Thursday, September 08, 2016
TUC boss questions Labour's competence as an opposition
With Labour facing inwards, divided and quarrelsome, another senior figure in the party is publicly questioning their competence as an opposition and the way that they are letting the Tories off the hook.
The Guardian reports that the head of the Trades Union Congress has questioned whether Labour is ready to mount an effective opposition capable of winning a general election.
They say that Frances O’Grady has voiced her concern that the party has been too focused on internal rows at a time when workers’ rights are under threat as ministers decide the terms for Brexit:
Her words come as unions, which are bitterly divided over the future of the party, prepare for the annual congress in Brighton on Sunday. Most affiliated unions are backing Jeremy Corbyn, the overwhelming favourite, as he moves towards an expected victory over Owen Smith in the current leadership contest.
But O’Grady indicated that the party has been too focused on issues of party membership and whether MPs should be deselected, instead of holding Theresa May to account.
“It is important that Labour does not just focus on members and MPs but actually unites and gets on with being an effective opposition and map out a route to victory.
“When there is a leadership contest on, people are inward-looking. But my strong advice would be that many working people are looking to Labour to become an effective opposition which is united and focused on the concerns of working people. Labour needs to be in a position to win these people’s votes,” she said.
This is of course yet another example of how weak leadership from Jeremy Corbyn, massive splits between the Parliamentary Party and the membership and an obsession with process is letting the Tory government off the hook again and again.
The losers in all of this are not the Labour Party but voters and democracy itself. Without effective scrutiny, democracy cannot operate effectively. Labour have long abandoned any pretence at providing that scrutiny.
The Guardian reports that the head of the Trades Union Congress has questioned whether Labour is ready to mount an effective opposition capable of winning a general election.
They say that Frances O’Grady has voiced her concern that the party has been too focused on internal rows at a time when workers’ rights are under threat as ministers decide the terms for Brexit:
Her words come as unions, which are bitterly divided over the future of the party, prepare for the annual congress in Brighton on Sunday. Most affiliated unions are backing Jeremy Corbyn, the overwhelming favourite, as he moves towards an expected victory over Owen Smith in the current leadership contest.
But O’Grady indicated that the party has been too focused on issues of party membership and whether MPs should be deselected, instead of holding Theresa May to account.
“It is important that Labour does not just focus on members and MPs but actually unites and gets on with being an effective opposition and map out a route to victory.
“When there is a leadership contest on, people are inward-looking. But my strong advice would be that many working people are looking to Labour to become an effective opposition which is united and focused on the concerns of working people. Labour needs to be in a position to win these people’s votes,” she said.
This is of course yet another example of how weak leadership from Jeremy Corbyn, massive splits between the Parliamentary Party and the membership and an obsession with process is letting the Tory government off the hook again and again.
The losers in all of this are not the Labour Party but voters and democracy itself. Without effective scrutiny, democracy cannot operate effectively. Labour have long abandoned any pretence at providing that scrutiny.
