Labour: the worst start to a government ever?

September. Party conference season. And, as I write this, Nu Labour are having their party conference. After a bizarre general election, in which Labour gained a 'landslide' with just 33.8% of the vote, we were treated to a party that promised change in its manifesto offering er... no change at all. Not only have they not ended the two child benefit cap, which many anticipated, but they also have now cut winter fuel payments for pensioners. Thanks to Reeves's £20 billion 'black hole' and her 'fiscal rules', which are pure made up BS, austerity is still on the menu. This is the complete opposite of what the UK needs.

What we do need is government investment in infrastructure and the economy. Reeves can easily find the money. All she needs to do is ask the Bank of England for it and she will get it from them. It's that simple. 

So Starmer's no hope and no change meant that his government was falling in popularity right from the start. The honeymoon period lasted about twenty-four hours or so, and, now, Starmer finds himself less popular than Rishi Sunak and Ed 'Post Office scandal' Davey. That's quite and achievement! 

To add to this fiasco, the Tory press has has had a field day in 'exposing' "freebiegate', in which Starmer, his wife, Angela Rayner, and David Lammy have received tens of thousands of pounds worth of gifts. According to Sky News:

"Sir Keir Starmer has come under scrutiny over the past week for the more than £100,000-worth of gifts he has accepted.

"It started with controversy over his wife's clothes and has escalated since Sky News' Westminster Accounts project revealed he has been gifted more freebies and hospitality than any other MP since 2019 - a total worth £107,145.

Starmer branded 'ivory tower leader' - latest updates

His acceptance of football tickets has proved particularly contentious, with some government officials reportedly concerned about a potential conflict of interest."

Labour may have settled with the junior doctors and rail workers, promised to nationalise rail, and a few other useful things but, so far, it is a national failure, with little sign of anything better in the future. Starmer's speech, which was hard to keep awake through, is summed up perfectly by Richard Murphy in this video (I recommend a visit to Murphy's YouTube site which also explains why Reeves 'black hole' and 'fiscal rules' are BS).

The only part of his speech worth watching was the gaffe when he asked for the return of sausages from Gaza, while his government continues to support the genocide which is happening there.

So, it's looking like five years of gloom and not much positive change. The neoliberal duopoly continues in the UK, just as it does in the USA

Are you left or right?

My contention is one that many aren't going to like. It's simple - there is no such thing as the political centre. If you are not on the left, you are on the right. 

So, what is the left? To be on the left, you must either be a socialist or an anarchist. You must believe in that fundamentally society need to be 'restructured' and organised with real power in the hands of communities. Power bottom up, not top down. In fact, in a socialist society, there wouldn't be a top.

To be on the political right you must be a liberal, centrist, conservative, or fascist. All these groups have one crucial thing in common - they all accept the existing capitalist order. 

History shows us that liberals and centrists, who accept the prevailing 'democratic' order, are fascist enablers. Fascism suits capitalism because it's not a threat to the prevailing order. If anything, it strengthens it. That is what happened in Nazi Germany in the 1930s, workers, trade unions and the left were suppressed and murdered. No threat to profits from them.

Never trust a liberal or centrist. That may be uncomfortable reading but it's true.