The role of the Labour Party

Not to be a party of protest but to be a party that can govern this country.

From our rulebook:

Clause 1 of our constitution;

(Labour Party) Its purpose is to organise and maintain in Parliament and in the country a political Labour Party.

3 Labour is committed to the defence and security of the British people and to co-operating in European institutions, the United Nations, the Commonwealth and other international bodies to secure peace, freedom, democracy, economic security and environmental protection for all. (to me that includes being a leading nation in NATO - not something that Corbyn has agreed to in the past or the likes of Livingstone agree with now)

5 On the basis of these principles, Labour seeks the trust of the people to govern.

If we become a party of protest only, we will never gain the trust of the people and we will then fail our own rules - in that we will not be able to maintain in parliament a political Labour Party

Strange Summer ahead?

Sorry for the lack of posts recently - I kept away from my blog as still felt both anger and sorrow after the Brexit vote - this has not been helped by the behavior of Johnson (and to a lesser extent Farage) who have since run away from the mess they helped to create.

In the end after we finish negotiations with the EU (if the Tories ever start them)  we will find little difference in how we trade or in freedom of movement - we will just still pay into the EU, but get less out and have no vote!

I now have a busy summer ahead, next week is my annual week with the Army and then I take a group of teenagers to work on a community project in Ecuador.

When I return I will continue to be learning (and working on) about my new portfolio- public protection.One of the consequences of the Brexit vote has been the increase in racially motivated crime - I am writing to Police and Crime Commissioner to ask what the Suffolk Constabulary are doing about this issue.

But this will not be a summer that I wish to repeat - it could be one of the worst we have had in the political history of this country.

We have had the Brexit vote, Cameron did a 'runner' and now we have a Tory leadership contest - and two very unsatisfactory candidates - one who will not just become a Tory leader but the Prime Minister - Therese May as PM  sounds bad enough but I hope she wins, because to have Andrea Leadsom as the leader of our country would be catastrophic - her views on fox hunting, gay marriage may appeal to some Tory members but her lack of knowledge of world issues is frightening.

A major issue for me is that the Party, I am a member of is not in a position to hold this Government to account. We are a mess and the blame can not just be placed at the feet of Corbyn - the PLP, activists, members - many of us are at fault, I myself wish I had not made some of the comments on social media I have, but I am passionate about my party and am concerned for our future.

Corbyn has to go and I know and understand that he has the support of a large membership but he will never get us elected. We have members living in a 'dreamworld' if they think we can win in 2020. Some members (and many I would count as friends) seem oblivious to the role the 'Far Left'. and Momentum are taking in this internal crisis - they have an agenda more similar to that of the Militant Tendency of the 80's.

Leadsom and Corbyn seem to suffer from the same problem, both have very inexperienced teams around them - in particular in how they deal with the Press. For me the nightmare scenario is at the end of this Summer we have Corbyn and Leadsom facing each other over the dispatch box.

The Summer of 2016 will not be one I wish to repeat.