Had Labour not lost a single vote between 2005 and 2010, they still would have lost the General Election. Their nine and a half million votes would not have been enough to beat Cameron's Tories, even if you factor in a higher turnout. Thus, learning the lessons of defeat is about reviewing the entire 'Third Way' project. There was praise about the New Labour years but in the end it failed. For that reason it is time to move beyond that era and think of how we can rebuild Labour as a catch all party not of all social classes or the hierarchical way it is often viewed but instead a catch all party of progressive ideologies. Feminism, Environmentalism, true Equality and Racial harmony must be the goals of true socialists. Forging a common bond regardless of class, race or gender will be the founding ambition of GEER. New Labour's number one failure was that it placed too much emphasis on capturing middle England. The very concept alienated more people that it attracted. The blandness and meaningless nature of the concept simply turned voters away. The ordinary people of Britain do not want ambiguity, they seek grit, action and determination. Words have failed mainstream Britain, and before they can listen again they need to conceptualise demonstrative change.
It is for this reason I am founding 'GEER' a new left of centre think tank. GEER's primary aim is about overcoming triple jeopardy a concept that I will explain in the coming days. This will involve building a new coalition of interests around women's issues, caring for our environment and promoting greater positivity between the various communities that make up the United Kingdom. GEER is about seeking out the true meaning of words such as Equality and Liberty. There will be no prefixes or suffixes or appendages. There is no such thing as Muscular Liberalism, there is simply Liberalism. Equality of Opportunity is a fallacy, there is simply the aspiration of Equality. Henceforth, GEER will seek to connect policy formulation to the true meaning of these great principles.
Over the coming days, I will have more to say but for those interested you can email Constance Dunlop on labourfuture@gmail.com for more details.
