Saw some talk about Stewart Lee, can’t be bothered to find out why, but I’ve always loved this particular digression during his intensely digressive “pear cider” bit.
To understand how superficial this Labour win is you only need to zoom out.
After 14 years in office, the Tories are truly spent. They have nothing to offer. Redolent of Blair’s win in 1997, a well-fed show pig would have won.
But party backers and strategists understand the importance of breaks in power that allow for party consolidation and reinvention — but only provided that power doesn’t fall to candidates that will challenge the status quo during those breaks.
The Tories were going to eventually lose — this is the perfect time, for them, to do so.
In practice, the Tories handing the reins to a Labour Party that broadly supports all the same policies is a win for those the Tories represent — the ruling class. They know that eventually us plebs have to see a term or two under a different government to appease us, but they know Starmer won’t challenge their wealth and power and privilege during this period.
In fact, they’re so chuffed that Starmer is their man, versus someone like Corbyn who’d have taxed the shit out of them to help reduce inequality, that they’re out in their droves supporting him.
And so it goes: the veneer of democracy is upheld while nothing material will change.
So, no, this is not a win for the common person; on the contrary, it’s a win for those who oppress us. And anyone celebrating this is a useful idiot, naively greasing the wheels of our shared exploitation.
“To those who call me Boomer I say, I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe. HMS Vanguard towed to breakers, the Student Riots of 68, the Grammar Schools - closed, Moscow during communism, the election of Anthony Blair… All those moments lost in time like tears in the rain”
Perenially annoying neoliberal and trowel pervert Tony Robisnon could have had a transformative Labour government 7 years ago but instead he did everything in his power to campaign against it. We've got his receipts and will happily participate in his eventual show trial.
I’m not sure this comedy sketch is much known outside of Ireland, but it is a true classic. It’s from a show called Your Bad Self (2010) and features a young Domhnall Gleeson.
Hate to say it, but Tory MP Alicia Kearns is in a different league than anyone on the Labour front bench. Or indeed the Tory Cabinet, for that matter....