Would Labour turn to the left in office?
The party’s socialist rump will not shift it leftwards, but circumstances might
Absurdly violent imagery has a long tradition in the Labour Party. In 1976 activists attached an ice pick to the front of their bus on their way to vote against Trotskyite rivals in an internal Labour society—a homage to the murder weapon used on the Soviet inspiration of their enemies. Peter Mandelson, the Svengali of New Labour, demanded the left were put in a “sealed tomb”. People are not removed from positions but “purged”; advisers talk of “hand-to-hand combat” rather than office politics.
This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “Sealing the tomb”
Britain April 29th 2023
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- Would Labour turn to the left in office?
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