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  1. Politics
12 May 2008

While I was away…

A week is a long time in politics as our political editor discovered

By Martin Bright

I’ve been away on a press trip for the celebrations of 60th anniversary of the foundation of the state of Israel, or “naqba” (catastrophe) if you ask the Palestinians. It was fascinating and I’ll be writing about it in the New Statesman this week.

I left just after the local election results were announced and returned to find the country apparently in an open state of revolt against the government and Gordon Brown. What baffles me is the inability of the Labour Party and the wider left to come up with a strategy to counter this. The anti-posh propaganda deployed in the Crewe and Nantwich by-election is pathetic, as is the attempt to show that the results in the London mayoral election were some sort of victory for the Labour left because they weren’t as bad as the rest of the country.

This is clutching at straws. The Labour-supporting left needs to start thinking seriously now about the future of progressive politics otherwise there may be no party to vote for after the next election.

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Select and enter your email address Your weekly guide to the best writing on ideas, politics, books and culture every Saturday. The best way to sign up for The Saturday Read is via saturdayread.substack.com The New Statesman's quick and essential guide to the news and politics of the day. The best way to sign up for Morning Call is via morningcall.substack.com Our Thursday ideas newsletter, delving into philosophy, criticism, and intellectual history. The best way to sign up for The Salvo is via thesalvo.substack.com Stay up to date with NS events, subscription offers & updates. Weekly analysis of the shift to a new economy from the New Statesman's Spotlight on Policy team. The best way to sign up for The Green Transition is via spotlightonpolicy.substack.com
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