There has been a lot of debate triggered by James Purnell's born again leftie campaign, which asks the question - What does it mean to be on the Left today?
Defining politics like this is really subjective, as it's not what is the left, but what do you hope for. Yet an answer is needed, as in politics there's more than one way of approaching a problem and how to solve it. In order to have that debate left and right are like wings on a plane, dependent on each other.
Clearly the left needs to redefine who they represent, class is not defined in the way it once was, it's a lot more ambiguous. So who should the left aspire to speak up for? My Grandfather always voted Labour, as he said they were the voice of the people. In such a consumer driven society those people should be everyone. As though a left wing economy will never happen in Britain and nor should it, trying to be fair and protecting people can. Regulation shouldn't be considered a dirty word with the right intention.
Equality of course is important to the left, yet it isn't just about minorities or income, but also the way power is distributed and that has to be from the top down. Currently equality is being tackled by growing the state and legislating, punish people for their deeds not their beliefs. As authoritarian is not what the left should be.
Yet under New Labour it has become just that, along with close minded, unfair, unequal and unjust. All the things that the left should rally against. Perhaps therefore the answer to Purnell's question is just simply - unrepresented.
Defining politics like this is really subjective, as it's not what is the left, but what do you hope for. Yet an answer is needed, as in politics there's more than one way of approaching a problem and how to solve it. In order to have that debate left and right are like wings on a plane, dependent on each other.
Clearly the left needs to redefine who they represent, class is not defined in the way it once was, it's a lot more ambiguous. So who should the left aspire to speak up for? My Grandfather always voted Labour, as he said they were the voice of the people. In such a consumer driven society those people should be everyone. As though a left wing economy will never happen in Britain and nor should it, trying to be fair and protecting people can. Regulation shouldn't be considered a dirty word with the right intention.
Equality of course is important to the left, yet it isn't just about minorities or income, but also the way power is distributed and that has to be from the top down. Currently equality is being tackled by growing the state and legislating, punish people for their deeds not their beliefs. As authoritarian is not what the left should be.
Yet under New Labour it has become just that, along with close minded, unfair, unequal and unjust. All the things that the left should rally against. Perhaps therefore the answer to Purnell's question is just simply - unrepresented.
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