For Peter H, I'm a Lib Dem who lived for 10 years in Didsbury until last January, when we moved away. I thought I'd have a look at this website again, to see to see if there was now anything on it worth looking at. I saw it when it was first set up, and it was just a tirade. But now there seems to be at least some decent debate on it, even though the tone hasn't totally transformed!
For "Labour Supporter":
I seem not to have made myself clear. Where on earth did I suggest that Labour activists can or should spend hours of time with individual electors trying to explain every part of their party's policy? I don't think I said anything about that at all.
What I was saying .. and I thought I made it clear enough .. was that, on this site, Labour loyalists like you have a golden chance to communicate with disillusioned former members of your party who come on here actually wanting to feel able to support the party again. They're in here, and you're in here often enough - you and your party colleagues don't have to spend time going out looking for them. Their natural home is with you. They'd like to be back with Labour, but they're unhappy. It doesn't take much time or effort, as you're evidently a happy Labour loyalist, for you to enter into a serious and respectful debate with them, and try to answer their criticisms and misgivings about how the New Labour project is working out. You may or may not win them back. You may or may not agree with, or accept, the things that they say they don't like. But you've got an opportunity, in this arena, to convince them. But as all you do is bawl puerile abuse at them, you haven't got a prayer. Apart from the sheer childishness and discourtesy of it, I honestly don't see what you think you're achieving. Your party's membership has been in free fall in recent years. You NEED these people, in the party in general, and certainly you need them supporting the cause in Withington. They're not like me, they want to be with you. And yet you just slag them off at every opportunity.
Perhaps you wonder why I care. It probably isn't really worth me telling you, as no doubt you'll continue to think that I'm a pathetic Fib Dem who can't tell his political arse from his elbow. And I guess you'd also think that, as I'm the enemy, I'd only be interested in doing Labour down anyway. Well, if I'm honest, when I read your responses, that feeling does arise. But when I disperse the steam from my ears, I remind myself that I do believe in democracy, and that democracy requires an opposition, if politics is going to keep healthy. That's why I believe, in principle, that this site is a good idea. It's right that John Leech, like every other politician, should be watched, because politicians need to be accountable - like the website says, "they work for you"! And the value of a strong opposition is that they're the people who'll hopefully put particular effort, dedication and skill into doing seeing that they are accountable, and they'll be able to do so all the better because they come from an alternative political standpoint, and can offer the voter an alternative choice.
And, in Withington, who's going to fulfil that opposition role? Not the Tories - they're a "busted flush" in the constituency for the foreseeable future. The Greens? Maybe, but they're not strong enough on the ground yet. It's Labour that's the natural party of opposition to a Lib Dem MP in Withington. But I don't see much constructive opposition, at least in here; you're too busy slagging the people who want to be on your side Is it some sort of political death wish?
And do you really think that Lib Dems flooded Withington with outside activists in May 2005? Would that we had ... the whole campaign would have been a damn sight less exhausting if we had been able to rely on squads of outsiders like that. Yes, we had a lot of help from all over the place in Cheadle a few months later, because that was a by-election. We just don't have the people available at a general election to flood Withington, which was just one, fairly long-shot, constituency which came, I think, about 94th on our list in terms of the swing we'd need to win. We had a bit of help from some neighbouring Manchester constituencies, plus, I recall, three who came over from Altrincham because they didn't think they stood a chance of toppling the Tory. There may have been the odd other person, but those were all the activists from outside that I encountered. In the main, it was just ordinary local members plodding the streets for the six months prior to the election.
I won't even start on the "give the people what they need, not what they want" business; Peter H has said what needed to be said. Looks like New Labour's the modern equivalent of the barons of old .. or is it the Central Committee?!
If most of the remaining Labour supporters are like "Labour Supporter",
(1) Boy, I'm even more glad we won last time; and
(2) with such troops on the ground, I think Lucy Powell has something of a hill to climb.
