Firefighting - 4 comments

Chris Dillow, among his reasons for not signing the Euston Manifesto, raises some very sensible concerns:

I'm in two minds about the EM. If it's a description of liberal democratic egalitarian ideals, I'm with it. But I worry that the EM is more concerned to bash Galloway and his types, rather than to advance egalitarian projects (either within the UK or by making the case for more effective overseas aid) or to oppose New Labour's attacks on freedom. That's not because Galloway shouldn't be criticized. It's just that he's too trivial a target.

The tactic of attacking so-called "village idiots" is indeed a risky one.

Firstly, though, if the danger were merely that Galloway might score some points and cause some embarrassment, boosting what he believes to be his section of the Left against the so-called "decent'" faction, the Manifesto would hardly be necessary. Not only is the scope of the Manifesto far wider, and the aims loftier, than this apparent internecine dispute, insofar as it is directed against an enemy on the Left, this is an enemy that is far more pervasive than Galloway or his Party.

The fact remains that the so-called Respect Coalition is considered - in the real world, by individuals, broadcasters, and publishers - to be a genuinely left-of-Labour party, a natural home for the idealistic, the socialist, and the anti-war. Furthermore, Galloway is (still) considered by many to be a man of principle, a straight-talker, a "real" socialist, and a man who suffered at the hands of a Blairite, pro-war, Labour Party. While his party's policies might appear merely "impractical" or anachronistic to a non-blog-reading voter, only in the blogosphere is the true nature of his coalition - and the real reason for his expulsion from the Labour Party - so well known.

The "village idiot" analogy is not a good one. Tackling those who dismiss democratic ideals - not merely democracy in practice - and for whom "taking America down a peg or two" is central to their politics, doesn't represent the vindictive kicking of an unfortunate who knows no better, it's essential to halt the spread of indifference towards equal human rights worldwide, the toleration of terrorists, and the idea that 'it's all about oil - or racism' is a sufficient argument to invalidate, or deter, any US or UK involvement on the world stage.

It is discouraging to hear commentators dismiss the Manifesto as being merely concerned with a juvenile Left. Taken literally - as it should be - no reactionary regime, whatever its claimed political affiliation, no racist, sexist, Islamophobe, or homophobe, no religious or atheist fundamentalist, no curtailer of free speech, no opponent of the free movement of labour, no economic nationalist, corporate monopolist, or protector of a regressive economic system, should feel they are exempt from scrutiny.

The problem is that the juvenile Left looms so large in the blogosphere, and is so combative, that tackling it can become an obsession - a political world-view in itself - and with both sides so polarised, not only is common ground forgotten, but time that could be spent analysing other issues is lost - and all for very little reward. Should those who support the Manifesto be charged with indifference to democratic failures and the curtailment of liberties here in Britain because their "firefighting" has distracted them from events happening beneath their noses - even when they may well have been tackling those who believe that international efforts to spread democracy are imperialistic, and that it must be left alone to develop, even on the rockiest ground? Even when the Manifesto's words on the subject of democracy represent a crystal-clear commitment? Of course democracy matters, as does egalitarianism, and they must be protected, widened, and deepened everywhere. If, by paying full attention to lapses in the West, by which I mean falling electoral turnouts, voting systems that do not enjoy public confidence, gerrymandering, and political corruption - and not decadence, moral laxity, and theories that stress the impossibility or "inappropriateness" of democracy - Eustonites can more easily throw off the tags of Blairism and hypocrisy that the antis are determined to attach, then perhaps there is more hope for common ground to emerge, and for the chasm to narrow.

On the other hand, attempting to communicate with the other side (I cannot claim to be an impartial observer, nor, in the circumstances, could I afford to be one) can be such a difficult experience, penetrating the many layers of armour thrown-up, that it's tempting to wonder whether being unwilling/unable to play the same games is a sign of some kind of age-induced shift to the Right. How else do you sum up someone who spends much of their time criticising those who insist they are on the Left? The declarations left by Manifesto signers do give the impression that many people have distanced themselves from the Left, often unwillingly. And yet this must only be to avoid factionalism rather than a renunciation of left-wing values: of which democracy, tolerance, egalitarianism, and freedom of speech must be central - as they are to the Euston Manifesto. Despite the frequent invocation of the "right-wing" spectre, the traditional right-wing values of authority, discipline, nationalism, and conservatism are a ludicrously bad fit for Euston supporters, and can best be applied to the theocratic bedfellows of the far Left (and, indeed, the BNP). People may feel that they have been forced to the right, but membership of a particular political group is not necessarily an accurate guide to their values. The Left is now so broad that almost all these political debates happen on its own turf. Economically, for example, it's not at all difficult to find free market libertarians theoretically on the same side as "tax-and-spender"s and 60s sentimentalists. All the same, I'm prepared to believe there are people who are willing to leave their trenches, recognise value in the other side's arguments, and - if not entirely settle their differences - at least recast the dispute so that well-meaning left-of-Labour-ites can be separated from Respect's clutches, and refugees on the Right can recommit to a broadly liberal/left values. The evidence suggests that this is indeed happening.

The enemies that confront us every day are not merely "the other" faction. Ignorance, inefficiency, incompetence, privilege, poverty, and injustice are never far away, nor are cynicism and apathy. That being the case, and given the paucity of political platforms that remain fresh and unsullied, it is important that new platforms - the Euston Manifesto is one - are developed to encapsulate liberal/left values, and not condemned because of who the authors are, what their motives might be, what is left unsaid, and because of a poisonous ideological rivalry that causes the different sides to gleefully relish the other's failure.

Note: all views expressed concerning the Euston Manifesto Group are those of the author alone.

Euston Manifesto developments - no comments

There are various theories as to why the Manifesto has been a particular hit in Italy and Spain (as well as the USA and the UK), but to reflect that, translations have been taking place, and the Italian one is now complete. Even if you can't speak Italian, it's worth downloading the PDF to see the whole thing attractively laid out on one large page, illustrated with a photo of the frontage of Euston Station (WHSmith peeking out from underneath).

A remarkably fair and even-handed Wikipedia article has also developed.

We're still adding blogging supporters to the 'roll, so if you've signed and are not on the list - we will also aggregate your blog posts - just drop me a line.

Public meetings are also planned - check the site for updates, or use the news feed (RSS 2.0).

Finally, there have been some excellent Euston-related articles - both favourable and unfavourable - and these are now being collected in one place. Here's their current location (expect updates).

Comment of the week - 13 comments

This is a corker (swear word bleeped-out):

I was searching for a suitable topic on your dull as ditch water blog to post a commnent [sic], but I can't find one that is relevant to anything in the real world. So here goes: just f*ck off and die.

The logs assure me that he came from via BlairWatch, has an IP address of 82.163.144.28, and comes from Manchester. What is merely speculation is that he's a nasty, pathetic little boy, who likes to wave his willy about (what there is of it) in online discussions, because it makes him feel like a big man.

Welcome to the future of political debate!

Pro-Cameron Pollster on the BBC - 7 comments

Liberal Review have an investigation of Frank Luntz, the focus group pollster whose regular slots will be familiar to Newsnight viewers.

They present evidence that he has worked for the US Republicans, recently manipulated a session in order to present David Cameron more favourably, at Ming Campbell's expense - and that his links with Cameron's team may also indicate a personal involvement in the Man Of Destiny's campaign.

Luntz's question after the Ming Campbell piece, however, was not whether the audience reaction was positive or negative, as he had done with Cameron, but whether Campbell "exceeded expectations, met them or disappointed them." This is a very different question from whether their reaction was overall positive or negative, since it is predicated on what their expectations were, not simply their reaction to the speech. So, the Newsnight audience is treated to an audience full of people saying that Ming Campbell disappointed them, not one saying that their overall reaction was positive (as was the case, we are led to believe).

In his conclusion, Luntz sums up that "the party leader and the party that are most about change will be most successful." By sheer coincidence the David Cameron piece that was broadcast had David Cameron talking about what he would change in the education system. Ming Campbell's piece had him talking about the Liberal Democrats being written off by the political establishment and local democratic decision making. Subliminal messaging? I am not much of a conspiracy theorist, and would not normally give credence to the idea, except for the fact that the man we are talking about is primarily known in the United States for his skills in subliminal and subconscious political messaging.

The Washington Post recently described Luntz as the "on-again, off-again Republican pollster", and urged its readers to take his findings "with a grain of salt".

[...]

So why is this conservative spin-doctor and master manipulator of public opinion, already dumped by one American news channel for bias and twice reprimanded for misrepresenting the findings of his polling, given a free reign by Newsnight?

Time well spent - no comments

Just some posts I enjoyed during lunchtime: this, on class consciousness, Euston revisited, and this response, on the subject of idealism - or rather, utopianism - in the political sphere.

This, from the third article, I particularly like (my emphasis):

[Instead,] ... I think of politics in two ways. One is as an idealized debate among intellectuals. For me, the question isn't: what is Bunting / Galloway / Blair etc saying? It's: what would Mill / Hayek / Nozick / Rawls / Elster / Roemer / Sennett / MacIntyre etc say?

Politics today is so degraded that we've got to reconstruct the debate about what it should be.

Secondly, political thinking, at least on the "left", should consist partly in contrasting actually existing institutions to theoretical possibilities.

Of course, I know that a basic income, smaller state, market socialism, free immigration and direct democracy have little hope of being implemented in my lifetime.

But this is not the point. The purpose of discussing such possibilities is to remind us that real utopias are logically possible, and that the many sins of existing politics include a terrible lack of imagination.

What I was trying to do, then, was to interpret the Euston Manifesto into a form I could support - as an endorsement of a feasible utopia. If it's just an exercise in kicking the village idiot, I'm not interested.

I'd like to be able to say that the Manifesto relates and enshrines the moral principles, the moral awareness, and the fundamental framework of the kind of society in which an idealistic and questioning approach would thrive: I can't say I'm immune to wanting to give the village idiot a kick at times, but when I try to explain the growing enthusiasm I have for the Manifesto project - all the more so, having read the signers' declarations - it is perfectly expressed by the utopianism outlined above.

The Enemy II - 28 comments

OK, maybe I am overdramatising somewhat, but one of the purposes of the Euston Manifesto, as I see it, is that by presenting a document that - even if it is incomplete, and work in progress - only unreasonable people could oppose, it's becoming more and more obvious that there are people I cannot honestly call 'comrades', whatever their association with the Labour Party, and whatever section of the Left they might include themselves within.

Take this BBC report about the abuse endured by a US citizen living in London, and this particular comment:

Ms Cox shouldn't really be surprised in the current climate. More and more people are coming to realise the US administration is the biggest terrorist organisation in the world. Unfortunately, their citizens will increasingly take the backlash, even though many of them are against US foreign policy - just as many Muslims are against such atrocities as 9/11 and Bali.
John Lockett, Burnley, UK

For all I know, this person could be a committed left-wing activist. They may once have been a Labour Party supporter or member, perhaps disillusioned by some aspect of Blairism, but looking forward to returning once (as they see it) the New Labour period ends. Well, there are broad churches and broad churches, but if this person's appalling views are anything to go by (and, indeed, plenty of similar ones on the same page), the Euston Manifesto - even though it is cross-party - becomes a much truer test of political affiliation, and tells me that the two of us cannot honestly reside within the same political movement. Inclusiveness can only go so far.

So what does this mean? Well, it means that if I have any influence within the Left/Labour, it will be used to utterly repudiate views like those given above, and to dash any ideas such individuals might have about returning to the Labour fold, or of having any influence if they are already inside. Extremist views deserve an extremist party, so the sooner the extremists realise that this door is bolted, the more confident we can be that tolerance, sanity, and zero-tolerance of terrorism will not be compromised in a misguided attempt to bring people 'back to the fold' who may simply be too far gone.

That certainly doesn't mean we don't talk to them or debate the issues, but I'm saying there are certain standards that we don't compromise on, certain views that are not compatible with liberal politics, and it's the vicious, the intolerant, the racist, and the hate-filled who have to learn to change.

Euston / The Enemy - 16 comments

A number of people, few of whom I can be bothered to engage with, have displayed a disproportionate interest in the origins of the Euston Manifesto Group's name, as well as the exact personnel.

If these discussions can be contained in just a few places - this pile of poo in particular, also here - thus allowing those who aren't professional snides and cynics to take the manifesto on its merits, that would be wonderful.

I must say that I naively thought to myself, in advance of publication, "Might this manifesto have been so carefully drafted that it's difficult for open-minded people to actually disagree with it, as a basis for future discussion?". After all, it was intended to be cross-party, and only the most extreme should really have had difficulties with it. Well, if indeed the group does now have a mortal enemy, it's looking to be the afore-mentioned web-dwelling nay-sayers, who may shelter under the "Left" banner, but who have nothing worthwhile to offer. Paul Anderson and Will both have more uncompromising, and more amusing, takes...

For those interested in trivia, the story is that the word Euston was derived from the approximate location of a pub (sorry, it wasn't smoky, though the toilet was broken and cold - oops, given it away now) where group meetings took place. In fact, the name was originally proposed by myself, but won a vote, and was modified over time. Among the advantages are that, because the name is not itself overtly political, it - and the organisation that used it - could not be immediately dismissed by one section or other. The group would have to be listened to (OK, journalists were also involved), and judgements taken on the basis of merit. The fact that some weenies have attempted to draw some significance out of the name, or use the London landmark/tube station-theme themselves, is a little tedious:

Is it just me or does the "Euston Manifesto" sound like something dredged from the depths of a Franz Kafka novel?

Yeah, right.

Without wanting to minimise the huge contribution of Norm, it's simply lazy to use terms like "usual suspects", when the whole point of a group - especially one with an expanding list of supporters and contributors - is that all sorts of people are, and have been, contributing behind the scenes, and not all of whom can be tagged quite as easily. As regards the actual size of the group, well, the blogosphere is not so much of a meritocracy (this'll be especially clear to you if you're a blogging newbie and have discovered Comment is Free) that the perceived popularity/impact of a point of view in the blogging world is any guide to its rectitude or 'worth', let alone its popularity among the general population. Democracy's great, but I can't believe people waste their time speculating about how big a public demonstration one particular viewpoint could muster, as if that's an accurate guide to anything.

Oh, one last point, there have been references to "left-wing turf war", "ideological battles of the 70s", and "Marxists looking for a new religion". Must point out that, while some group members are of an age to have been involved when these battles were de rigeur, others are sufficiently young to be free of such associations, and haven't the slightest interest in this kind of thing. Sorry I can't participate, but they are essentially irrelevant to the manifesto.

By all means let your positive (or indeed negative) opinions of Euston Group members inform you as you read what they have to say, but that's as far as it should be taken. As more articles are published, we'll hear a lot more detail, and there'll be greater discussion of the issues. At the moment, the group is still in "announcement" mode, hence the temporary turning-off of comments.

Euston Manifesto - 2 comments

A new democratic progressive alliance, in development since May 2005, and named the Euston Manifesto Group, was publicly launched this morning.

The New Statesman are covering the developments, and have added a section to their blog for discussion of the developments.

An extract from the preamble to whet your appetitite:

We are democrats and progressives. We propose here a fresh political alignment. Many of us belong to the Left, but the principles that we set out are not exclusive. We reach out, rather, beyond the socialist Left towards egalitarian liberals and others of unambiguous democratic commitment. Indeed, the reconfiguration of progressive opinion that we aim for involves drawing a line between the forces of the Left that remain true to its authentic values, and currents that have lately shown themselves rather too flexible about these values. It involves making common cause with genuine democrats, whether socialist or not.

The present initiative has its roots in and has found a constituency through the Internet, especially the "blogosphere". It is our perception, however, that this constituency is under-represented elsewhere — in much of the media and the other forums of contemporary political life.

The broad statement of principles that follows is a declaration of intent. It inaugurates a new Website, which will serve as a resource for the current of opinion it hopes to represent and the several foundation blogs and other sites that are behind this call for a progressive realignment.

Why am I telling you this? Well, I've played a small part myself; so too have many other bloggers that you know, and many other people have also read the Manifesto, decided that they agree with it, and have 'signed' to declare themselves as supporters. You can find the current signatory list at the end of the above document.


Your blog needs one of these.

The Group also mantain a blogroll, and an aggregated list of blog posts from supporters' blogs. Both of these things are managed by Bloggers4Labour's software, so if you're a blogger and would like to register as a supporter, drop me a line with your details and I will sort it out. If you're already a B4L blogger, great, you can be on both - I anticipate that a lot of you will be interested by what the Euston Manifesto Group have to say. That said, it is cross-party, so you do not have to be a Labour Party supporter to be added to that list.

Perhaps things are still a little vague, here on Day 1. What's next for the group? Who doesn't support the Manifesto, and why? Well, these are perfectly good questions, but there'll be plenty of time for answers. I won't follow the recommendation and close off comments, however, I will be applying my usual policy of zapping inane and pointless comments, as well as those that are merely hostile. if you have questions, I may be able to answer them, or at least direct you to A Man Who Does.

In the meantime, check the site (and this one, for that matter) for updates - these will be many and varied.

Finally, donations to the group are most welcome!

Update: The latest reports indicate a fair amount of activity on-site, which is good. Plus a few bloggers have joined the Euston blogroll.

Here are some of the more interesting responses I've come across so far, courtesy of wongaBlog, Jo, Chris Dillow, and A.E. Brain. Clearly not everyone's 'sold' straightaway, and there are still questions to be answered and minds to be put at rest.

At the moment, I'm still stuck at work, hoping that the blogroll script holds up with the load until I get home, but (though I'm loath to promise blog posts, having a pretty atrocious recent record) I do hope to post a more personal, "Why I Signed" type of thing in due course.

New Blogs - no comments

Once upon a time, when we would only get a couple of new joiners per month, I used to announce all the new ones in a post. I haven't written one of those posts for a while, and far too many new blogs have appeared since those days, but I will try to rectify that with this list. It's pretty much everyone from the past 2 or 3 months. Yes, there's a vast number - the upcoming local elections may be partly responsible. Some you might not yet have heard of, some might have only dipped a toe in the water (so to speak), though some are already well-established.

Anyway, here's the list (most recent first):

• Keep Labour In
• Blogging4Merton - Blogspot from a Labour Merton councillor seeking re-election in Pollards Hill South London and a member of London Borough of Merton
• Living Ghosts Endurance Challenge - The Living Ghosts Endurance Challenge is a campaign to highlight the plight of failed asylum seekers living on a Red Cross food parcel and just £5 a week.
• Dan Jackson - Labour candidate for Preston ward in North Shields in the 2006 local council elections
• Thirsk and Malton - A blog for the Thirsk and Malton CLP. We're newly formed to pre-empt the boundary change due at the next general election. Everything around here is safe Tory, so it's pretty tough getting anybody to listen. Doesn't mean we don't have anything to say!
• Avondale Ward - Paul Corazzo is a Labour Councillor representing Avondale Ward on Kettering Borough Council
• Mildmay Labour - A blog charting the activities of Mildmay Labour Party in Islington.
• Eynesbury Rose - For the Eynesbury Ward of St Neots, Cambridgeshire
• Dear Diary - Lithgo Finni
• EC1 Cruise Control - Musings from my life on the fringes of the coattails of the London Media Left.
• Ian Robertson - A personal view of what goes on in and around Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council from the perspective of Middleton.
• B - transience is here to stay
• Julian Mott - What's happening in Horninglow, Burton on Trent (my ward) and my role as a councillor.
• One Perfect Rose...? - Life, literature and the Labour Party
• Barbara Portwin - Labour candidate for Village Ward, Southwark, South London.
• David Miliband - Minister of Communities and Local Government at the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.
• Lewis Atkinson - News and views from Lewis Atkinson: Labour candidate for the Cleadon & East Boldon ward of South Tyneside council.
• Jon Worth Euroblog - All the latest EU politics, comment, and analysis.
• Seb's Blag - Are you looking for incisive, intelligent, satirical commentary on current affairs, politics, race, and religion? Well, I wish you the very best of luck in your search. In the mean time, why don't you come and look at my blog?
• Waspish - The online equivalent of shouting at the telly
• New Jerusalem - A Christian Socialist and depressed Sunderland fan
• John Tyrrell Blogs - John Tyrrell blogs from Birmingham, England about local, national and international issues.
• Madoc Councillor - Labour Councillor for Plas Madoc, near Acrefair, in Wrexham.
• Skuds' Sister's Brother - Please send me evenings and weekends
• Softy Lefty Catchy Monkey - Liberty, equality and the other one.
• Dlogs - Dan Miller's blog
• Geoff Blog - Geoff Bridson's blog, Labour Party campaigner in Didsbury East
• Claire Hamilton - Claire Hamilton is Labour’s youngest councillor. Elected at 21, she overturned a sizeable Tory majority to win a seat on Hyndburn council in Lancashire.
• Khevyn Limbajee - Khevyn Limbajee is a 33-year-old TV producer standing for Waltham Forest council in London.
• Miranda Grell - Miranda Grell is a Labour activist in Leyton Ward in London borough of Waltham Forest
• North of the River - If evil triumphs because good women do nothing, I want to make sure no-one can blame it on me. My blog is about being a young person - 28 in normal years which is more like 3 in local politician years - and being involved in local politics.
• Take back the voice - Come on the journey of the goings on within Manchester labour and labour students as we approach the local elections. Experience the unique style of politics within the students union.
• Gareth Griffiths - Labour Councillor for Coedpoeth, Wrexham, Wales
• Hakmao
• TUC Organising Academy - This blog records the work and activity of the TUC Organising Academy. Set up in 1998, the Organising Academy has trained over 250 new union organisers and has made a significant contribution to the development of organising amongst trade unions in the UK
• Skipper - UK politics, parliament, and the press - Bill Jones, political author.
• Richard Williams - Living in Crystal Palace SE London. Originally from Penmaenamwr, North Wales.
• Stodge - An exciting blog built by Randi Mooney.
• A Far Fetched Resolution - Where pickles (the most rigid of all the dogs) chews the scattered bones of battlefields of the intercanine battles of the UK left, whilst cocking the odd leg against the lampost of the Tory "revival".

Congratulations if you've read this far down. Being a hardcore reader, you might be wondering why it's been 8 or 9 days since my last post. Well, apathy, blogger's block, and general business ('busy-ness' would have been a less grammatical, though clearer alternative phrase) at work. However, I have been working on something else... quite what that something else is will be revealed in due course!