Election thoughts from Andrew Feinstein, Paul Rogers and Laura Alvarez

Andrew Feinstein, director of the anti-corruption organisation Corruption Watch and author of The Shadow World: Inside the Global Arms Trade’, announced his bid to become the independent MP for Holborn and St Pancras three weeks ago. The seat is currently held by Keir Starmer.

Feinstein writes; “It is no secret that Britain and the world face mounting crises: climate change, student debt, an ageing population and hard-up families, ruinous forever wars, a degrading public sphere and genocide in Gaza.

“The Labour Party manifesto offers no solutions to these crises. In fact, it provides answers that have brought these crises into being, and which will only make these worse — even as it makes the party’s assorted business and billionaire backers fabulously rich.”

He promises to fight this zombie revival of neoliberalism tooth-and-nail; to argue and push for a tax regime that taxes the wealthiest to help those most in need; to back climate policies that are commensurate with the size of the problem; to make the moral and economic argument for a social housing system in which everybody has the right to live in dignified accommodation, and to reject, totally, the outdated and dangerous approach to national security that makes all of us poorer and less safe, and which continues to permit the genocide of the civilians of Gaza. Continues here.

Paul Rogers asks, “Will Labour’s left-wing purges affect its ability to govern?”

He refers to the anger at Labour’s official stance on Gaza and continuing support for the Israeli government, a mood extending to much of the party’s left wing, as well as the leadership’s determination to clamp down on internal dissent.

The cases of Diane Abbott, Lloyd Russell-Moyle – against whom an eight-year-old complaint was made and Faiza Shaheen, the Labour candidate for Chingford and Woodford Green, who was also suddenly deselected after the election was called were cited.

Unease among many Labour supporters extends beyond the response to the carnage in Gaza to the many examples of Labour changing its policies. Most prominent are the watering down of previous climate commitments and the refusal to recognise the fundamental injustices of neoliberalism as we move even further into the era of runaway wealth. Read the whole article here.

I am voting for the independent Jeremy Corbyn: Laura Alvarez

Jeremy has put himself at the service of every constituent and has stood up for us since he was first elected 41 years ago. He’s been our beacon of hope and never ignored the needs of voters in Islington North, even when he was leader of the Labour Party. . Read the whole article here

Paul Rogers ends: “The challenge will be to develop and promote policies appropriate to a troubled state facing a persistent socio-economic divide in a global system facing climate breakdown. It will be a time for much new thinking – daunting and challenging, yet in a country that still has potential for wise and effective governance”.

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