There’s a long form piece over at Spiked by Lord Glasman a proponent of the idea of Blue Labour which is a Labour Party that reconnects with the working classes and moves away from the technocratic, middle class Left way of thinking and also away from putting international treaties ahead of sovereignty. Whether you agree with all his points or not Lord Glasman’s piece makes for very interesting and thoughtful reading.
Here’s a small sample of the piece:
Brexit proved fatal to the present ideological form of the Labour Party and its class base. But it is also a necessary condition for the renewal of Labour and for a socialist economic policy that would give greater advantage and power to working people. Brexit also opens up the possibility of democratic and civic reforms. A reimagining of the body politic is required if Labour is to lead the country once more. This would redistribute power and assets to the neglected areas of our country from which capital has fled along with its institutions. In order to do this, Labour must recognise that the era of liberal globalisation is over and its assumptions are outdated.
The new era calls for a more important role for the nation state, democracy, the working class and conservatism, understood as an affection for neighbours and an attachment to a place that is considered home.
Working class social conservatism and Toryism used to be a huge thing in the UK. It was often mocked by the Left with working class Tories and social conservatives stereotyped as the bosses lackeys but working class conservatism did appreciate the idea of working hard to advance yourself and your family. Such working class conservatism did hold the concept of the family and community in high regard and as we’ve seen the sometimes disastrous outcomes that occur when the family and community is denigrated, maybe the time will soon come when working class conservatism and Blue Labourism can come to the fore again. Labour have lost the working class social conservatives with many of them choosing Boris Johnson’s Tories in 2019 and I don’t think that Labour in its current incarnation can bring them back
Lord Glasman’s Wiki page can be found here
An interesting piece. I think we need to prepare ourselves for a Labour government, not because they say the right thing but every day the Tories find new ways to fight among themselves. Then they go on to astonish us with their political mistakes and disregard for the ordinary people. I think the next election will be lost by the most inept, selfish and self serving Tory government I have ever seen.