How to make a complete hash of living in the 21st Century

Compass – allegedly the faction for Labour’s soft left – has been running a competition, “How to live in the 21st Century” where it has asked its members to submit policy proposals which will then be voted on by the Compass membership - forming the policy priorities for the organisation to campaign on.

Unfortunately many of the proposals owe rather more to the hard left than the soft, or appear to be the products of the “soft in the head”. The vision of a shiny Compass society that they reveal is truly nightmarish.

Amongst them are:

• “The employment contract (i.e. the wage-earning system) is the Achilles’ heel of the capitalism system”
• A Maximum Wage.
• Bringing back the Poll Tax – seriously “Reform of the domestic council tax based on the number of service users rather than on property size” – justified with the arguments “The poll tax almost worked in Scotland but the collection process was poorly implemented by Thatcher’s Government” and “all minds would be focused on reducing costs”
• “Re-Nationalize the utilities Electric, Gas ,and water”
• “Nationalise all land in the UK”
• “A law that allows people to directly determine, via referenda, important decisions of governance at a local and national level”
• “Anybody detained by the police should either be charged with an offence or released after at most 96 hours.” What, even if they hauled in Osama Bin Laden?
• “Scrap percentage pay rises”
• “England needs powers devolved downwards from Westminster” so that the Tories can wield them presumably!
• “Create a society based on limits to growth, voluntary simplicity, ecological sustainability and fair and just relations between all life-forms.” And where we all live in yurts, happily knitting organic yoghurt.
• Voluntary extra taxation to be spent on the causes the taxpayer wants. Sure to be hugely oversubscribed.
• Restrictions on exchanging Sterling (the author accepts the minor obstacle that this is “not accepted by the IMF”).
• “The bricklayer should be paid the same as the accountant and lawyer.” Argued for with “The collapse of gamblers capitalism means cost is irrelevant, capitalism is finished.” And apparently proven to work because it worked in “Cuba & parts/times of the Soviet Union.”
• “Tax business turnover, not profits”.
• “Tax people on what they consume and take out of the planet not on what they earn and put into it.”
• “Make the twenty-hour week the new full-time.”
• “Provide Everyone with Simple Accommodation and Living Expenses” because then there would be “No pressure to do anything if you don’t want to. Do something interesting and worthwhile only when you are ready to do so.” “If there is no pressure on anyone to do anything that they don’t want to it will change the whole dynamic of society.” It certainly would!
• “Like being called for jury service, electors could be called to observe the workings of their local council.” How to turn people off democracy for ever…
• State-funded Gap Years for 18 year-olds.
• Scrap the UK’s nuclear deterrent.
• “Restrict the pay in public service jobs to 12 times the National Minimum Wage.” So that the public sector loses its entire top staff to the private sector?
• Give offenders a say in running the criminal justice system.

It only needs someone to suggest the creation of a workers’ militia, and Compass will have transformed its policy programme into Militant’s version of Trotsky’s Transitional Demands.

If it wasn’t sad that there are educated adults coming up with this balderdash, it would be hilariously funny.

Luke Akehurst

Comments

[Factcheck]

"it has asked its members to submit policy proposals"

Technically true, but not the whole truth. They opened it up to anyone who wanted to propose an idea, and then Compass members will get to vote on them only at the end.

Obviously, that approach does have the slight flaw that you are open to anyone to post up any kind of mad idea. That said, it's also the approach that the Party has taken with the new LabourSpace website - anyone can go on there and advocate any kind of crazy scheme.

It'll be interesting to see whether these ideas also end up on there...and if so whether you have quite the same attitude to it!

[Miller 2.0]

"“Anybody detained by the police should either be charged with an offence or released after at most 96 hours.” What, even if they hauled in Osama Bin Laden?"

I'm sure it wouldn't be too hard to try to do him for something like, say, terrorism?

[Theo Blackwell]

What about the workers' bomb?

[Cat]

“Re-Nationalize the utilities Electric, Gas ,and water”
Doesn't seem so crazy whilst our New Labour Government has started with the banks...

"Scrap the UK’s nuclear deterrent."
Last year, 72% of the British public did not support the government's plans to replace Trident... again it's hard to see why that seems out of touch with the political mood of the country.

Anyway, I guess the main point is that Compass have opened this ideas-fest to anyone who can be bothered to enter... and that would include Luke Akehurst if he thought his ideas would prove popular?

[Joe]

The website is available to everyone (not just Compass members) therefore these proposals do not reflect any official policy positions of Compass or it's members.

Luke, do you just have a contempt for democracy and open ideas? Yes, some ideas may be unworkable or illogical but thats democracy. Its beggars believe that you cling so closely to such a narrow neo-liberal free market agenda in this current climate.

We need new thinking because more of the same does not work.

[Bobby George]

How is it that the hard right of the Labour party manage to combine their hardcore free market ideology with a massive dose of stalinist centralism. Its people like Akehurst that have presided over the dismemberment of democracy inside the party, he probably supports the use of paid full time officials of the party to harangue and pressure delegates at party conference which in the end led to the abandonment of conference as the democratic sovereign decision making body of the party. Oh thats right, less democracy is more democracy - thats Progress!
If we had been putting forward this kind of 'bottom up' process we would and could have cruised to a 4th term in office, people like to be empowered. What makes you think that people in compass dont also think half these ideas are mad? The idea of a debate and a competition is to whittle them down. To engage with people and come to a consensus by dialogue.
Some of the ideas are actually really exciting, innovative and could lead to a step change in society and politics in the UK - whilst increasing Labours chances of winning the next election. Enough of Akehurstite Stalinism and yes to engaging ordinary people in a democratic debate with a tangible outcome!

[You just haven't thought this through...]

Labour – allegedly the party of Britain’s centre left – has set up a website, LabourSpace, where it has asked its members to submit policy proposals which will then be voted on by the membership - forming the policy priorities for the party to campaign on.

Unfortunately many of the proposals owe rather more to the hard left than the soft, or appear to be the products of the “soft in the head”. The vision of a shiny Labour society that they reveal is truly nightmarish.

Amongst them are:

Scrap the UK's nuclear deterrent
Devolve powers to an English Parliament - so that Tories can wield them, presumably!
All laws to be voted on by national referendum
Open borders - abolish all borders so there is completely free movement of people across state boundaries
Anti-flanmongery rules
Re-nationalise the railways
"Socialist Labour Party"
More investment in pavements
Tax benefits for scooters
Compulsory licensing of window cleaners
Join the EU (?!)

It only needs someone to suggest the creation of a workers’ militia, and Labour will have transformed its policy programme into Militant’s version of Trotsky’s Transitional Demands.

If it wasn’t sad that there are educated adults coming up with this balderdash, it would be hilariously funny.

[Joe]

"It only needs someone to suggest the creation of a workers’ militia, and Labour will have transformed its policy programme into Militant’s version of Trotsky’s Transitional Demands."

Luke, do you ever stop to listen to yourself? These comparisons are either deliberately false and provocative or you really have no idea about left wing analysis or ideology. Which is it?

[Andreas Paterson]

I have said this on your blog as well, one of the ideas (on currency convertability) was mine and I happen to believe that it was a sound one.

So, I ask over on my blog blog, why exactly my idea deserves to beinsulted like this.

http://citizenandreas.blogspot.com/2009/01/glass-of-wine-in-face.html

[Chris paul]

Are you really saying no-one would be able to come up with a charge to hold Osama Bin Laden with Luke? Not within 96 hours?

Seriously, if such a process generates one in five or one in ten or even one in twenty useful ideas then it is worth dealing with the other 4, 9, 19 surely?

And dealing with the ones you don't agree with with ARGUMENTS instead of CARICATURES and INSINUATIONS of insanity, Marxism, really caring about working people etc ... well that might improve your game or raise other useful thoughts even if the specific ideas have no future.

This sort of sectarianism - and that's all it is - should be thrown out of our party. Beating the Tories is the name of the game and bleating about the 75% of the party you'd rather see chucked out doesn't help us do that now does it Luke?

Your "Power To the Correct People!" i.e. Luke and his mates call doesn't do it in a democratic party. Enough of bullying, enough of shenanigans, enough of forcing a line down people's throats.

Dare to dare Luke. Think the unthinkable. Someone else in the party might come up with an idea that is better than one of those ruling your little red roost.