A Career in Politics

I guess everyone going into politics fulltime must look on it at as career as well as a means of taking their beliefs to the public. Of course younger people probably see themselves on a path that leads to being prime minister. Amongst the British upper class a career in politics has always been a respectable occupation. Churchill, for example, followed his father into it.

With the Labour Party you would hope that balance of beliefs and career would tilt towards the beliefs side. I suspect the majority of pre-WW2 Labour MPs were like this. Before the 1945 election Herbert Morrison brought in more university educated candidates as he felt some of the older industrial and mining Labour MPs couldn’t do the job in Parliament. With the massive win in 1945 Labour ended up with not only the most MPs it ever had but also the best educated. Morrison was later to regret what he had done when these new labour MPs voted for one of their own, Hugh Gaitskell, as leader instead of him on Attlee’s retirement.

I suspect that beliefs were driving force in the likes of Ernie Bevin, Nye Bevan and even Clem Attlee although what they believed in may have been quite far apart. Most of today’s Labour MPs I could quite easily imagine being in another party. In other words the balance has moved in the direction of the career.

I guess the Blairs are my best example. Both came into politics via the law. Whereas John Smith had a strong christian socialist belief. Tony seems to be far more vague in what he believes. As we watch many of Labour leadership being hounded for sleazy financial donation scandals the lack of belief in ideas comes out strongly.

Until Labour can get back to having leaders and MPs that actually have an ideology it might just as well be a Tory or Liberal government in power. Maybe a walk in the wilderness will do the party good. For me the ideology of the Labour party is socialism. It comes in many forms and the left and right can argue about it forever, but it is the base of the party. If Gordon Brown and his MPs can not believe in socialism in some form they should leave and join another party.

A Short Sunday Walk

The weekends I can get quicker access to the klong by going through the school playground. I don't like doing this in the week as I'm sure the teachers have enough problems keeping the kids attention. I had to make a delivery this morning and wasn't going to take a walk but changed my mind and took a short 45 minute break.

There is a large footbridge by the school's back entrance and I crossed the klong there and turned right. The photo above shows the view south from the footbridge. I walked through the community on the left bank to the road bridge you can just make out in the distance. From there I came back down through the housing estate roads. I took this picture a couple of weeks ago. If I took it today you would see almost every house had there washing out to dry. Sundays must be washing days I guess.

Today's thought is Peter Mandelson, not a very pleasant one either. I have the 2001 Herbert Morrison biography by Donoughue and Jones with Mandelson's forward. He tries to link himself, Blair and New Labour with his grandfather Morrison. Yes, Morrison was on the right of the party but he still thought of himself as a socialist. He had a very working class upbringing and really not much in common with the Mandelsons and Blairs.

If you want to compare Morrison with a present politician look no further than Ken Livingstone. Both have the ability to organize, administer and delegate. Both have had the chance to run London. It is a shame that Ken never had a cabinet job, but lucky for London.