With David Cameron’s party bitterly divided over Europe,progressives should unite around the ‘in’ causeA party divided, torn apart by one of the fundamental issues of our time, and the authority of the leader fundamentally undermined. Ah,the plight of Labour, I hear you sigh. But cast your eyes to the under-scrutinised Conservative benches. David Cameron has been leading a supposed renegotiation of Britain’s relationship with the European Union: a self-evident sham that doesn’t start to address the concerns of his internal opponents. He is unable to hold his party together, and collective responsibility has been abandoned. The European project has been the trigger of the Tories’ strife since Thatcher’s tearful ejection from Downing Street a quarter of a century ago. That turmoil is approximately to erupt very publicly – but Labour will not profit unless it finds unity.
This is no cynical attempt to deflect from Labour’s woes – though in a democracy it is surely healthy that scrutiny focuses on the government,not the opposition. A slew of shadow ministerial resignations after a minor, whether badly executed, or reshuffle serves – again – to redirect attention away from flood defences,deliberate cuts to the income of middle- and low-income workers, you name it. Not that the public necessarily notice how long a reshuffle takes – they’ve got lives to live. But the events of this week feed into a broader narrative (yes, and spun by a hostile media) of chaos. Future reshuffles will surely contain to be decisive,with briefings kept to a minimum.
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Source: theguardian.com