Aaron Bastani: Keir Starmer Doesn’t Trust Ordinary People

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Keir Starmer Doesn't Trust Ordinary People Aaron Bastani: Britain's liberal establishment can be summed up in four words: "We don't trust you".  This is the reason why, despite the Liberal Democrats being in coalition with an apparently 'moderate' Conservative leader, we never saw electoral reform of any kind after 2010. The same applies to New Labour, and the absence of either proportional representation or an elected House of Lords after 13 years in power. It explains why even 'progressives' in the media, like James O'Brien and much of The Guardian, rallied against mandatory re-selection for Labour MPs, and why so many gleefully sought to overturn a referendum everyone had previously agreed would be the final word. Britain's political centre doesn't trust the public. Often, it's downright scared of it. It's not just undemocratic – it's anti-democratic. The latest example of this is in Wakefield, which is soon to see a by-election Labour should easily win, and where the national party is accused of a selection stitch-up. When seeking the Labour leadership two years ago, Keir Starmer tweeted that selections for Labour candidates need to be "more democratic" and "we should end NEC impositions of candidates", adding that "local party members should select their candidates for every election." And yet last night, the entire executive of the Wakefield Labour party unanimously voted to resign after accusing him, and his team, of parachuting in its favoured candidates. No local candidate was shortlisted for the seat (three were overlooked, including the deputy leader of the council), while neither of the two candidates who did make the cut are from the area. Additionally, both were strong supporters of a 'People's Vote' – something highlighted by several local activists as important given that 66% of Wakefield voted to leave the EU.  CONTINUE READING ➡︎ Picks of the week... FEATURE Couriers Stunt Dalston's Gentrification. The Police and Council Want Them Gone by Rivkah Brown Saturday night's immigration raid in Dalston, north London is part of a years-long effort to cleanse the area of its brown and Black couriers. Rivkah Brown reports. Read more... ANALYSIS Sinn Féin is Winning at Post-Brexit Politics by Daniel Finn Sinn Féin now occupies pole position in Northern Irish politics. Daniel Finn explains how we got here. Read more... READ MORE ON NOVARAMEDIA.COM ➡︎ Join our monthly supporters Traditional media are not able to report on the issues that drastically impact our lives with any kind of integrity. Billionaire funders and multi-million dollar advertising partnerships define what they do and don't cover. Their survival depends on pandering to the interests of their super-rich funders. But our journalism is funded entirely by you. Join our regular supporters and donate anything you can, from just £1 per month. A regular donation helps us to plan our future. We want to be even more ambitious in how we expand our journalism in the coming months - and we need you to help us get there.  Back truly independent media and build our supporter base to 10,000 strong. We can't do this without you.  Copyright © 2022 Thousand Hands Ltd. All rights reserved. Thousand Hands Ltd is a private company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales #11245029. Its registered address is 10 Bridge Street, Christchurch, BH23 1EF. Novara Media is a trading name of Thousand Hands Ltd and, as such, the individual shall have no personal liability arising out of such communication, and liability or obligation rests solely with Novara Media. Opinions or advice contained in this email are subject to the terms and conditions set out in the relevant terms of business and are not necessarily agreed or authorised by Thousand Hands Ltd. We have taken all reasonable precautions to ensure that no viruses are transmitted from Novara Media to any third party. Novara Media accepts no responsibility for any loss or damage resulting directly or indirectly from the use of this email or the contents. Novara Media is regulated by IMPRESS, the independent press regulator.

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