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Where does hope come from? The relentless diet of terrible news sits heavily on our shoulders and drags us all down at least a few notches.
Charlatans like Nigel Farage and President Donald Trump seem to get away with murder. And the disappointment of Labour in Government – and its maddening decisions to do things like cut the regulations that stop the city exploding the economy again, boil our blood. The constant dread of climate chaos, the awful relentlessness of unnecessary poverty, and of course the daily horrors of Gaza mean that shadows darken our path.
None more so than the decision to designate Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation. Because it is so revealing. Progressive Governments, if they are to deliver meaningful change, need not just visions and ideas but countervailing forces to take on those of the right.
For a Labour Government – I repeat in Kinnock-esque Welsh tones, ‘a Labour Government’ – to actively and purposefully undermine the ability of citizens to protest against the inhumanity of what is happening in Gaza shows a Government that’s become deeply enmeshed in the British establishment.
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Because this isn’t just about Palestine Action, this is about asserting the coercive power of the state over any and all challenge to what is in the interests of that establishment. And worse than that the principle has been established, that on the most spurious grounds the interests of the state can crush the deeply held beliefs of the citizen and in the future Robert Jenrick, Farage or worse can apply that principle to anyone on the left who gets in their sights.
This then becomes a double whammy. By refusing to offer the country the change they promised at the last election, Labour paves the way for Reform, not because people believe Farage will be any better, but in the absence of hope you might as well roll the dice.
But they make matters worse by preparing the ground for an authoritarian state response to anyone who challenges the economic and global orthodoxies of the establishment they have submitted to. This of course is a vicious spiral, the more a Government resists the economic democratic changes needed, the more people will protest beyond the ballot box.
And it’s not just citizens that Labour looks to discipline, but its own backbenchers. Suspensions handed out to MPs merely trying to defend their constituents stands in stark contrast to rebellions under the last Labour Government who knew that keeping left wing rebels like Jeremy Corbyn inside the tent was crucial in electoral terms.
UPDATE
The Battle for the Soul Of ‘Your Party’ Is Already Underway
Some activists demand greater say in new left-wing group amid claims of top-down approach ahead of inaugural conference, reports Adrian Goldberg
Adrian Goldberg
But by suspending people like Corbyn, the brittleness of this approach has been exposed through the inevitable creation of a left-wing alternative with mass appeal in the shape of Your Party.
So yes, the world can feel bleak.
But then we remind ourselves that we can be and are so much better than this. That nothing lasts forever. And that what seems impossible today can become reality tomorrow.
Important evidence for this can be found in research being pulled together by Common Cause which shows the trend, though uneven, that UK citizens increasingly prioritise universalism and benevolence values.
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