I am lucky enough to live with the man who wrote this.
Here is where we go next.
Going to get a lot of sniping from some about how it's impossible to change things from within the Labour Party in the coming days.
Apart from the fact that the Labour Party has shifted hugely leftwards in the past five years from under Blair and Brown to Miliband (and while it's not been as leftwards as a shift as I and many other people would have liked) the process itself has shown such pessimism to be based on a myth, there is this point: change doesn't happen without action, and if you'd rather sit on the sidelines and duck a very important fight, then that's your shout, though I hope it feels nice and breezy on that high horse of yours.
I spent about 13 years trying to build socialist alternatives to Labour, and each time, history has repeated itself; TUSC is dead in the water; Left Unity, stillborn. I tried. I tried damned hard to, and it just didn't work. All of this clamour that people are crying out for a left alternative to Labour is just hot air and deserved to be consigned to the dustbin of naff history along with the Rabbit mobile network and ice cream flavoured Monster Munch.
Roll up your sleeves and join with me to build the Labour Party we need to see. Sure, it's going to be hard, and there will be setbacks along the way, but I promise that we will motivate each other, I'll try to crack a smile and a joke or two along the way, but it will be worth it.
This is long game town now. No more shortcuts. No more trying to bypass the hard struggle. Game time now.
Also, to those who are going to moan about the Labour Party not being good enough for them:
If it's broken, then fix it.
Enough with the sideshows. Time to turn lemons into lemonade. And not the Tesco Value crap that's mostly artificial sweeteners and water; the good stuff, like you had on holiday, when you sat down by the beach, and took that first sip, and it made you go, "Damn, that's some good lemonade!"
It's not going to be easy, it's going to be a long hard road, with many traffic works and caravans in it. But we'll put on some good tunes, crack some (respectful, friendly, non-discriminatory) banter, but most of all, get somewhere.
The truth is, things like TUSC, Respect etc are very fun in the thick of it. You're moving around, there are lots of noises and people seem to be having fun. It's only when you get off when you realise that you've been on a merry-go-round all of this time. And while you're moving around on a merry-go-round, ultimately you're still in the same place you were before, just a bit dizzier maybe.
On the other hand, I have a coach. It's not full at the moment, and we need more people to get on board with it, because only when it's full can it move. (It's a nice coach, really. I got us one of those posh executive coaches that footballers use, with tables, a toilet, and decent AC - oh, and I've stocked the on-board fridge with that lemonade we made.)
So, come on the coach. The sat-nav might fuck us up a bit, but we'll figure out a map as we go, and have fun getting there.
Click here to join the coach: https://join.labour.org.uk/
OK, so now that I've pretty much alienated many of my followers on here with some harsh thoughts, this is one for everyone.
The Tories are coming. They are coming for our jobs. They are coming for our pay packets. They are coming for our social security. They are coming for our pensions, our maternity and paternity pay and leave, they are coming for all of the meagre concessions we have been able to squeeze out of them over the past few years. And they will not rest until they stand aloft the mountain of broken people, closed workplaces and P45s, gorged and bloated on their own selfish greed.
If you're not in a trade union, join.
Join right now. Stop reading this status update and join one now. Click here to find the right union for you: www.tuc.org.uk/join-union
It's OK, I'll wait.
...
Joined? Super. But here's the thing; that was the easy bit, you probably had your bank details nearby. Here's the hard - but necessary bit.
Recruit your work mates. Recruit your uni mates, drinking mates, 5 a side mates, bowling mates, your neighbours, everyone. But especially your workmates. Because that's going to be the critical bit. Unions are built in workplaces because that's where our true power really is.
Once you've done that, get involved. Become a shop steward. Go down to branch meetings. Speak up in the debates. Write and submit motions. Have your say. Go to conferences. Go to seminars. Get involved in equality groups if you can. Stand for NEC. You'll win some, you'll lose some, but the union will be stronger for doing so.
Think you're in a well paid, decent job with a nice boss? Work for an NGO or for someone like Google where you think you don't need unions? Join a union, because that's the only way you'll still have a well paid decent jobs. Unions are not for 'other people who have it harder'. They are for you too.
Are you an unemployed worker? There's a place in the union family for you too. Join Unite Community, join a union (many will accept unemployed members) and get involved in their community and campaigning work.
But most of all - don't run to the union when there is a problem. Be the union. Wear your union badge with pride, and get others to be a part of the change Britain's workplaces need to see.
