Transform Politics is the name of a new group looking to form a fresh left-wing party in the UK. It’s made up of individuals and pre-existing parties – and it’s launched its campaign with a flurry of interest on social media, as well as some criticism.

    • danielholt
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      111 year ago

      The optimist in me would point to how much impact UKIP had on British politics without ever winning a seat…

      However I’m not deluded enough to think these guys have anything as emotive as Brexit to push policy or even pressure the governing parties.

      Still, if we ever get that sweet electoral reform I’d be happy to take another look.

      • @[email protected]
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        41 year ago

        UKIP had impact way beyond their support because the Conservative Party will always prioritise retaining power over doing the right thing.

        • danielholt
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          21 year ago

          I mean, there was absolutely a fracture inside the Tory party with regards to Europe. UKIP managed to widen that fracture and then Cameron gambled it all and, well here we are.

      • TheHalc
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        31 year ago

        Yeah, I don’t think that really works unless you’ve got a strong wedge issue that can be used to threaten the main party.

        I think you’re absolutely right, we need electoral reform precisely so that more diverse views can be represented in government.

        For now, though, the priority has to be ejecting the Tories.

      • @[email protected]
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        21 year ago

        No left leaning party can do what UKIP did because UKIP threatened Labour as well as Tory seats. They were a single issue party and could run as MEPs which gave them another soapbox to shout from. There just isn’t an issue that has the same kind of cross-partisan reach yet.

        I think abolition of the monarchy will be that issue in 10-15 years time. Once the older Christian conservative voters die off there will be a stronger push to move to a republic. It’s something that a single issue party could run on and steal votes from the dominant parties.

    • @Fedegenerate
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      41 year ago

      I’m not sure what the path to electoral reform looks like. Starmer is hostile to the idea. Labour have had electoral reform in their manifesto before and happily ignored it when in power.

      Perhaps a hung parliament will get us there. I don’t know what the realistic vote for Electoral reform is. Maybe a Lab-Lib government does it but Libs have been steamrolled in a coalition before.

      I’m almost a single issue voter for Electoral reform at this point.

      • @[email protected]
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        81 year ago

        Starmer is hostile to anything that could be used to drive a wedge between him and winning, which doesn’t seem a terrible strategy for the country. Would rather have 5 years of centre left government than another term of Tory leadership. Let the Overington window move slowly, but it’s easier to advocate for left wing policies if the right of labour is in charge (through party conferences) than from the outside.

        • @[email protected]
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          1 year ago

          Would rather have 5 years of centre left government than another term of Tory leadership.

          We won’t, though. Starmer has rejected centre left policy and allowed Labour to be pulled right, he won’t even commit to public spending reform.

          Let the Overington window move slowly, but it’s easier to advocate for left wing policies if the right of labour is in charge

          Who is left in the party, with any power or influence at all, to advocate for left wing policy? Who in the party leadership will actually listen to left wing voices at party conferences? Why will the incredibly mercenary Labour right take left wing policy on board after spending the last 6+ years actively working against the Labour left?

          • @[email protected]
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            31 year ago

            Angela Rayner, the deputy leader? Anneliese Dodds, the chair? Ed Miliband, business secretary

            Sure there are more…

            • @[email protected]
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              11 year ago

              And they all fell into line when Starmer’s leadership forbade Labour MPs from visiting strikers on the picket lines… something Labour MPs have done since the party’s formation. No longer the party of working people.

              • @[email protected]
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                11 year ago

                Again:

                Starmer is hostile to anything that could be used to drive a wedge between him and winning

                Let them win and (at the very least) be better for a bit, and then more progressive.

        • @[email protected]
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          51 year ago

          I wonder at what point this becomes the wedge that will get between him and winning. I don’t think is margins are as secure as the polls lead us to believe. Too many don’t knows and won’t says lurking around.

          So I think he’s being foolish to take his base for granted. They’re not going to vote Tory, but they might struggle to turn up on the day. That could be the difference between a commanding majority and a thin/non-existant one.

        • @Fedegenerate
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          11 year ago

          Agreed. The comment I replied to said “let’s get electoral reform first”. Them splitting can’t hurt efforts for electoral reform, though it’s not likely to help either.

  • @[email protected]
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    101 year ago

    The strongest centre left candidates at the moment are the Greens. As far as electoralism goes, it would be better to stand behind a party that actually has a membership than split further into parties which frankly look the same as countless other “like the left flank of Labour but better” parties.

    At least something like the Northern Independence Party could raise the priority of the North. I’m not sure what this offers that, say, the Breakthrough Party doesn’t apart from further vote splitting.

    Feels like it will offer a similar level of political success and distinction as when you are trying to look up CPB vs CPB-ML vs CPGB-ML vs NCP vs RCPB-ML vs… except with everyone having platitudinal tech marketing guru’s branding like Transform, Change, Breakthrough etc.

    • @[email protected]
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      31 year ago

      Yep, the MPs on the left of Labour have so much in common with the Greens. The Greens are the only party that seem to have logical solutions to the problems we face as a country.

  • @[email protected]
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    91 year ago

    “a flurry of interest on social media”.

    You don’t win votes or elections on social media. Otherwise Ed Milliband would have won in 2015, Remain would have won a landslide in the referendum, Hillary Clinton would have been US President and Corbyn would have been PM in 2017.

    • Twig
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      21 year ago

      What an alternative time line that would have been.

    • @[email protected]
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      31 year ago

      This mindset is why a lot of Blairite Labour policy is “be slightly less right wing than the Tories; the policies might suck but as long as everyone left of Thatcher and Farage feels we’re the lesser evil we don’t need to actually try and be good.” Not having anyone representing the left on the national stage is just going to result in more rightwards drift. I’ve commented elsewhere in this thread on not wanting to split the vote too much between dozens of tiny splinter parties, but also voting for Labour in their current state builds complacency about the voters they think they’ve banked because they used to stand for something, and just leads them to chase more of the Tory vote.

      • @[email protected]
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        21 year ago

        If our voting system was fair, I’d agree with you 100%.

        But it isn’t. So I’ll settle for Tories out, followed by trying to drag Labour back left a bit.

        The unfortunate truth is that the country is, on average, right of centre. At least on voting day. Most of us are left on some things and right on others. It’s depressingly easy to rile up right wing issues and throw votes, like the recent London ULEZ by-election. My belief is that Starmer panders to the right a bit on a lot of this so as not to lose votes. It’s not ideal, but it’s his job to win an election.

        Two hotels in my town have been commandeered by the government to house asylum seekers. The locals hate this. The local Facebook page (which I like to check on for the same reason that I like going to the zoo) will blame everything on “the Novotel lot”. Despite the fact that this is Tory policy, I can but guarantee that the Tory propaganda come election time will point this out, and that Tories are the only ones who can fix the problem, despite having 13 years and counting to do so and only made things worse.

  • @[email protected]
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    31 year ago

    The opening sentence:

    This is an era of crisis

    🤣 Are we not able to say anything positive to inspire people to vote for your party? Doom and gloom sells I suppose?

      • @[email protected]
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        21 year ago

        I like my life, my friends, and my work and that is all in the UK. That’s super positive 😊.

        Why not build on that rather than doom and gloom?

  • Jaysyn
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    -31 year ago

    Sounds like the UK version of “No Labels”. Probably funded by the same people.