Democracy and a response to Hopi Sen re Jeremy Corbyn

Didn't really know what picture to post here. So googled images for democracy and this seemed pretty good to me!:

For those who don't know about him, Hopi Sen, to quote his blog, ' After the 2001 election I moved to Party HQ, before becoming the head of campaigns at the Parliamentary Labour Party' to catch up with his career to date, please go to the 'about Hopi' part of his very interesting blog HOPI SEN a blog from the backroom

I enjoy his blog, sometimes agree with it, sometimes don't. That's called democracy, the freedom to discuss and disagree if we are so moved. I don't think I have ever felt moved to disagree, much less publicly do so, until this week and his latest blog: I can’t vote for Corbyn. I won’t leave the Labour party.

This is my slightly expanded initial response to the original blog and not to the later comments and Hopi Sen's replies. That I will do later and separately in my own personna!

Very many people left the Labour Party in the time of Tony Blair [and have returned with the election of Jeremy Corbyn] because Blair then, like Corbyn now was unpopular with some Labour Party members. Meanwhile many of us stayed whilst really, really disliking Blair's political views - in my case because I wouldn't let him drive me away - but we weren't so voluble as those who seem to dislike the idea of Jeremy Corbyn for PM . We stayed because we loved our party and wanted to preserve it. And in the principle of another little word: democracy. We had been beaten in a leadership election [if you must know I had voted for John Prescott] but were not going to throw our toys out of the pram just because our choice didn't win.

So I and others stayed and in local constituency meetings expressed our views but in public supported those elected because of that little word - democracy. We didn't write blogs [OK this was pre '97 and blogging wasn't the thing] knocking Blair and his colleagues. In fact I even defended him on occasion, when he did something I admired. In subsequent leadership elections I didn't vote for his followers, something I didn't hide but when those I supported [John McDonnell] didn't win the popular vote, I once more kept my toys in the pram and - because of democracy - flew the party flag. Even though I didn't like the red rose emblem and missed singing the red flag. I still sang it as a lullaby to my grandchildren as I had to their parents.

This year I was delighted to support Jeremy Corbyn for party leader. I have followed him for many years and when he rocked up and supported a campaign I was helping run from 2009 I was of course highly delighted. But he was again the man I had admired for many years, giving his support in a constant but unobstrusive manner. At some of our demos and rallies he would mingle with the crowd, unlike some MPs [from all parties] who would shoulder their way to the front and get in all the photos but not always turn up to the debates in the House of Commons on our cause. That campaign ran for 5 years, we were successful thanks to those who supported us like Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell [and - to show how fair I am] others MPs from other parties. And massive financial help from Unite union. But I digress.

You may have gathered from this I have always been on the left wing of the The Labour Party Not a militant, or a 'trot', but actually a Pacifist, a member of groups like CND, Amnesty, HOPE not hate, even Stop the War [heavens forfend!] But suddenly I find myself in the press described as 'One of the Hard Left', 'An Extremist' and some less flattering titles.

When I was supporting Jeremy in the leadership campaign I constantly appealed to the 'opponents' to act, if he won, as magnaminous in their defeat as I knew our true supporters would be. You can see some of these appeals on my blog here. The comments of some since like Chuka Umunna have not been helpful, sadly, in my opinion. But in the face of democracy he is of course free to make them.

I can understand how Hopi Sen feels. It doesn't matter that he personally does not like Jeremy Corbyn's views. I understand that he is asking people not to leave the party because they can stay in the way he is staying. But I am asking him, in the name of democracy, to accept that Jeremy Corbyn is a man respected by a large part of our party. Individually we may not agree with every single thing he says either. Would it surprise Hopi to find that I part company with Jeremy over certain policy areas?  I can't believe there are any two people in the land who can agree on absolutely everything!!  

I honestly believe Jeremy is a good man who has been consistent in his ideas over all the time I have known him and I trust him. Those who know me will know what a big statement that last one is for me to make. And no, I don't know all the answers. And I would hate to be in his position at the moment. But I am really happy he is there! That is not to say that Hopi Sen is not a good man, just that we differ in our views. But in the interests of the party we obviously both love and to which we both wish to remain loyal please moderate the tone of your comments about Mr Corbyn. There are enough outside the party looking for ways to harm us. without us doing their job for them.

I have always been proud that our party has been made up of those who form almost a rainbow coat of political shades. Let's tolerate the different hue that may be the latest style and sees what will come of it!

Fraternally, Elizannie

Nature [and Newspapers] Re[a]d in Tooth and Claw

The quote

Nature, red in tooth and claw

is from Lord Tennyson's In Memoriam A. H. H., 1850. [Canto 56] It is generally taken to mean that 'nature' is pretty cruel, and whilst we may gaze at the 'cute lion cubs' playing on a TV documentary or in a zoo, we must also realize that they will grow up to be dangerous, predatory animals.


Tennyson wrote his epic poem to celebrate the life of - and also mourn the sudden death of - his best friend Arthur Hallam. The short phrase quoted is part of the following:

Who trusted God was love indeed
And love Creation's final law
Tho' Nature, red in tooth and claw
With ravine, shriek'd against his creed

and questions why the God whom Churches in the 19thC taught loved 'All creatures great and small' [to quote Mrs Alexander] could also let evil things happen to them. Obviously Tennyson was questioning why his young friend [Hallam was only 22 when he died] died so suddenly. Tennyson, like many others at this time, must have wondered whether God existed in view of the sort of scientific discoveries that explorers like Darwin were making.



Of course in the 21st century many believe that the two are not incompatible, but in the 19th century they seemed so and Darwin - who at one time in his life had planned to enter the church - lost his faith due to his evolution theories. Those who had relied upon the Bible to guide them throughout their daily lives felt adrift in the light of what they felt to be a complete overturning of long held beliefs.


So where am I going with this blog? Perhaps many do not now rely on the Bible, or other religious teaching in their daily lives. Whereas in most middle class Victorian households the first thing to be read [out loud] in the morning was the Bible, and the servants were included in this 'instruction', now the early morning reading/hearing for most is the newspaper on the way to work/radio news. How often do we hear 'it must be right, it's in the ....[fill in the name of whatever national/local paper that applies!]


Suddenly in just over a week the sort of change that took place in mid - late 19thC Britain over religious beliefs is happening with the public's faith in three public institutions. Newspapers are not now to be believed it seems: although at the moment it is only the News of the World, the Sun and the Times that are included in the News International 'nastiness', the whole of Grub Street seems to be teetering on the edge of a chasm of disbelief by the public. The 'phone hacking scandal, which seems to have been bubbling away for years, has 'gone viral'.



When public figures like John Prescott said a few years ago that there was more to this than we had been told, he was accused in certain areas of the press and media of being over the top and causing trouble. Other public figures and politicians like Tom Watson MP were scorned for their warnings. The police seem, at the very least, to have been very careless in their investigations and top politicians are firstly victims of the most awful intrusions into their private lives and others may have been aware of what was going on. So who do we, the public, trust?


And there is also another area of confusion for the public. Last night on Newsnight [BBC2] the actor Hugh Grant questioned the executive editor of the Times, part of the News International Group, Roger Alton about the 'phone hacking scandal. Now here's the thing. Grant played the Prime Minster in the RomCom Love Actually and wasn't awfully good at it, imo. And he has played a lot of upperclass slightly twittish characters in his career, not to mention his adventures in Los Angeles and love life with Liz Hurley. But last night, in the interview with Roger Alton, Grant came across as statesman like, dignified and reasonable whilst the newspaper executive editor was as daft as a brush [imo] making ludicrous excuses and at times quite insulting really.


So whether or not there are more revelations to come, the damage caused to the victims already named is too much. Investigative journalism, which is impressive when it is properly done, has been damaged too by cheap sensationalism parading under the name of 'investigative'. The police have a lot of questions to answer as do some politicians.


Back to nature, red in tooth in claw. Last week in deepest Somerset I saw birds pecking at road kill [badgers and rabbits] and also saw some 'dear little bunnies' displaying signs of myxomatosis whilst others, hopefully immune, played on nearby and big birds like kestrels and sparrow hawks were out hunting 'pretty little birds'. Watching the media interviews and House of Commons enquiry into the 'phone hacking scandal seemed a bit like anthropomorphism in reverse.

And the picture. The sadly defunct Daily Herald - a REAL newspaper. Worth noting that it 'died' in 1969 only after it was bought out by News International in 1968! My father was lobby correspondent for the Herald for many years so this blog is dedicated to him and all the honest journalists everywhere!