Posts by HenryB
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Hard News: Democracy Night, in reply to WH,
Labour should cede its left flank to the Greens and move its message to the centre in order to maximise the two parties’ combined share of the vote. Labour should be re-establishing it’s connection with the working and middle classes by focusing on issues of common concern (health, education, employment, crime, foreign affairs, and the economy).
Generally agree with this, except it is not so much ceding it's "left" flank as ceding a particular part of the spectrum of progressive policy to emphasise. The Greens - and before them, Values - (and I have voted for both in the past) draw attention to place of humanity in relation to the enviornment arguing, quite rightly, that current socioeconomic arrangements with regard to our use of the world are completely unsustainable and that there is a limit to growth. Labour draws attention to the need for a fair society, true equal opportunity, recognition of the diversity of the ways of being human, just distribution of the wealth and income of the nation and collective ownership of critical resources - the natural monopolies.
I don't see the two as incompatible but completementary and MMP creates the space for both to actively campaign for the part of the spectrum they feel the strongest about and want to emphasise.
I agree with Sacha. The problem for Labour is that it
...and some others on the left have become disconnected from day-to-day worldviews they seek to influence and support.
I don't buy into the Chris Trotters patronising analysis of `Waitakere Man' - and, as an aside, I would note that Trotter's comments about Carmel Sepuloni has been shown to have been misjudged: it would seem that Sepuloni is going to give Paula Bennett a run for her money to be the local candidate, though sadly I don't think Sepuloniwill will quite make it. However, it is the case that Labour is failing in communication.
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Hard News: Democracy Night, in reply to Steve Parks,
My point is more that Labour’s strategy for getting whatever votes it did lose to NZF back is a simple one: be a better opposition party.
Yes... and not by pandering to `Reagan Democrat' sentiments. JK did have one thing partly right: Winston and NZF is going to be a difficulty for Labour as much as for him. There is a constituency out there which is pandered to with dog whistle racist politics.
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Hard News: Democracy Night, in reply to tussock,
Of course, Labour are closer to National than they are to the Greens.
In respect of which of these policies is that true? It would be a useful starting point to clarify this if there is ever to be any kind of accomodation between these two parties i.e. Greens and Labour
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Hard News: Democracy Night, in reply to Christopher Nimmo,
Unbelievable.
+1
The last thing Labour should be doing is bagging those. amongst others, it ought to be talking with and listening to. -
Hard News: Democracy Night, in reply to Greg Dawson,
I’ve talked to a fair few people in his electorate to try and figure that one out – common thread seems to be hatred of Chauvel.
Interesting, and a little unusual, that they would be willing to say that they hate him but not why. Or is it the case that they are reporting that he is hated?
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Hard News: Democracy Night, in reply to Bart Janssen,
Describing MMP as the system the Germans put in place after Hitler and …
dun
dun
dun
They haven’t had a majority (stable) government since.I have listened to this t and don't here anything about `the Germans'. Am I looking in wrong place?
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Hard News: Democracy Night, in reply to Craig Ranapia,
Labour needs to do something more basic – honesty and frankly listen to themselves and genuinely hear what they sound like to people for whom it isn’t an article of faith that not-Labour are either stupid or evil.
I absolutely agree that they need to do this... but they also need to ask themselves why those who voted Labour in the past are staying away from the polling booths in droves. Yes, a bit of good old fashioned putting oneself in the shoes of others would not go amiss
Instead, as Gordon Campbell points out they alread seem to be engaging in gazing inwards to figure out how to go forward. And that, too, by figuring out who to blame.
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Ah, I see: snap
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Hard News: Democracy Night, in reply to Keir Leslie,
What was very bad was the the three years in between, and the list structure. The Party failed, and that includes the MPs, but it also includes the organisational wing. The focus needs to be on fixing the Party, not policy. (If the Party failed, does that reflect badly on Little? Flatt? Coatsworth?
Couldn't agree more. I shudder at the thought that Darien Fenton can make it to 18 on the Labour list and Carmel Sepuloni and Iain Lees-Galloway to 24 and 37 respectively. Both have done really well in the electorates they had to fight for. Iain increased his majority in spite of the huge effort put in by the National Party to try and capture it (It would have been all Blue from Wellington to Auckland if they had succeeded). Carmel may just possibly make it: fingers and toes crossed.
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Legal Beagle: Election '11: the special votes, in reply to Joe Wylie,
[Winston].. delivers to a constituency carved out by the politics of division.
It has started already: we will be paying our bills to Chinese and Indian power companies, we were told on morning radio. Good grief.