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. | |
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