Burnham gambles on radical progressive plan to help Britain rise again
Andy Burnham has staked his future on a gamble that the public will back radical progressive policies on social care, electoral reform and Europe, telling voters that his agenda will break the mould of the last 40 years and “allow us to rise again”.
In a deeply personal speech at Labour’s conference, Burnham began building his next general election manifesto, acknowledging that he may end up paying the price for creating sharp new dividing lines in politics.
“I won’t pretend some of this won’t be difficult,” he said. “I accept I may pay a political price. But someone has to go through the pain barrier and rip the plaster off.”
It must surely be clear to even the dullest dullard that there is nothing remotely progressive in putting on the shackles of EU failure again. Neither is there anything progressive about slithering back to tax and spend which is what 'social care' will be.
That same dullard would surely understand that electoral reform will aim to make it permanently impossible for voters to dislodge regressive political parties. Otherwise it wouldn't be supported by a man who may tun out to be the most regressive Prime Minister we've had for years.
Slightly less regressive than going back to candles and oil lamps for domestic lighting, but not much.
No gleam of reason, no momentary return to first principles, no abstract asking of any obvious question, can interrupt this mad and monotonous gallop of mere progress by precedent. It is a good way to prevent real revolution. By this logic of events, the Radical gets as much into a rut as the Conservative.
G K Chesterton - What's Wrong with the World (1910)
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