The following article by Barry Gray, on Labour’s response to UKIP’s rise, originally appeared on Left Futures.
In the wake of UKIP’s electoral advance, both at this year’s General Election and last year’s European Parliament election, the Labour Party has come under growing pressure, from inside and outside its own ranks, to adapt to UKIP’s anti-immigrant and English nationalist agenda.
By Paul Lewis
The central thesis of Naomi Klein’s ‘This Changes Everything’ is that unless we ditch neo-liberal capitalism it won’t be possible to preserve a climate that can sustain human civilisation:
Stunning victory for Podemos
The local and regional elections held in the Spanish state were a victory for the anti-austerity political insurgents of Podemos and its allies and a defeat for the ruling Partido Popular (PP). This is an important breakthrough ahead of national elections to be held later this year and is a significant boost to the anti-austerity forces across Europe, especially Syriza in Greece.
The outcome of the British election produced a collapse of the classic ‘centrist vote’ represented by the Liberal Democrats and a polarisation to both the right and the left of the mainstream political parties. This is a new situation as the new formations on the right and on the left are substantial and are a significant factor on the changed political scene.
Upturn in the anti-austerity movement
Since the Tories won the election just two weeks ago (7 May), with the support of less than 25 per cent of the electorate, significant numbers of people have got involved in the movement against austerity to resist what will be the most right wing, vicious government since the Second World War.
Labour would not have won by moving right – that is just a myth
Following Labour’s defeat the Blairites and others have launched an offensive to shift the party rightwards and install a hard right-wing leadership. Backed by the Tory media, their barrage of attacks on Ed Miliband is creating the media myth of a leftward lurch that lost Labour the election.
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