Darkness at the Heart of the Labour Party

Mr Field you have my respect as one of the few on either side actually cares about doing the right thing by the people of this country.I can appreciate you must be distraught to see what you doubtless thought to be a force for good (ie the Labour party) revealed as a currupt, borderline criminal organisation with the most dreadful of record of any government of this country.I hope you appreciate now thatthis end was inevitable. Blair was only elected because he pretended to be what he was not, and was smart enough to keep up the deception for ten years in which time the seeds of the destruction of the golden economic legacy were sown. With his departure and the numbingly incompetent Brown at the wheel, socialism is shorn of the golden veneer and its true authoritarian heart is clear.No other end is possible for a oscialist government than chaos and bankruptcy because that is what socialism does. It destroy s all that is good and pure in the national culture.The only move you can now make is to renounce the labour whip and become an independent, and vote with the tories on the intelligent measures they are now putting forward to deal with some of the festering wounds that are suppurating on the body of the body politic,the body economic, the body democratic and the body cultural.You are a good man, in a lousy and disgusting government. You deserve better, and so do we.
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Honest, as ever, Frank.What a pity Blair's vision turned out to be so utterly useless for the country. I read yesterday that militias in Iraq are going around torturing and executing suspected homosexual boys and men. While Blair tries to lecture the Pope on the Catholic Churches attitude to homosexuality. What a mess. As you say, poor old Labour.
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I'm afraid Gordon is at the heart of this darkness. A Stalinist by instinct but less popular than the original. He must go now. Why do Labour MPs want to be wiped out? At least with Purnell they would have a fighting chance.
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Well written Frank, poor old Liebour party.Why does buffoon Brown believe that such assurances – even if it were possible to give them, will make the slightest difference to the behaviour of his henchmen? What kind of behaviour did Brown expect when he filled No. 10 with aggressive, thuggish, and unprincipled characters like McBride.His only "regret" is that the whole nasty mess, inspired by Brown's skewed personality, was ever found out. Poor old Labour party!
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You are one of the few Labour MP's that the British public realy respect. A honest MP, rare these days. That is why you will never be on, or allowed, on the front bench with the present bunch of useless ******* enter your own word(s) Don't change Frank, your day will come.
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Well said Frank, your one of the very few embers still glowing from which a Real Labour Party could be rekindled once this crew of wreckers have been thrown out at the next election. But next time please be very careful in who gets to join - no 'bright young things just down from Oxford or Cambridge' eh? Oh and stop the heriditary tendancy in candidate selection.......
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It is a crying shame that the Labour Party is no longer represented by MPs with Frank Field's integrity.I am not usually a Labour voter,but if the party had more of his direct,tell it how it is,honesty...well,that would be different,wouldn't it.
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Tony Blair WAS a moral crusader - but was it the right crusade? (And did he have what it took to even question himself about the rightness of what he was doing?)Hope that Brown and the Labour party are able to recover and refocus quickly and frame the campaign around the kind of moral framework that you talk about.
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......we will be seeking permission to rule for another five years.....Surely, governments are supposed to SERVE the people, not RULE?
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Gordon Brown and Tony blair are traitors and will be remembered as such for a long time to come. The recent disclosures surrounding the borderline theft of our tax moneies via MP's expenses sadly does not shock or come as much of a suprise.
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Good analysis. As a long time Conservative supporter I voted Labour for the first time in 1997 and have no regrets for having done so. Were all my hopes and expectations fulfilled? Of course not, not least because of a lack of courage from a Government which had been given a mandate for change but seemed more preoccupied with survival. Your own short period as a minister is a classic example of this behaviour - introduced with a fanfare; an agent of change, only to be changed yourself when your recommendations were found to be too unpalatable (no doubt to GB in particular). Nevertheless, I was broadly supportive and stuck with Labour in the following election, with a bit more hesitation but also in the absence of a credible opposition. Since then, slowly but surely, my support has ebbed but with the election of GB I knew that I could never support for you. Much has been written about his personality, but my simple fact is, I cannot stand the man. He is calculating, untrustworthy, manipulative and he takes me for a fool. His deceits are so transparent ("I haven't called an election because I would like to set out my vision more clearly"), yet he persists. There is a deep psychological flaw (the reported tempers, the micro management) which ill suits a leader in any walk, let alone a Prime Minister. And then you have the latest outrageous behaviour which demeans Parliament and your party. BG's fingerprints cover the Draper / McBride affair; no need for CSI Westminster to do much work here. Leaders set the tone and by their lieutenants are they judged. So he has to go, and no moment will be too soon.
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Mr FieldIt is most refreshing to find a (proper) Labour MP standing up to be counted amongst the few that are still left (no pun intended) with a background of decency and integrity. You ask "what should be our approach?" and I humbly suggest that a cull of those MP's who have lived by party spin and their blind loyalty to our embattled PM should be replaced by candidates who, like yourself, embody the kind of politicains that the public want and are not simply chosen for their aquiesence to the leader. Only then will politics be dragged back out of the gutter.
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If only there were more Labour MPs prepared to be straight with us, Frank, maybe I would consider voting Labout again as I did for over 30 years. but all we seem to have seen is spin, political thuggery and an economy run on debt in order to bolster the vaulting ambition of the present Prime Minister. I see no moral crusade or political principle in the party - other than in people like yourself and, I think, Charles Clark.
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"Harold Wilson asserted that the Labour party was a moral crusade or it was nothing."That would be the Labour PM that told the people of Diego Garcia it would be a good idea to have a nice shopping trip to the Seychelles and then when they were away Harold Wilson gave their island to the American military. Nice. Darkness at the heart of Labour alright.
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Frank,The problem is the State does far too much and interferes in my life with ever increasing regularity and persistence. Why should I be only given one chance in 5 years to possibly (but most likely have no say in) deciding on a take-it-or-leave-it pig-in-a-poke, non-enforceable Tyranny of the Majority?We need small government so that we all can "vote" for what we want using our feet, hands and/or wallets.Unfortunately, Frank, Socialist thinking does not permit individuals. It controls. It collectivises. It thinks it knows best. The Tories are little better these days.People tend to know best about how to live their own lives and spend their own hard-earned money including on what projects they wish to give charitably. Isn't it about time they were allowed to instead of the State having first call and taking so much that nothing is left to personal choice? This would be bad enough if it were not that the State is so often woefully incompetent and inefficient at delivery. It is also a vast temptation for lobbying, corruption and the formation of convenient State-commissioned, privately run de-facto monopolies.The problem lies in Authoritarianism, which brings with it coercion, control-freakery and the belief that one is rght and all others are wrong, so all must comply with the ideology. The Tories and LibDems are no better.There is a solution, and that solution is the opposite of Authoritarianism: Libertarianism.
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Forget being sorry for the Labour party - they brought it on themselves. I'm sorry for us, the persecuted and forgotten voters who fund their snouts in the trough lifestyle
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You are Sir a man of integrity unlike many if not most of the rest of the party. I urge you to consider a vote of no confidence in this appalling PM and cabinet. The old values and traditions of the Labour Party of old, have been cruely dashed by these chancers and hypocrytes.
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Thank you, Frank.Always a man of honour - I wish there were enough honest and competent Labour MPs to make up a cabinet. Sadly neither I nor our electorate believe taht is the case. I know it's a cliche but the fish does rot from the head. And the Party allowed the fish to swim into power unelected and unopposed.Poor old Labour party indeed. I sincerely wish you well - the Lord knows our country needs the likes of your good self in these worrying times of incompetent administration.
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I am most interested by your Harold Wilson quote. It is not necessary to spell out every single policy which you propose to pursue, but I would very much like to know on what set of guiding principles or tenets a government's decisions will be based. I have absolutely no idea what the guiding principles of this labour government are, and cannot therefore guess at how this government will react to future events. I cannot judge whether I share the values of this government because I have no idea what they might be. I do not know if Wilson's 'moral crusade' is the answer now, but it is surely preferable to nothing at all.
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Frank, do the decent thing & join the party, that over the last few years, you appear to be more ideologically in tune with. The modern Conservatives.
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True words from one of the few honest men left at Westminster. This government has betrayed the British people.They have lied about taking the country to war. They have lied about the state of the economy.They have lied about the amount and the supposed benefits of mass immigration. They have lied regarding a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. They have wasted vast amounts of public money on setting up a surveillance society. They have sought to curtail free speech and to control our daily lives.They have made the people pay dearly in every way for the the policies of an arrogant gang at Westminster. I am only surprised at the long suffering British people who wait patiently for the chance to oust this party for mant years to come.
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I admire the way in which Frank Field said what needed to be said about the sinister cabinet culture which was exposed by the McBride e-mails. However, the fact remains that we simply don't know whether McBride will walk off into the sunset with a "golden handshake" and generous pension pot like the disgraced banker Fred the Shred? That is yet another issue which must be transparent.
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Well said sir. You shine a spotlight into the abyss. The rotten wood must be chopped back to leave a clearing, ready for the day when new growth will replace it, and grow straight and true. There is no prospect of success while the old stumps of this government remain standing.
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Harold Wilson was a con man, admittedly not on the scale of the current lot. He didn't and neither do they fool the public, they only fool themselves if they think the public believe their spin.I don't know where you stand on the EU, I have been against this country's membership since the 1960's. Your party has promised two referenda on the EU, joining the Euro and the not the Lisbon Treaty and it was obvious from the start that they were never to be honoured. Then there is the conspiracy at election time not to discuss the EU, by all parties. Were you the candidate for my area I would vote for you even if I did not agree with some of your views, I consider you an honest man and that's worth a lot.I had considered voting BNP, I am not in any way racialist, in the coming EU elections just to register my discontent with the major parties in the monkey pen at Westminster, then they scored an own goal by publishing their green credentials.The bottom line for me is I will vote for any party that will get us out of the EU and return power to Westminster.RegardsGraham Hamblin
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Well said! As is often the case, Mr Field seems to have the rare ability among present day MPs to reflect the thoughts of the electorate and to provide sensible potential remedies. If political service and public spiritedness was to define political allegiance, then surely Frank Field would be working with Clegg and Cable. You are a fine politician, Mr Field.
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It appears that I'm not the only admirer.When I read this, I thought about what your own experiences were likely have been at the hands of "advisers" during the 10p income tax debate. Stand firm, Frank, the people and press are getting right behind those that always had a "moral compass"http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/alice_miles/article6094124.ece
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If the vast majority in the Labour Party were like you Frank I would consider voting Labour. However, the fact is the propoganda machine at the heart of Number 10 will always be a problem and the only way to clean up Labour's act is to lose the next election and start again. You must regret now apologising to Gordon Brown last year. I still can't fathom out why you did but were you "leaned on"?
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Frank - I'm hoping that, whoever forms the next Government, they will invite you back to *implement* the "Unthinkable". I also see you are involved with Reform - please keep up the good work!
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Frank,I do not have any justification for saying this but you are one of the very few MPs who I believe has their integrity intact. Otherwise I woul not bother to repsond to your blog.I am not a member of any party, and have voted fo all three main parties in recent years - although the last time for Labour was in 1997. I expected great things from Blair, but we soon realised where things were going with the Bernie Ecclestone affair and it was downhill from there on. I also voted Tory in the previous election, but after 18 years in government they had become so arrogant that they did not warrant any trust. Unfortuantely Blair only took a few months to show his arrogance and know the rest!My main concern in the immediate future is the EU elections. I am passionately in favour of our membership of the EU - but I am very frustrated by the lack of democracy involved in the government of the EU. I believe that the EU government should be formed by the elected MEPs and not by appointed commissioner, that the legislation coming from the EU should be minimal and appropriate to a central governing body; with our the UK government dealing with that appropriate to our country; and with a president voted in by the whole electorate of the EU - not appointed by the political leaders behind closed doors.All of this needs to be set out in a document called a constitution, condensed into very few pages, wriiten in a way that most people can understand, discussed openly by everyone and voted on.This is not a party political matter as all three main parties do not seem to have any view about the democratic process in the EU. In fact the only party that does seem to address these things - at least in part - is the new Libertas party for whom I shall be voting in the forthcoming elections.I am not sure if you ever get time to read these comments, but if you do I would urge you to read the Libertas website to see what thye are proposing because it relly struck a chord with me.I do believe that the calls from many to leave the EU, and the lack of interest in the elections, are mostly to do with the feeling that the vote makes no difference. I cannot see any other way of changing this view and would love to hear your thoughts on the matter.
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Moral? The Labor Party? Expropriating, family-destroying, lying morning, noon and night. The Darkness at the heart is fit for purpose. The Institutions of a once Great Nations have all been corrupted, in the Best Interests of the Children of the Princess of Lies. No one in that party dare ask, who does the Grail serve.
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Mr Field. You are in the wrong political party.
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Frank, your are one of the few members of the current labour party with any sense of decency, but it is all toooooo late, you and your chums had better start looking for another job, or in the case of many of your colleagues, continue to stash away as much of the taxpayers dosh as possible before they get the chop.
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Frank, You are one of a tiny number of Labour MPs who seems to care about good governance and parliamentary democracy. Our democracy has been seriously undermined by twelve years of Labour government under the leadership of Blair and Brown. Many people believe that our parliamentary democracy is now defunct and that the final nail in its coffin will be during, or at the end of, the next Parliament following the general election. Just what they expect to take its place is not clear but we don't want anarchy do we? Given your stated opinions it is hard to see why you wish to remain a member of a party with so little to offer the electorate under a leadership which has set such a bad example.
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Employed by Blair to "think the unthinkable" about welfare reform, then done away with by Brown for doing just that, I sense you are going to go much further by honestly saying the unsayable about Labour. You are the only man in Labour (old or ZaNu...) whom I respect and trust. All the very best to you, Frank, and long may we continue to hear from you, regardless of governing party!
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Thank you for your lonely stand. I have never voted Labour but I do hope that you continue to get re-elected to provide that moral shining light from which those on the dark side of the party, run so fast.
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Mr Field - you forgot to mention why there is not much to be done in parliament - the fact that most of this countries laws are now made in Brussels wouldn't play a big part in it would they? Winning or Losing the next election is neither here nor there - the interests of most politicians is gaining power through EU appointments and not through the votes of the people. The goal of the last 10 or so years of the Labour government was to win favour in the EU and thereby gain respect from the bureaucrats. Elections have been devalued, so all that is left is politicians fighting amongst themselves as there is nothing left to debate. No need to have any ideals that would appeal to the public, just to get parachuted into a safe seat by your friends is enough.Politics will never be cleaned up until politicians once again serve their constituents and the country not just their party.
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Many kind words for you Frank, and I largely echo the sentiments (I adore Kate Hoey even more). But you remain of your own free will a member of a party which you know is today unfit to govern this country. In that sense you are more guilty than McBride - he's too lacking to recognise how squalid this government has become.
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Thank God there is one decent, honest and honourable man left in the government.
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" I have reached the conclusion that there is not any avenue left in the structure of the Labour party for people like me ". " She said the final push came after the recent scandal surrounding emails sent by Mr Brown's special adviser, Damian McBride, who sent e-mails proposing unfounded slurs about senior Tories". - Sentiments sound familiar, Frank ?Ref. Mrs Alice Mahon resignation from Labour Party 18/04/09- Mrs Alice
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Frank, Alice Mahon has resigned from the Laour party. Why don't you go one better and resign the Labour whip in the Commons. Whether you stay as an independent or join another party, you will be much happier and more influential in the long run.
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Many people are disillusioned with the main political parties. people have had enough of the lies of the present government but do not look on the Tories as likely to be their saviours.What the people might agree with is new and honest party that could lead in the rejuvenation of this country.Why don't you have a word with Vince Cable and consider starting such a party. I feel you would be amazed at the support you would receive
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Frank you are the only Labour MP I respect and you have always been true to yourself. Labour will lose the next election but I just hope that Cameron has the sense to ask you on board and I hope that you will feel, in the interest of the country, that you will be able to accept.
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Mr Field you are one of the few MPs I respect and feel actually has something to contribute. Since Labour got into power those with influence seemed more concerned about inflicting their Troskyite polices upons us rather than been of good for the working classes or the country. It speaks volumes that prudent Brown chanaged our country's fortunes from the best accounts for 100 years to virtual bankruptcy.From all years of spend, spend we as a nation have litle to show for it. Where are the new power stations? where are the motorways and factories or class leading research facilities?As it is I believe the only way really balance the books now is to drastically redesign and cut the scale of the welfare state. Of course the Labour party (if it does not go the way of the old liberal party) will cynically blame the tories for cutting the welfare state even though it was the Labour party who was the author of there demise. I am not writing a partisan slagging off rant as don't believe the opposition to have done their job at all well. I am probably one of the many who are angry and bitter at the way too many of those elected are only too keen to forfeit our freedom economic or political. From now on I shall be voting UKIP or BNP ( although don't agree with there overly simplistic view of what needs to be done, or racalist polices) at least they seem to be on our side! Mr Field I would encourage you make associations with other decent politicans such as Kate Hoey and John Redwood to name a couple and prehaps collectively present yourselves a protential grouping for the govenence of our country. I do believe that more people will come to the view that the traditional parties the problem and not the solution.
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I have never supported your party, but I have always respected your views."A necessary government information machine has been corrupted by a spin that seeks not to inform but control and, if needs be destroy", you say, "and it has been in existence for over a decade."A more precise summation would have been, "a government that has been corrupted by a spin that seeks to control and, if needs be destroy", and I would put a name to the spin - Gordon Brown.And as I recall, you were one of his first war casualties.
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It's the day after budget day, and your article above looks even more germane; having watched Gordon Brown - my Prime Minister and your leader - politicking from the front bench while we were all hearing the most desperate budget revelations imaginable filled me with despair. This man claims to have a moral compass and to be driven by compassion while he is shown to have presided over the destruction of a formerly robust nation without any perceptible regret. The job might be about appearances, but after the confirmation of his management method as confirmed by the McBride business - and I understand you were an early victim - who does he think he is fooling now? Should we start to worry about an as yet to be revealed Brownite squad who will be even more ruthless in their retention of power. Will our crisis have grown so great next year that Mr Brown will feel justified in, say, postponing the election so many people seem to crave? I am not a Labour supporter, but I imagine many labour people might feel as abandoned and exploited as I do.
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In the period that this pathetic government has been in power I cannot think of one single item that they can claim as a positive benefit to the country. I consider that Blair was a terrible choice for PM but his successor must be a thousand times worse. Morals and ethics throughout the country have deteriorated in line with the lead of the "Moral Compass" Brown and compatriots. The expenses scandal sums up the standard adopted by the thieving morons who profess to be our leaders. One can only hope that the few in Labour who retain reasonable standards will see sense and get rid of the parasites that have caused more damage and disallusionment to the country that I as a pensioner can ever recall.
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Yes, Sir. I would love to see you on David Dimbley's BBC 'Question Time' again. Certainly at this time when a once great political party, the Labour Party, is falling apart at the seams now.You are one of the few Labour MPs who is not worried about speaking out about the policy failings of the Blair-Brown axis of incompetence. Well done Sir!
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Frank, this is a magnificent article by a man I have always been proud to call my Parliamentary representative. You may recall I sat with you on the train a few Fridays ago with my son, were we spoke mostly about Everton. As an old fashioned Labour supporter I am heartily sick of this current situation where we are never given the truth or a straight answer to a straight question. As I said to you as you left the train, you will still have my vote at the next election. I am in the strange situation of being heartily sick of my party but satisfied with the performance and integrity of my elected representative. I simply dread the day we lose you to (well-deserved) retirement and we have one of the current incumbent's lickspittle, spin-spouting, robots foisted upon us.
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