Interesting statement by UK Labor MP Starmer relating to the UK's future.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

This is part of an article for Labour List (not certain what that means) by Keir Starmer:

From Guardian UK live blog: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2019/dec/20/brexit-withdrawal-agreement-boris-johnson-mps-labour-leader-live-news?page=with:block-5dfc97788f08c3972263ddf4#liveblog-navigation

(snips - emphasis is mine)

Starmer writes:

My case file, and that of most Labour MPs, is filled with the cases of people suffering stress, anxiety and hunger because of universal credit.

I want to transform our party into a movement that empowers them to speak for themselves. To do that, we must open up power like never before. An inequality of power underpins the inequalities of wealth and opportunity that scar our country. The trade unions were founded to give power and a voice to working class people. They founded the Labour Party, and by winning power we built the NHS, free state education and the welfare state.

The rich and privileged have always had the power they need to shape their lives and to shape world in their own interests. Labour’s historic task is to open up power to everyone else so we can build the fairer world we believe in. We call it socialism because we believe in the transformative power of society and communities. That historic mission remains our mission today.

But we can’t do it on our own. The point about a movement is it brings everyone together in a common cause. Labour must learn from the social movements that people create to fight injustice: renters’ unions, delivery drivers’ unions, movements to prevent social cleansing of estates. We need to embed this party deep into the everyday lives of people in areas that feel hopeless and abandoned.

(Starmer then calls for Labour to broaden its appeal and widen its ideological stance)

The Labour tradition has never drawn from a single ideology: at its best, it is an alliance of different traditions. The challenge of leadership is to draw out the best from them, and get them working towards the single goal of an electoral majority.

We have so much more in common than that which divides us, and each of us has something to teach and something to learn. With the whole party and whole movement pulling together rather than pulling apart, we can, and we will, win.

Starmer bio from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keir_Starmer (he's a child of working class folks)

I've always believed one of our biggest challenges for restoring our democracy to balance and fairness is in lending proper voice to all citizens on an equal basis, rather than organizations and media giving preference to the wealthy. It will require far more than just this periodic back-and-forth exchanging of power with the Rethugs.

All bright ideas are welcome!

Happy holidays to all..........

[Recursion]

1. Universal Credit was a good idea but the Tories wrecked its implementation

The idea is solid: a no-strings cash benefit does more to help poor people than vouchers or in-kind assistance. But somehow the Tories managed to make this cost more to administer than the original system, and still aren't getting the money to all the people who are entitled to it. What an absolute fiasco.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

3. I have read some very sad stories on the Guardian and BBC where...

people in poor health living in villages with no government offices and no public transport were required to re-comply something like every month just for some basic aid, and some just could not make it to the nearest office each time and were dropped.

Most folks like that have no voice or power to fight mistreatment. I suspect there's millions of them in the UK and know there's a huge number in the U.S. Many die early due to this problem.

I seriously think the cruelty of the Tories is equal to, or perhaps beyond America's Republicans.

[OnDoutside]

2. I suspect that this is an appeal to the unions more than anything else.

They have a lot to be blamed for, as it was they who drove the selection of Ed Milliband over his older, and better brother, David. Ed was completely out of his depth, and then the path was opened up for Corbyn. I like Starmer but I fear he'll be too moderate for the unions

[KY_EnviroGuy]

4. Do you think the Tories will use this window of power to destroy or....

severely weaken all unions like what's happened in the USA?

Seems that Labor had better get their shit together and damned fast or else close their doors.

Labor infighting could keep the wingnuts in control forever......

[OnDoutside]

5. They always do try, and with Brexit, I'm sure they'll double down. If

they blamed the EU for their ills, it's a big mistake to make.