Cold, sinicl n paṛnôd: f ɖs z Lebr in opziśn, ẃt wl it lc lîc in pǎr?
(Transcription of a Guardian article of 11 June 2023)
Cir Starmr’z parti z pśñ ɖ îdīa ɖt y cn psy pṛgresiv endz ʈru nasti mīnz t its limit
Jon Haris, Súnde, 11 Jūn 2023
On bʈ ɖ rît n left v ɖ Lebr parti, wn articl v feʈ hz olwz sīmd t b set in ston: ɖ îdīa ɖt y cn psy pṛgresiv drīmz yzñ no end v sculduġri n nastinis, n nvr wuri abt ɖ contṛdix́nz. Ẃɖr ɖe hv bn Blerîts, Brǎnîts, dsîplz v Jeṛmi Corbin or srvnts v Cir Starmr, a srtn cnd v Lebr hî-up hz olwz ʈrîvd on a loɖñ n mstrust v ɖer intrnl eṇmiz, n a drîv t sīz cntrol v ɖ parti mśīn. Ẃt ɖs inteilz z olwz ɖ sem: manic aṗraćics – men, yẓ́li – stōcñ arnd parti oḟsz, despṛtli trayñ t fix ɖ s’lex́nz v parḷmntri canddets, n dspnsñ of-ɖ-record brīfñz abt ẃćvr figrz r dīmd redi fr liqdeśn.
Bt on ɖs scor, az Boris Jonsn cōzz yt mor Tori ceos, n Lebr’z ćansz v līdñ ɖ nxt guvnmnt s’lidfî, ɖ cuṛnt līdr n hiz tīm sīm t b in a līg v ɖer ǒn. Frst cem ɖ wɖdrwl v ɖ Lebr ẃip fṛm Corbin. Jst ovr a wīc ago, Jêmi Driscl, ɖ ilectd mẹr v ɖ Norʈ v Tîn eria, wz cept ǎt v ɖ runñ t līd ɖ ny norʈ-īst rījn, wɖ no ofiśl noṭficeśn v ẃ, or eni rît v apil (ɖ rīzn gvn t ɖ mīdia z hiz apiṛns at an arts ivnt alñsd ɖ film d’rectr Cén Lǒć, xpeld fṛm ɖ parti bcz v hiz membrśp v ɖ pṛscrîbd orġnîześn Lebr Agnst ɖ Wićhunt, ẃć clemd ɖt aḷgeśnz v Lebr antīseṃtizm wr “p’liticli motvetd”).
Fr ɖ past yir, mnẃl, les hî-profîl storiz hv bn pîlñ p abt xcluźnz fṛm parḷmntri śortlists n meḍlñ in locl partiz. Az evidnst bî ɖ Driscl n Corbin cesz, ɖ ppl arnd Starmr ofn frem ẃt ɖe r dwñ in trmz v rūtñ ǎt antīseṃtizm. Bt ɖe olso fil ɖer “dy dilijns” ćarjśīts wɖ an are v uɖr alejd trnzgreśnz. In dwñ so, ɖe nt onli ćīpn ɖer ces, bt pônt t wn iniscepbl cncluźn: ɖt ẃt z gwñ on z olso abt sqośñ enʈñ n enwn dīmd îɖr tù left-wñ or in eni we dis’bīdịnt.
Ɖr z no incnsistnsi in s’portñ Lebr’z nyfǎnd intolṛns v anti-Juiś preɉdis, ẃl olso wunḍrñ ẃ unriletd – n cmplitli trîḟlñ – akześnz r olso sáitd, agn n agn, n boġlñ at a parti so nglectfl v bʈ dy proses n cnsistnt standdz. Bhevyr flagd az probḷmatic hz includd lîcñ twīts bî ɖ formr Lebr poḷsićīf Andru Fiśr n ɖ Grīn parti MP Caṛlîn Lūc̣s, n gvñ an onlîn ʈumz-up t ɖ Okpî muvmnt, ẃć fedd awe a deced ago. In Miltn Cīnz, ɖ rīznz gvn bî ɖ parti fr xcludñ a wd-bi parḷmntri canddet includd lîcñ wn twīt bî Nic̣la Strjn seyñ ɖ Scotiś frst ministr hd rcuvrd fṛm Covid-19, n anɖr ɖt cōld Starmr a “prat”.
A nyli rcrutd Lebr acṭvist in ɖ Corniś sīt v Cambōrn n Redruʈ wz cntactd abt past twīts xpresñ fevṛbl opińnz abt sīńr Grīn-Parti poḷtiśnz – n nt jst rūld ǎt v ɖ locl canddet s’lex́nproses, bt xpeld fṛm ɖ parti (“Cafc̣esc insaṇti,” ś sd, nt unrīzṇbli). Fr uɖrz, ẃtvr ɖ tōc fṛm parti insîdrz abt ɖ nīd fr “compitnt n pṛfeśnl” canddets, ɖr hv bn onli ɖ lîtist slaps on ɖ rist: ɖ ẃît līdr v Barcñ n Daġnm caunsl, Daṛn Rodwél, joct at a blac hisṭri ivnt ɖt h hd ɖ “wrst tan poṣbl fr a blac man”, bt rmend on a locl parḷmntri śortlist aftr biyñ clird v eni roñduwñ, n z nǎ a cnfrmd Lebr canddet, rīsntli hŕd sjstñ ɖt ppl śd b ivictd fṛm sośl hǎzñ f ɖer ćildṛn d nt inform on ppl hu cmit nîfcrîm.
Nǎ, az lūmñ bǎnḍrićenjz inteil a ny brst v s’lex́ncontests, ɖ storiz r mulṭplayñ. In sǎʈ Wêlz, fr xampl, tū sitñ MPz hd t rīsntli unḍgo a s’lex́ncontest fr a ny cnstitẏnsi spanñ ɖ cuṛnt sīts v Merthyr Tydfil n Rhymney n Cynon Vali. Ɖ rzult wz nʈñ f nt pridictbl: Starmr’z śado Wêlz ministr, Jeṛld Jǒnz, dfitd ɖ leftwñr Beʈ Wintr, hu sz ɖ contest wz “bldozd” ʈru in a fortnît, wɖ no in-prsn hustñz. Lîc Driscl, ś sz ś wl b “tecñ advîs n sǎndñz in ɖ dez ahd abt mî nxt steps”, bt ɖ mśīn grîndz on.
In ɖ homcǎntiz bura v Hartsmir, mnẃl, ɖ locl parti z stl awêtñ ɖ NXS’z dsiźn on ẃɖr or nt t apruv its dīl wɖ ɖ Lib Démz, ẃl Lebr’z rījnl ofis hz sspndd tū locl acṭvists fṛm peid jobz in ɖ parti orġnîześn, n wɖdrwn ɖ partimembrśp v tū uɖrz. Ɖer alejd crîm, ẃć ɖe strenẏsli dnî, z orġnîzñ an “unoʈ̇rîzd ilectṛl páct” wɖ anɖr parti – in uɖr wrdz, trayñ t max̣mîz Tori losz.
In Wsminstr, ɖr z wn uɖr elimnt v ɖ līdrśp’s bhevyr: a brīfñculćr huz toxiṣti z incrisñ fast. Rīsnt targits v Lebr’z ẃisprrz hv includd ɖ śado homsecṛtri, Ivét Cūpr, hr cabiṇt colīg Ed Miḷband n ɖ Gretr Manćestr mẹr, Andi Brnm. “Ẃnvr I g ǎt ɖr wɖ smʈñ poẓtiv, ɖ neġtiv Wsminstr brīfñ mśīn smhǎ flics intu gir,” sz Brnm. Mni Lebr ppl sīm t b mizṛbli cīpñ ɖer hedz dǎn, in ces ɖe, tù, cm t ɖ atnśn v ppl hu cd yt brñ ɖer p’liticl c’rirz t an abrupt end. It ol fīlz lîc ɖ oṗzit v ɖ c’lectiv dtrṃneśn n xîtmnt ɖt òt t b cohirñ az ɖ nxt ilex́n aproćz, n promts wn obvịs qsćn: f ʈñz r ɖs ugli ẃn Lebr z in opziśn, ẃt wl hapn f it acć̣li tecs pǎr?
Ẃn h ran fr līdr, Starmr clemd t b’liv in xacli ɖ cnd v poḷtics ɖt h n hiz ppl nǎ apir t b set on dstroyñ. H wontd, h sd, t naśṇlîz ytiḷtiz, scrap tyiśnfiz n pt p incmtax fr hî rnrz; at arnd ɖ sem tîm, h wz filmd aśurñ Driscl ɖt h wontd t “yṇfî ɖ parti”, stop its fax́nz “tecñ lumps ǎt v ć uɖr” n criet “an invîrnmnt in ẃć ppl cn rspctḟli dis’gri n cm tgɖr”. It z hard t cīp p wɖ smwn so sriyli ćenɉbl. Bt h n hiz ppl sīm t ʈnc ɖe cn act wɖ cmplit impyṇti, on ɖ besis ɖt enwn hu wonts a ćenj v guvnmnt wl sn hv t pt ɖer X in ɖ yźl box.
Pt anɖr we, it z onli ǎr crŭcid ilectṛl sistm ɖt indǎz Lebr wɖ its p’liticl mnoṗli, n gvz ɖ fixrz n aṗraćics ɖer pǎr. A lot v ppl in ɖ parti sīm t unḍstand ɖt – ẃć z part v ɖ rīzn ẃ last yir’z Lebr confṛns votd t trnsform poḷtics bî imbresñ pṛporśnl repriznteśn. Starmr n hiz ppl, az y me rcōl, indcetd ɖt ɖ dsiźn wd b ignord, n rtrnd t ɖ biznis at hand: cmand, cntrol, n a cnd v pǎr so cold n sinicl ɖt y smtmz wundr f it hz eni content at ol.
