As the polls narrow and Labour nerves begin to jangle, it’s the question many are thinking: how does the party secure a majority in 2015? What seemed comfortable 13 months ago, when the poll lead was regularly in double digits, is now in the balance.
Fortunately, for those of a nervous disposition who do not simply want to wonder in silence, the good people at Progress have organised a series of events where answers can be provided. Uncut will be taking part in the next one
6-7.30pm, Monday 3 February 2014
Boothroyd Room, Portcullis House, House of Commons
Atul Hatwal Editor, Labour Uncut
Peter Kellner President, YouGov
Marcus Roberts Deputy general secretary, the Fabian Society
Polly Toynbee Columnist, the Guardian
Chair: Siobhain McDonagh MP Member, education select committee
If you can make it, come along. If not, follow it (and the other events) on twitter at #labmaj.
As a teaser for the debate, over the coming days, we will be publishing a series of short pieces that look at the key issues for Labour to win majority in 2015, where the party is and what needs to be done. So look out for them and we’ll see you on Monday.
Tags: Atul Hatwal, Campaign for a Labour majority, Marcus Roberts, Peter Kellner, Polly Toynbee, Progress, Siobhain McDonagh MP
Everybody needs to stop faling over themselves in the rush to downing street and worry about the 22nd of May this year. Labour is standing by to come a 3rd again in the European, likely with a reduced voteshare (this is the one area where the Lib Dems have clear water from the conservatives and so will be losing far fewer votes) and the local elections are going to be a bloodbath of recriminations and accusations of playing politics with peoples lives.
Combine that with the recent news that Ed Miliband wants to make being a full member of the party a pointess exercise with the introduction of a couple of million “associate” members from the unions while He’s also getting rid of the union funding for the party and driving away the few rich backers who remain with anti-capitalist rhetoric and we are looking at a party about to tear itself to pieces in a far more comprehensive way than the Tories ever managed over Europe. Lets not forget, this has happened before with the SDP (Chuka Umunna already likes to call himself a social democrat) the Blairites could go one way the Union/Co-op MPs the other and the core vote will look for somewere else to call home.
As the Party is no longer the Party of ‘working class labour’ (simply because there aren’t that many actual working class people left), maybe Chuka is right in calling himself a social democrat ( which in no way implies that he is a Cableite or Owenite).
We only keep the term ‘Labour’ but that doesn’t really describe all the people in the Party at present, increasingly more andmore non manual workers and are highly skilled workers at that, in respected professions.
What Swantantra. Said