There has been a lot of comment on the Rochdale by-election results. Four things stand out.
- Mainstream politics doesn’t reflect where the public are
- Local candidates can do well
- Labour has totally lost its way
- There is no room on the right, that is where the Tories are
Mainstream politics dosn’t reflect where the public are
By-elections can have low turnouts, this one hit a new low.
The mainstream position on Gaza is out of sync with where most people are. Most of those opposing or sickened by what’s happening in Gaza are neither anti-Semitic nor Islamic fundamentalists. Whether they are called anti-Semitic or Islamic fundamentalists seems to depend on which side of the cigarette paper dividing mainstream politicians the slight comes from. It’s not unique to GB it pervades western attitudes (see below)
But its not just on the war in Gaza that politics doesn't reflect public concern on the big issues or even connect with local ones, it's across the board. Galloway was clever enough to alter his campaign in the closing period to encompass local issues.
Local candidates can do well
The local candidate in an interview made the point about mainstream politics failing explicitly; many of his moderate supporters who want better for Rochdale were people with no voice in politics “they are not represented” (BBC Today Programme on Friday 1st March).So a down to earth local candidate can beat the main parties - this is actually encouraging and should be applauded. I can’t overstate this - groups like More in Common have been finding that there are majorities for a wide range of policies that are not currently on the agenda: they were in Labour's programme until Kier Starmer changed the party (he likes to brag about that) which brings us to the next point.
Holistic political economy is all about what it would take to get ordinary people who are grounded in their communities and know whats what into politics. To get ordinary people into positions of influence and make the creation of our collective common wealth a reality.
Labour has totally lost its way
The gulf between what labour has become and the day to day reality experienced by people who should be its natural supporters is thrown into high relief. Its selection processes are centralised and their fitness for purpose has to be questioned. If the Labour Party was doing the job it was set up for in 1906 the labour candidate would be a local candidate. The candidate they (rightly) dropped was only recently selected. The previous incumbent MP Simon Danczuk who sent inappropriate messages to a teenager then turns up as the Reform UK candidate; OK people change but one has to ask, is there a pattern here? If the local party was grounded in the local community someone like David Tully wouldn’t be able to cut through (2 above)
Watching this circus who'd know Rochdale Mill workers opposed slavery in 1862 even though it impacted their livelihoods? Who'd know that Rochdale is the birthplace of an international movement that employs 12% of the worlds working populations and is worth £2t pa. I'm refering to the Rochdale Pioneers who founded the cooperative movement. Yes it's history and I can just hear the question; what's that got to do with me now? Well it's our history, it's about framing and the stories we tell; put it simply there is an alternative and it works.
There is no room on the right, that is where the Tories are
The Reform candidate came last, confounding those who say it will break through but that’s mixed news because the Tories have such a vociferous and out of control populist right wing. It looks like the PM is using the result as a fig leaf whilst he sets the stage for even more restrictions on legitimate protest. It’s almost as if he’s dismissing the Rochdale electorate and accusing them of Islamic fundamentalism. Under this government we have already seen attempts at voter suppression (voter-id), the underfunded Electoral Commission brought under political control, attacks on the right to Judical review and restrictions on protest. The BBC coverage of Rochdale picked a bit of this up; tellingly a random Vox Pop turned out to be a person who’d failed to vote because a copy of his driving licence was not deemed to be sufficient voter ID.
NOTES
Rochdale Election Results https://democracy.rochdale.gov.uk/mgElectionAreaResults.aspx?ID=249&RPID=30587437
Not just the uk; An Israeli director receives death threats after officials call Berlin film festival ‘antisemitic’ https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/feb/27/israeli-director-receives-death-threats-after-officials-call-berlinale-antisemitic).
Starmer bragging about his changes to the labour party https://www.msn.com/en-ie/news/other/starmer-when-i-say-i-ve-changed-the-labour-party-i-mean-it/vi-BB1jaHL8
More in Common https://www.moreincommon.org.uk/blog/labour-can-turn-apathy-into-enthusiasm-by-talking-up-its-popular-policies/ There are other sources that repeatedly show the public to be on the issues which politicians don't deal with
Rishi Sunak’s statement https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-politics-68451380. Based on calls to any answers (Saturday 2 March) I’m not alone in thinking he’s in paranoid alternative reality and it’s inflammatory and threatening