Catchy title for today’s blog eh? I heard Jeremy Hardy on Radio 4 this morning talk about the current Labour Party leadership election. For £3 interested members of the public could get a chance to vote for their candidate (even if they are not members of the Labour Party). This widening of the net is an interesting experiment in democracy.
Jeremy Hardy attempted to become a registered Labour Supporter in order to get a say in who runs the Labour Party. His application was declined. No reason was given apparently, so the other guest on this morning’s radio show suggested that he requests a copy of the information that the Labour Party holds on him (right of subject access).
This should make interesting reading. He supported the Green Party candidate in his local constituency on the grounds that she was the best candidate and embraced true socialist principles.
Socialism is getting a rough ride at the moment in the U.K. Renationalising the railways and our energy resources has been suggested by Mr Corbyn, I believe. Good luck with that. Tony Benn always had some interesting ideas about what should come under public ownership, a socialist principle that set him at odds with the New Labour crowd.
Selling off the family silver became popular under Thatcher, so we now have very little affordable public housing, expensive water charges, a baffling set of rail fares for long distance UK travel and foreign ownership of national resources such as water. A lot of the nation’s assets were sold off far too cheaply (such as BT and British Gas) and quickly showed their true market value on the stock exchange.
Comedians such as Jeremy Hardy often ridicule the absurdity of British politics and politicians. It is another act of absurdity to exclude him from participating in the Labour leadership election
odespinner 