidates in a limited number of Constituencies including my own of Tottenham. A focus rightly so is Labour’s disgraceful position on Gaza and Palestine.
There is another perspective. While using the vote to get the Tories out remains important,until 1928 not everone had the vote. It was extended incrementally over almost a century from 1832. What did radicals and the left do then? They looked at pressure from without. Namely electing not the lesser of two evils but one or other party, the Liberals (after 1859) or the Tories. Which Party in Government could be pushed by protest to carry measures helpful to those without the vote.
Actually quite a few measures were passed in the second half of the nineteenth century which made a difference for the better for the voteless. This was achieved not by altruism but by organised protest. It was also unpredictable. Helpful change was as likely to come from a Tory as a Liberal Government. It depended on the precise context of the moment and of those wanting change grasping how to exploit it.
So on July 4th vote certainly to get the Tories out, but focus on the task ahead. Building organisation to make the new Government do something useful for the many not the few
Leave a Reply