Rats and Lifeboats

I have been reading a collection of essays by those concerned to break the cycle of Conservative decline just prior to Cameron` election. It was published by the Bow group . This would be instructive for anyone genuinely wishing to save the Labour Party from what begins to look like the end (See MORI , 48% Con 28% Lab.and that’s a pro Labour poll usually )
What strikes me about this wailing and gnashing of teeth is that it all starts from the wrong place . Who would have thought that the feral attack partisan Sunny Hundal would glimpse the truth .
“- the only way the liberal left see their agenda progress is by building mass-movements and sustaining them. Have we done that? No. We’ve in fact failed miserably to figure out what sort of an agenda we want to see and build mass movements to make any progress on them. …”
The state of denial is forgivable .The Conservative Party went with immigration and super-bugs and flat lined in their safety zoned for about nine years . New Labour have a better excuse .All the fun and excitement of prancing around being world leaders ,( are all ends the same I wonder) , has caused an amnesia to set in about the extent of their unpopularity before the economy imploded . Its early days as well and an election defeat may be needed for the grim truth to register . Conservatives needed two
The Bow group contributors , and others in the Conservative Party close to Cameron went through the evidence .They drew on sophisticated marketing techniques of course but at heart it was ‘listening’ and formed the basis of most of the ‘message’.
The first thing Labour have to do is to stop leaping from foot to foot like Rumplestitskin and open their ears . At the moment there is still the inevitable Cinderella fantasy , if they only understood who we are they would love us . No , they know who you are and they do not like you , if and when the economy recovers they will still not like you. Having done that , then carry the Party….
Cameron managed to find the intellectual resources in Conservative tradition to make the new direction seem ~”Conservative “ .He emphasised the quietists , moderate , conserving side of the Party , the suspicion of dogma and much more to control Thatcherite free-marketeers . Clegg and ambitious Liberals reached back to 19th century Gladstonian models wuith success .Labour are yet to see the problem.
They need to ditch socialism finally and irrevocably . I would look at emphasising the tradition of self improvement , traditional working class values and municipal low level government .They need a Purnell that’s sounds and looks like Alan Johnson . There is little point in loyalty at this stage , rats may leave a sinking ship ...but so do life boats