Cook: Starmer is paving the way for the triumph of dark politics Archived Message Posted by Ian M on February 28, 2023, 12:32 am Excellent & thought-provoking from Cook, as ever. Interesting that the main metaphors refer to the neck & asphyxiation - 'strangle', 'chokehold', 'stifling', as this has been my overall feeling since Corbyn's political assassination - an almost physical overbearance and the sense of being strangled, pushed down, smothered by an immense, silencing force. It even moved me to poetry, something that rarely happens these days: https://tinyurl.com/fzfuzye4 I think Cook is right that far right populism will be empowered by this, with potentially some v ugly outcomes. When someone is pinned down and struggling for their life they will reach for any available weapon to defend themselves with. The PLP and Starmer have destroyed the possibility of even a moderate, parliamentary social-democrat response to the crises of late-stage capitalism, likely for many years to come. Are there any other options left for the UK at this point other than the hardcore, pitiless neoliberalism we have, and outright fascism? I think any revolutionary energy is going to entirely bypass the pitiful remains of the left, as things stand. What a basket case this country is! jeers, I Anyway, enough of my yammering, here's the article: ***** https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/uk-labour-starmer-dark-politics-triumph-paving-way Labour: Starmer is paving the way for the triumph of dark politics Jonathan Cook 27 February 2023 By waging an all-out war on the left and its ideas, the Labour leader is strangling hope of change in a time of crisis and risks driving voters towards right-wing authoritarians There is a reason - and not the one given - why Labour Party leader Keir Starmer has announced that he is banning his predecessor, Jeremy Corbyn, from standing as a candidate for the party at the next general election. Corbyn has been sitting as an independent since Starmer exiled him from the Labour benches in late 2020 - after Corbyn observed that it was for “political reasons” he faced years of evidence-free accusations the Labour Party was beset by antisemitism on his watch. He called the accusation “dramatically overstated”. [cutting this off to see if boardhost will let me post it...] Message Thread: Cook: Starmer is paving the way for the triumph of dark politics - Ian M February 28, 2023, 12:32 am Re: Cook: Starmer is paving the way for the triumph of dark politics - Ian M February 28, 2023, 12:34 am Re: Cook: Starmer is paving the way for the triumph of dark politics - Dovetail Joint February 28, 2023, 7:56 am Rafael Behr's ridiculous libel - Raskolnikov February 28, 2023, 11:47 am   Searching