AnatolyKasparov wrote:The contrast between Creasy and the clapped out inspiration free neo-Blairite apparatchiks above backing Kendall to the death, is all too apparent.
She offers both hope (as does Corbyn, in his own way) and a practical way forward (as New Labour did back in the day)
In that sense, she is arguably the most genuinely "Blairite" candidate in this election.
I am voting Creasy, but she does have one major thing in common with the (overt) Blairites.
She is going to lose. Badly. Doing far worse than expected.
Machine man Watson, a man as devoid of appeal outside of the party as is possible to imagine, will win easily.
The reason is the same for why Corbyn is doing so well.
2015 was a shock. The party expected to lose 2010. It had been in power for a long time and accepted, if not agreed with, the idea of the party responsible for Iraq and in power during the worst domestic crisis since the 70s leaving office. Democracy requires a change of government sometimes. Indeed, in 2010 Labour did rather better than expected, and so with a new generation in power and no more Blair/Brown battles there was cause for optimism. 2010 was called a good election to lose, deeply unpopular cuts and a Lib Dem collapse made a Labour victory in 2015 likely.
2015 came as a blow, and the party had and has a lovely excuse for refusing to accept reality. Scotland. Haven't we just been destroyed from the left by the SNP? If that works in Scotland why not try it here? If we lost under Miliband what reason is there for thinking that we'll win under Miliband II (Burnham)? With boundary changes and easier fiscal conditions for the next 5 years compared to the past 5, what would be the point of compromise again?
So, fuck it. Vote for candidates saying what you want rather than the voices of the right calling for compromise.
So we get Watson as deputy, and either Burnahm or Corbyn for leader.
Indeed there is I suppose a certain logic to this insanity. If 270MPs are essentially powerless, why is 150 so much worse? At least we have people arguing for the renationalisation of BT, the post office, electricity and gas companies like Corbyn did this am.
There are other factors (it is only the oldsters who are still scarred by 83, the new membership is clearly more leftwing). But the big problem is fatalism and defeatism.
People like Creasy don't stand a chance in that atmosphere.
