The Progressive

Hardliners not impressed with Cameron's pledges on the EU

Cameron just can't win with the die-hards in his party. He tells them that he'll bring in a 'Sovereignty Bill' (without explaining just how this will overturn two decades of European law taking sovereignty since the 1989 Factortame case), but the Europe haters still aren't satisfied!

Another press release from the spluttering Bruges Group:

"Barry Legg, Co-Chairman of the Bruges Group and former Chief Executive of the Conservative Party, issued the following statement in response to David Cameron’s post-Lisbon press conference:

“David Cameron has said ‘never again!’ will now be the hallmark of his European policy. Anyone listening to his press conference can only conclude that it’s ‘yet again’.

“Yet again a British politician has broken his promises on Europe. Yet again a would-be Prime Minister has promised us that if we elect him, everything is going to be different. And yet again, not one plausible detail is offered as to why.

“Having failed to deliver on his promise to oppose Lisbon in office, David Cameron now promises to oppose future treaties transferring power. The whole point of Lisbon is that it does away with such treaties in future. Does David Cameron really not understand this, or is he again trying to play games with words?

“If we take seriously what David Cameron now pledges, he says he means to equip Britain with the same defences against European federalism those two famed bulwarks against European integration, the German and Irish governments, are content with. Even if he actually passed into law a United Kingdom Sovereignty Act, the very fact that such a bill would already be complaint with existing European law proves that it would do nothing to improve Britain’s relationship with the EU.

“David Cameron very foolishly lectures us on ‘trust’. He says that ‘what people want from their politicians is some straight talk and plain speaking’. Yet what has David Cameron done? Far from setting out plainly before the British people what he would do in the event of Czech ratification of Lisbon, he steadfastly refused to. No matter how humiliating the empty formula of just wait and see became for Tory spokesmen bumbling in front of reporters, David Cameron wouldn’t let William Hague or anyone else admit what Tory policy would be once President Klaus was forced to give way. We can now all see why.

“Worse still, David Cameron refuses to say how he’ll able to convince every single other EU state to agree to hand back powers to Britain. He refuses to say what he’ll do if they don’t. He refuses to say what timescale he is working to. He refuses to say what he expects to give up in negotiations. Or does he take us for fools? Does he seriously expect us to believe, in defiance of every single precedent, we’ll get everything we want and won’t have to give up anything? Even Margaret Thatcher couldn’t do that. And David Cameron is no Margaret Thatcher.

“Never mind the prospect of grassroots Tory resentment of David Cameron breaking his word risking ‘five more years of Brown’. With Prime Minister Cameron, we can be quite resigned to ‘thirty more years of the same’ as far as the EU is concerned. With his contemptuous surrender, David Cameron has provided Brussels with the icing on the Lisbon cake. They have nothing to fear from this man and they know it”.

As the French right-wing turn on the Tories labelling them 'pathetic', you wonder exactly who does support Cameron's European policy?

Long live ‘Cool Britannia’?

On Monday Rt Hon Ben Bradshaw MP, Secretary of State for Culture Media and Sport, was the fifth speaker in Progresses New Thinking for Britain's Next Decade Lecture series.

Bradshaw’s speech ‘Don’t risk loosing Cool Britannia’ issued a warning that the cultural and sporting renaissance enjoyed under Labour would be put at risk under a Tory government. He explained that under previous Tory administrations that access to cultural and sporting facilities were the preserve of the rich and there was no interest on the part of a Tory government to continue with the investment, and the ‘at arms length’ policy that this government has operated which has allowed culture to flourish and Britain’s present sporting success. He stated that we need access to achieve excellence, access that the Labour government has provided, and access that a Tory government would not allow.

During the question and answer session the culture secretary set out his views on the future of funding for the BBC and regional programming on commercial channels, as well as his views on the Tory proposals on the licence fee the media regulator Ofcom, and Boris Johnson’s proposed appointment to the London Arts Council.

Should the BBC be involved in rating wars? – The former BBC journalist said that the problem is that the BBC like any media institution needs to compete for viewers. However he stated that this should not be done to the determent of quality of programming. Commenting on the proposal by Greg Dyke to scrap the licence fee and replace it with a BBC tax, Bradshaw says that this would blur the lines of perception of independence of the BBC, which is imperative. He also stated that the licence fee served to protect the BBC from politics, and to a certain extent politicians from themselves. He said that now mid way through a licence fee term is not the time to look at the restructuring of the BBC’s system of governance, as it is irresponsible to do so due to the speed at which the media changes. We should look at it when the charter is up for re negotiation so that a proper and informed debate can happen, with the downturn in advertising revenue he said could not out rule the possibility of establishing Public Service Broadcasting Trust.

Regarding Boris Johnson recent attempt to appoint as chair of the London Arts Council Veronica Wadley, the former editor of the Evening Standard, the culture secretary assured the audience that he had blocked the appointment. Bradshaw stated that Boris Johnson had asked him to re advertise the job as it would be entirely improper and in clear violation of the Nolan rules.

What are the biggest threats to Britain Cultural renaissance? – Bradshaw said that he believed one of the biggest threats to this cultural and sporting renaissance that we are experiencing is the Tory threats to Of Com, which he points out, are very confused. David Cameron said that he wished to scrap the regulator, where as Jeremy Hunt said that the Tories did not wish to completely scrap the regulator merely cut it down. The culture secretary warned that any steps to reduce the regulator would be detrimental; Ofcom is seen as a model regulator for the digital age throughout the world. Another key threat to this cultural renaissance is the Tories presumed policy of axing the governments ‘at arms length’ policy when dealing with media and cultural aspects.

Bradshaw ended the question and answer session by re iterating the main theme of his speech that we cannot allow the Tories to come back and destroy everything this government has done to promote culture media and sport.

Ban Blair baiting

Blair-bashing is in full spate again, initially triggered by the setting up of the Iraq inquiry but more recently by Tony Blair’s possible bid for the EU Presidency.

Anti-war columnists have resumed dipping their pens into that special phial of vitriol reserved for our former leader and no utterance on these topics can be made without a torrent of abusive comments about the man following in its wake. The intensity and persistence of the loathing is almost pathological with repeated calls being made for Blair to be hung at the Hague, tortured, assassinated, or consigned to Hell. As is the way with the deranged, the commentors (mainly at the Guardian’s Cif site) do not seem to get bored with saying the same things over and over again.. .

It now looks like this hate campaign (orchestrated largely in this country) has frightened off some of Blair’s friends in Europe and with the Iraq inquiry due to start in earnest towards the end of this month the Blair-bashers will soon be turning their attention to it again  to land the fatal blow against Blair’s political career.

Every piece of evidence submitted will be carefully scrutinised for anything that can prove Blair was wrong. . Every scrap of damaging material will be inflated and, dare I say, sexed-up to fit their “Get Blair” agenda.  Newspapers, broadcasting channels, and bloggers will be competing with each other to discover the “smoking gun” that will finally ruin Blair’s reputation. And there will be no question of waiting for the Inquiry’s verdict before they deliver their verdict.

It was this scenario that prompted a group of fair-minded people to set up an online petition with the catchy title, BAN BLAIR-BAITING.

As it says in the preamble
 
“Bear-baiting, whereby a tethered bear was attacked by a pack of dogs, was outlawed in this country in 1835. It is now time to stop BLAIR-baiting, i.e. attacks on our former Prime Minister by the dogs of anti-war. Less metaphorically it can be defined as the constant incitement of hatred against Tony Blair for taking us to war in Iraq.”

The preamble then points out that many people are already calling for the inquiry to be a trial of Tony Blair’s so called war crimes “except that unlike a normal trial Tony Blair has been presumed to be guilty in advance” and suggests that those who take this view should follow the same rules as a trial and stay silent until the outcome of “the trial” is known.

The petition itself reads as follows

“We, the undersigned agree that Blair-baiting should NOT be allowed to prejudice the outcome of the Iraq war inquiry. We therefore call upon the media and other interested parties to refrain from such activity for the duration of the inquiry.”

It has already attracted the signatures of John Rentoul (who has also blogged on it for the Independent), Oliver Kamm, Tom Harris MP and Sedgefield’s Paul Trippett and John Burtonl.  It has also been signed by people from all over the world. Some of their associated comments have been quite moving.

Here’s a couple from Iraq

“When Saddam’s people came to our village a nightmare became reality. Today ,my country is a changed place. But please do not leave us to the mercy of the suicide bombers. They are not true Iraqis or true Muslims. We are not ready for you to go yet. Not yet.”
“I am and my family are deeply grateful for the salvation from
Saddam’s terror by Mr.Blair. I don’t understand why so many people attack him.He only
wanted to help .He did not tell lies. Saddam’s regime was as terrific(horrfic??) as explained by Mr. Blair. It is easy for people living in the West to criticise. They don’t have to live here and don’t get killed by terrorists.”

from Afghanistan

“Our enemy is not Tony Blair but the Taleban”  

From Bulgaria

“Mr Blair you are a true leader. You have stepped forth when all others have stepped back.”

from the USA

“No witchhunt!”

from Uganda

“Why are all eyes on Tony’s failures and no eyes on his achievements all over the world?”

from Ireland

“He should not be at the Hague but at Stockholm receiving the Nobel Prize for what he achieved in Northern Ireland”

from Iran

“I wish he was still in power and could help MY country. It is good to know that not all Western leaders are looking away but that some take actions. Be proud of your former PM, Brits”

If you agree that whatever the perceived faults of our former Prime Minister, Blair-baiting should play no part in the coverage of the Iraq inquiry  then I urge you to stand up and be counted by signing the petition. Should you be worried about possible “repercussions” please bear in mind that you can sign anonymously and that your email address will not be shown.

PS To those who are poised to send in the usual Blair-baiting responses I say, don’t bother, you will only be proving my point.

Stan Rosenthal is a member of Progress

Tories in a tizz over Europe

So the Tories have got themselves in a tizz about Europe once again. They want to re-negotiate Britain's membership of the EU and Cameron will put that in his manifesto. Of course, when he says re-negotiate we instantly assume he means with other European leaders. But no, he actually means with Sun Editor, Dominic Mohan, the former Editor of the paper's bizarre column. Precisely.
 

Of course, they are going to keep all this bottled up. There's an electorate to be hoodwinked and an election to be won don't you know. Tim Montgomerie, Editor of ConservativeHome, tries to ride both horses- loyalty and euroscpeticism. It will work for a few months but will explode in David Cameron's face should he win next May.

I would love to be a fly on the wall in Paris, Berlin, and Madrid when the first attempt to re-negotiate the Treaties is made. David Cameron may well be prepared for a hostile reaction. I'm sure Margaret Thatcher's 'give us our money back' rhetoric could be resuscitated. He could conveniently forget that two years after Fontainebleau, Mrs Thatcher signed the Single European Act, the biggest single expansion of European power since the Treaty of Rome. Maybe he could be honest and call his rallying cry: 'give me my party back.' But he'll be disappointed. He won't be met with hostility. He'll be met with ridicule.

Maybe once they've wiped the tears of laughter away, they will decide to get all pragmatic. Sure, you can have those social and employment rights opt outs- things like maternity leave, guaranteed holidays, rights for agency workers (which also protects non-agency worker from having their terms competed away)- but there's a price. Um, we'll have that £3billion rebate for a start. You want to reform CAP? Silly boy. I hope you don't mind Mr Cameron, but we've put you with Iceland and Slovenia for the dinner. Don't worry your table gets jelly and ice cream rather than grown-ups' puddings. You just love jelly and ice cream, don't you?

(As an aside, what happens if David Cameron does succeed in a re-negotiation? Would that not be a Treaty change? So would he not be bound to have a referendum in accordance with his own promise? And what if he then lost that referendum? Just a thought....)

Jessica Asato makes the important point that Labour shouldn't just carp from the sidelines and revel in the Tories repeatedly shooting themselves in the foot for no purpose. We should 'make the case.' But what is that case?

Well, it's about national sovereignty actually. The EU, far from being a dilution of national sovereignty, is a reclaiming of national sovereignty. In a world of large regional powers, with open commerce, movement of people, global communications, and large-scale cross-border environmental damage, there is little use in defending formal sovereignty. Instead, you have to find ways of cooperating with like-minded nations to confront these challenges. That is a reclaim of de facto sovereignty- you have a greater say over the future of your people.

What is the consequence of this? We can better manage and grow our economy, fight crime and terrorism, manage our borders, reduce climate change, protect the rights of our workers, influence global affairs and confront the multiplicity of risks that modern nations face.

Is Europe perfect? No, and we have to be clear about that. We have to support the EU but also articulate a strong case for reform. It is woefully undemocratic. What say do we have over the appointment of the new president of the Council? Or the next president of the Commission? Or the Commission itself? We can only influence these appointments through the European Parliament and so there is little public debate. There is a severe deficit of transparency- what actually happens in Council meetings? The continuation of the CAP in its expansive form is a disgrace and completely unjustified.

None of this can change without enjoying a degree of influence. None of these things are costs that outweigh the benefits but nor are they insignificant. But our influence over our own affairs and our global influence (just listen to the noises coming out of Washington) depends on being a strong member of the EU. Any movement towards the periphery away from the core is detrimental to our national interest and our sovereignty.

Ultimately, that is the cost of a Conservative government. David Cameron has already placed himself on the very periphery of the EU- through his rhetoric; his clubbing together with a rag-bag of anti-semites, homophobes, and climate change deniers in the European Parliament, sticking two fingers up to President Sarkozy and Chancellor Merkel in the meantime; and with his determination to suck Europe back into an institutional wrangle. That is not in Britain's self-interest. That is not statesmanship.

This article was originally published on Anthony Painter's blog.

Dodging his Clause IV moment comes back to haunt Cameron

Cameron may have tried to emulate New Labour's strategy of winning back power by moving the party to the centre ground, but he failed to realise that New Labour's success was never simply down to improving PR but about making a real shift from the grassroots up to a new policy settlement. Labour's decision to rewrite Clause IV with its commitment to common ownership of the means of production represented a decisive break with anachronisms in its past. Cameron has tried to do this to a very limited extent - talking more openly about poverty, trying to build up some green credentials, accepting the minimum wage and SureStart. But he's never taken on the one issue which looks set to cause him migraines in the next six months, and if he were to win power, would become a dominating issue of his premiership which is the Tory position on Europe.

This morning Tim Montgomerie does somersaults to justify Cameron's u-turn on his pledge for a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. Now as Cameron gets closer to power it is quite clear that they can see the trouble a referendum would cause if they were to win in May next year. Montgomerie quotes a CCHQ adviser saying:

"The unions and our political opponents would urge voters to use the referendum to kick the Tory government in the teeth. A manifesto mandate is safer, cleaner, less distracting."

Quite a long way from Cameron's referendum pledge in the Sun :

"there's nothing "new" about breaking your promises to the British public... And it is the cancer that is eating away at trust in politics. Small wonder that so many people don't believe a word politicians ever say if they break their promises so casually."

While it was clear that a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty was unnecessary, Cameron cannot be left unchallenged on this huge shift in policy.One cannot help but see this as a move purely in the interests of the Conservative Party and not the general public. Trust is obviously not so important to Cameron the more he scents success.

But while Montgomerie's acceptance of Cameron's backtracking might at one glance look like a softening of Tory views on Europe, it actually reflects the fact that Tory Eurosceptics can see that a 'manifesto mandate' would give them license to renegotiate the whole of Britain's membership of the EU, rather than just Lisbon. Montgomerie is quite clear on this:

"If Britain's relationship with the EU is fundamentally the same after five years of Conservative government the internal divisions that ended the last Tory period in government will look like a tea party in comparison."

Tough talk indeed which is backed up by a press release from the Bruges Group, an odd little outfit set up in 1989 in homage to Thatcher's Bruges speech in 1988. They obviously aren't prepared to entertain the idea of somersaults over the referendum pledge:

"David Cameron needs to come clean with the British people: why is he breaking his pledge to hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty?

“There was absolutely no wriggle room in the unambiguous pledge he made in September 2007. He offered a “cast iron guarantee” to put any treaty in front of the voters. Why has he changed his mind now? What has changed his mind now?

“It cannot be good enough for a man who wants to be British Prime Minister to hide behind the leader of any other European state. Václav Klaus is a hero in his own country for having stood up to Communism. David Cameron seemingly can’t even stand up for his own past promises.

“What is the point in David Cameron upending one pledge on Europe , but promising he’ll offer us yet more European promises in his general election manifesto? Why will they be any more credible than the ‘cast-iron guarantee’ he has just broken?

“How can David Cameron claim he’ll fight to repatriate powers from Brussels when he won’t even fight to implement his own past words?

The press release ends:

"The Tory leader stands condemned by his own words.

“David Cameron’s future European policy is now incoherent, disingenuous and utterly unconvincing. This is a dark day for the Tory party, but a worse one for Britain .”

Labour supporters might feel content to sit back and watch this one play out - there's nothing we like more than to see the Tories split on Europe. But one of the reasons why the Eurosceptics are having a field day is because of our own ambiguity in our support for Europe. This year's European election was a case in point with all of our literature crudely emblazoned with the British flag trying to get the public to engage in double-think. We should support Europe and make it clear to the public why we do. Sure it's an unpopular position, but it's the right one for progressives and we'd do a lot better to square up to our Eurosceptic foes and start doing battle. Sitting on a comfy sofa in opposition watching the Tories take chunks out of each other would be pure indulgence when our international reputation would be in tatters and our country would be worse off as a result of withdrawal from key aspects of the EU. Taking a cue from the Bruges Group - these may seem like dark days for the Labour Party, but even darker ones await Britain if we fail to make the case for Europe in the next six months.

This Kaminski storm must not be allowed to blow away

It’s quite clear that the, very necessary, storm over the Conservative Party’s association with Michal Kaminski, is not going to blow over anytime soon. The right-wing blogosphere must still be smarting from the trouble caused during Tory Party Conference by a letter sent by the Board of Deputies which sought assurances over Cameron’s alliance with Kaminski and Robert Zile, because they have now launched a counter-attack on the New Statesman. The Jewish Chronicle has published an email to the Cameron-aligned think tank, Policy Exchange, from the Chief Rabbi of Poland, Michael Schudrich which suggests that the New Statesman misrepresented him in an article published earlier this year. This has given right-wing bloggers like Iain Dale just what they were looking for – a supposed vindication of their view that Kaminski is a supporter of Israel and that Labour folks simply just don’t understand the cultural context of Kaminski’s remarks about Jedwabne.

I have two small points to add. The first is that the Chief Rabbi was at pains to insist in his original email to the New Statesman’s James Macintyre, that he does not ‘comment on political decisions’. His worry at finding himself in the middle of political crossfire is reinforced by the Policy Exchange email where he reiterates ‘I made no political statement’. This is not surprising – Archbishops of Canterbury and Westminster both try and maintain their political neutrality, as does the Chief Rabbi in the UK. I expect that Michael Schudrich is trying to quickly extract himself from having created a politically charged situation in his own country (though as Sunder Katwala points out here, he is unlikely to with this intervention.)

The second is that Chief Rabbis are one indication of the feelings of the Jewish community in Europe, but those who make up the Jewish community are another. If Conservative bloggers feel as though they have scored a political point by using someone who is so politically-compromised, they can’t shut down the views of ordinary Jewish people so easily. In a Question Time style meeting held at Stanmore Synagogue, the second question asked was about Kaminski’s involvement with the Conservatives. And there was around 70% support for the President of the Board of Deputies writing to Cameron about Kaminski and Vile in a poll for the Jewish Chronicle (I can’t find their archive, sorry).

The final thing to remember is that the Conservatives chose to be partners with controversial fringe parties in Europe. They could have stayed part of a mainstream Conservative grouping in the EPP, but deliberately picked Kaminski, Zile and others as their mates. The sad thing is that they seem to place the need to promote their particularly backward brand of euro-scepticism before the need to protect community cohesion and human rights. Newsnight are doing an investigation into this whole affair next week. As I said – no matter how much they want it to – this story won’t go away.

Event report: Labour's purpose in difficult economic times

Last night Peter Hain, Secretary of State for Wales, delivered the fourth lecture in the Progress series of discussions about Labour and the next decade.

Previewing his forthcoming pamphlet, ‘Labour’s purpose in difficult economic times’, he declared that we are in an era built for progressive government and that Labour’s mission is even more relevant than it ever was. He contrasted the fundamental political changes that occurred in 1979 when Thatcherism was ushered in and 1980 when Ronald Regan and the Right gained ascendancy; to the situation we face today. Today, an ‘unequivocally right wing’ Conservative government will return Britain to the days of ‘people dying on trolleys in hospital corridors’ Mr Hain said.

The Tories simply cannot offer the country the new politics that is so desperately needed, Mr Hain said. It is up to the Labour party, from the Prime Minister to the local party activists, to emphatically assert that Labour can win the next general election and that the party as a whole is up for the fight. A fundamental aspect of this approach is to project a new narrative, pinned around the core concept that Labour stands for solidarity in adversity, and to detail the damage the Tories would do if elected.

The Tories would put at risk our economic recovery with their enduring opposition to government and there would be no compassion under a Cameron government, as public services would be savagely cut during a time when people depend on them most. The Tories’ desire to make plunging premature cuts in government spending and borrowing should be compared with Labour’s detailed plan to only make necessary budgetary adjustments once the recovery has taken hold.

To conclude his speech Mr Hain asserted that Labour must be proud of its record but equally fight on a platform for the future. The government has introduced progressive reforms in rising income tax for those earning £150,000 or more whilst the Tories primary concern is to cut inheritance tax for the 3,000 richest estates in the country. Tight budgets will not stop Labour’s progressive platform and Labour should, Mr Hain declared, ‘stand tall and be proud about our record and keep fighting for social justice’.

During the question and answer session Mr Hain broadened his vision of Labour’s purpose in difficult economic times, detailing that Labour had made a historic mistake in being ‘anti-business’. But equally the party is now paying a heavy price for ignoring its core constituency amongst the working class and New Labour was guilty of veering too far in to the belief that free markets are the sole option. The government, for instance, had taken the right decision about intervention in Northern Rock.

Labour needs to move on from the New Labour project, but not revert to Old Labour – real Labour is a great possibility, Mr Hain suggested.

The hostile media and the relentless pressure of the modern 24 hour news media were a part of the reason why Labour had struggled to get its message through, but Labour also hadn’t talked enough about its values – social justice, equality of opportunity, fighting for the many and not the few. A key government policy where progressive principles had been put in to practice was tax credits, liberating millions of people from poverty.

Finishing off the lecture, Mr Hain issued a rallying cry to the Labour party proclaiming that Labour needs to sharpen its message and that it must fight hard for a fourth term.

Primaries in the Italian Democratic party have been a major innovation for the party and the country

The Italian Democratic party has a new national leader: Pierluigi Bersani, a former government minister under Romano Prodi. He was not nominated by the national assembly, nor appointed by the members. He was instead elected last Sunday by more than 2.8 million people that voted in a consultation open to the party’s supporters.

The party organised nearly 10,000 ballot boxes around the country and sympathisers (even 16 year olds and legal immigrants that do not have the right to vote in the national election) had a decisive say in the choice.

The constitution of the party provides that everyone who shares the party’s values and its manifesto can choose the national leader and the 20 regional leaders. While a first round of vote, restricted to party’s members, selects a shortlist of candidates, it is not necessary to have paid the annual membership to take part in the final election.

This system of election has been a major innovation not just for the Democratic party, but for the political culture of the country, once firmly based on ideological parties with strong memberships and a hierarchical organisation.

When, in the spring of 2007, the Left Democratic party and the Margherita (a coalition of Christian-democrat and centrist parties) decided to merge together, the direct election of the leader by the electorate seemed the only solution, that could give to the new party a fresh start and the necessary popular support.

At that time, it was necessary to prevent the new party from being just the sum of two political élites and to boost participation in the project. Under a provisional rule, 3.5 million people voted for the national leader and a national assembly in charge of writing the party’s statute. The former mayor of Rome, Walter Veltroni, was elected to the leadership. His election was not a surprise, since he was supported by the majority of the parliamentary groups and all the big noises in the merging parties.

The strong support (2.7 million votes) received in the popular vote, however, allowed Veltroni to impose a party’s constitution based on the involvement not just of the members but also of the supporters, which was a world wide novelty. According to the new rules the electors, and not the members, have the right to decide the political line, to elect both national and local party leaderships and to select the candidates for the local and general elections.

This innovation did not arrive without fierce discussion and public controversy. Many feared that this new system would discourage people to join the party and that it might allow someone not really involved in the life of the party to determine its policies and its leadership.

The growing membership, however, the huge participation, and the fact that the final result of the vote reflected substantially the internal vote of the members, are the best arguments against these criticisms. They show that it is still possible for a new form of political organisation, which values participation and really empowers citizens in the life of the party.

Lazzaro Pietragnoli is a London-based Italian journalist, and a member of the Executive Committee of the Labour Movement for Europe (London and South East)

Nick Griffin does not and did not deserve a one hour platform on the BBC

I didn't watch Question Time last night and I don't intend on seeing it on iPlayer. As the programme was recorded I was peacefully protesting outside BBC Television Centre and during its airing I went to the cinema.
 
I understand from those that did watch it that Griffin's performance was poor; he laughed and smirked at all the wrong points; he didn't have any policies; his statements were vacuous and unfounded; he made excuses for his KKK mate and espoused some anti-Islamic and other racist views.
 
However, his dud performance is secondary to the signals his invitation has sent to the British public.
 
Nick Griffin, along with any other convicted racist or fascist, does not and did not deserve a one hour platform on the BBC. I remain sickened that he was afforded the opportunity to sit alongside representatives of our mainstream political parties.
 
I imagine that the BBC Question Time production team will today be patting themselves on the back for their 'excellent' viewing figures last night.
 
As a TV license holder, I sit here ashamed that our public broadcaster has legitimised a man whose party and its policies are an affront not only to me and my family, but to the majority of my neighbours and friends.

Luciana Berger is director of Labour Friends of Israel

The Liberal Moment: A response

Rt Hon Nick Clegg MP                            20 October 2009
 
Dear Nick,

Thank you for sending me your pamphlet called 'The Liberal Moment'. It has rather small type but good to get ideas out and in print.

But I fear it is what the French would call ‘la politique politicienne’ – i.e. some very good arguments got lost in a pure party political appeal.

I can criticise Labour with the best of them but I know - unlike you if I may be rude - what South Yorkshire was like before 1997 and Labour has made a huge difference.

I also think the Tories are reactionary – not the least on Europe where we share some views.

In a Barnsley council by-election last week, Labour got 1600 votes, the Tories fewer than 90 and the Lib Dems fewer than 80. Therefore to place your party as the sole proprietor of decent progressive values which will hoover up votes may feel good when dictating a pamphlet but it is not serious politics for shaping government.
 
You also know that in Doncaster Lib Dems made a disgusting xenophobic attack on a Danish-born Labour councillor. I asked you with your mother and wife in mind to rebuke your local anti-Europeans but you chose to ignore my appeal. That’s la politique politicienne and you should be bigger than that.

You will recall a few years ago when we were speaking together in Sheffield I said people should vote tactically to stop the Tories winning back Sheffield Hallam, your seat. A good friend of mine who has a bright future in the Labour party and I hope in parliament was the Labour candidate there last time but I still believe it is better to have Lib Dem MPs not Tories in the House. But you did not reciprocate and I think this ‘politique politicienne’ approach weakens the cause of progressive politics.

I realise that at the moment from your point of view all guns must be turned on the government. But as you seek to rake Labour with gunfire you will end up making holes in progressive politics as a whole and Britain will fall under a reactionary, elitist, isolationist Tory party of the rich, by the rich, for the rich.
 
 
Rt Hon Dr Denis MacShane MP