Craig Berry - Why I'm leaving the Labour Party

Craig Berry, in the Guardian's comment is free, tells us why he is leaving the Labour Party:

It might seem an odd time to be leaving the Labour party; after a decade of courting the City, Gordon Brown is nationalising banks, and promising to get tough with global capitalism (not to mention Iceland). Our first chance in a decade to alter the ideological landscape of British politics. If I tolerated Iraq, cash for honours, and Alan Milburn, then why quit now?

The thing is, while the fundamentals of the world economy transform around us, the fundamentals of the Labour party remain unchanged.

I'm leaving the Labour party because its internal culture has decayed to such an extent that – to borrow a term adored by New Labour – it no longer has the social capital necessary to function in its core marketplace. There is a revolt going on in Labour's backyard, demonstrated in recent byelections, and it doesn't even realise it. The party's inner life is, at best, introverted, and at worst, boring. Beyond the perks of being in power, membership of the Labour party today has very little value.

The simple truth is that the Labour party is rotting. Some members have stayed purely out of habit. They aren't really that interested in politics, at least not any more, but they have no place else to go. Most, however, are interested primarily in their career prospects. Everybody seems to have a position, some rung on the ladder. And they talk to each other like workers talk to managers and like managers talk to executives in any large organisation. Yet given that so few will end up in positions of genuine influence, I couldn't logically explain why anyone joins the party any more....

Full article HERE.