No sooner has the dust started to settle on the fall out
from the 2010 general election and the decision of Gordon Brown to fall on his
sword both as PM and Labour leader than we are already seeing names being put
forward as “suitable” choices to become the new leader of the labour Party.
Once again the national press has stepped forward to let us
poor souls know who they think should get the job. After John Smith’s death,
they told us that Tony Blair was the man. Then they said that Gordon was best.
Now fresh from telling everybody to either vote Tory or Lib Dem, these experts
have come up with a variety of names but in truth no real choice.
So far the media has felt fit to push forward the likes of
Ed Miliband, David Miliband, Ed Balls (who is expected to throw his hat into
the ring this week) and maybe John Cruddas. Despite all the talk of having a
real debate this time and “listening” to what the people have to say about the
election result and where we need to go from here, the reality is that all
these so-called choices are in fact the continuation of Blair/Brownism and the
failed policies of New Labour by another name. All the main contenders served
in the last government and backed its policies. They are all pledged to
continue the pro-big business line that is at the heart of the New Labour
Project and which has resulted in millions of voters deserting Labour in
election after election. As we have explained elsewhere, the only reason Labour
did not do far worse in the elections just gone was because many workers
understood what having a Tory government would actually mean and voted
accordingly. Although John Cruddas has chosen to position himself slightly to
the Left of the main contenders, this has been more about trying to establish a
base inside the party rather than expressing any real differences with the
others.
However one name has not been mentioned at all, that of John
McDonnell. He was the only serious
person to stand up against the election-without-an-election of Gordon Brown and
offer a real choice to party members. Despite a long and vigorous campaign
inside the movement, when the time came the party apparatus moved heaven and
earth to keep him off the ballot paper. Brown and his supporters were afraid of
the debate that would have taken place had John been on the ballot and were
afraid of what the final vote might have been. This must not happen again.
John has decided to put himself forward again and on
Saturday the National Committee of the Labour Representation Committee (LRC)
agreed 22-0 to support this. However under party rules, he will need to get the
support of over 30 Labour MPs if he is to be on the ballot. We call on all CLPs
and affiliated organisations to start nominating John as a candidate and to
start putting pressure on the MPs to nominate John when the time comes. This
campaign will be an excellent opportunity to raise the real questions that need
to be discussed inside the movement in the coming period as we survey the wreckage
of New Labour. We should reiterate the warnings we made before the election
about the need for Labour to change course, bring in a fighting leadership and
arm itself with a socialist programme that will tackle the problems of society.
As part of this, we demand a real election for Labour leader with a real choice
this time – support John McDonnell!
