‘Lefties’ vote for 42 days
So, Gordon Brown and the New Labour machine have managed to win the vote on detention without charge for 42 days, by just 315 votes to 306. In effect, that means that this fundamental attack on habeas corpus went through on the back of the nine Democratic Unionist votes, following an alleged £200 million sweetener for Stormont, to offset the effects of water charges in Northern Ireland.
The support of the DUP (plus Anne Widdecombe and some UKIP nonentity) is not that surprising, though even New Labour might be expected to feel just a little embarrassed about relying on their support. But what about the capitulation of those heroic tribunes of the ‘left’, the Jons Cruddas and Trickett – and what will their Compass fan club have to say about it?
Even more extraordinary (if true) are the rumours that at least a few Cuba-supporting Labout MP’s were bought off with promises that Brown will push for a relaxation of the EU’s trade restrictions on Cuba. Talk about “for export-only” leftism! I know that the Cuba Solidarity Campaign is a single-issue movement and I have no reason to believe that it in any way approved of what these (so far unnamed) MPs are alleged to have done: but even so, if the rumours prove to be true, Cuba Solidarity really ought to make it clear that it didn’t ask for and doesn’t want that sort of support.
N.B: Here are all the Labour rebels.
Shiraz Socialist 
modernity said,
June 11, 2008 at 8:31 pm
that’s the problem with a lot of these “Lefty” MPs, all mouth and trousers, but when it comes to it they’ll capitulate, their principles are often bought off with the promise of jobs, places on committee or some other “gift” from no. 10
I just wonder what will the next govt. (probably the Tories) make of these powers? frightening
ID cards, surveillance cameras, little or no habeas corpus 😦
KB Player said,
June 11, 2008 at 9:01 pm
That’s the kind of face I’m wearing to, Mod. I can’t stand the fact that Brown turned this important issue into a vote of confidence in him, and if what the post says is true, horse traded it as well.
Jim Denham said,
June 11, 2008 at 9:49 pm
Yeah…this
http://viva-freemania.blogspot.com/2008/06/42-days-sign-me-up.html
had occurred to me as well…
(Thanks to Will at the Drink Soaked Trots: http://www.drinksoakedtrotsforwar.com/).
charliethechulo said,
June 11, 2008 at 11:06 pm
I see Nooman is supporting Compass and Crudarse on this:
http://www.socialistunity.com/?p=2465#comments
…though the comments that follow are very entertaining, as most of Nooman’s cronies and readers evidently cannot bring themselves to go along with his grovelling, classically Stalinist version of pro-Compass fake-left “realism”.
modernity said,
June 11, 2008 at 11:27 pm
notice how Newman can’t resist the temptation to stick the sectarian knife into the LRC with this:
“73. So back to martin Ohr at #11, he wrote:
all of Newman’s well honed SWP skills are now at play!
charliethechulo said,
June 11, 2008 at 11:48 pm
Yes: Nooman is showing all the classic signs of his (relatively) new-found Stalinism: power-worship, an acceptance of “actually-existing socialism” as the best that can ever be achieved, and a sort of “I know about these things unlike you silly ultra-lefts” cynical (and fantastic) claim to be in telepathetic touch with the thinking of the union bureaucracy. Pathetic!
modernity said,
June 12, 2008 at 12:17 am
indeed Charlie,
the best way for the LRC to gain Newman’s applause would be if they affiliated to the Chinese Communist Party, then he’d be singing the LRC’s praises!
Miller 2.0 said,
June 12, 2008 at 1:34 am
I think you guys will be surprised what will come out of this. More tomorrow, perhaps.
On Cuba Solidarity… well, since when have they cared about detention without charge? :op
Voltaire's Priest said,
June 12, 2008 at 5:50 am
Shameful. Utterly shameful. Passing a measure that is totally unneccessary, in the teeth of informed opposition, just to shore up the white van man vote.
martin ohr said,
June 12, 2008 at 7:36 am
Jim, Any news on the Cuba link?
The whole Nooman being outraged at McD bing outraged at compass is quite amusing, apart from one person, nobody on Socialist Unity has backed Andy up, our chums from the SWP have been particularly incredulous at his soft-soaping of Compass and the hard-time he’s given the lrc. Who is the only person on SU to support Nooman? Step forward Mark Perryman former stalinist-turned small businessmen owner of philosophy football- makers of overpriced cringeworthy faux-political football t-shirts. Perryman of course is chairing a session at this weekends Compass conference on how english nationalism is progressive.
adammcnestrie said,
June 12, 2008 at 7:48 am
The 10p tax furore wasn’t about people paying a new starting rate for income tax; the 42-day pre-charge detention is not about the extension of government powers to hold terrorist suspects without charge. These are synthetic controveries spun from virtual issues. They represent the shadow cast by power in an age of consensus politics. An adversarial political system must have conflict; the heat generated by partisan political conflict has to find a site for its release. And so, like the United States and the Soviet Union in 1970’s and 1980’s, we get proxy wars – conflicts purporting to be about one thing (social justice; the liberty of the individual) which ultimately are about something else altogether.
Read my blog, just who the hell are we?, at:
http://adammcnestrie.wordpress.com/
a very public sociologist said,
June 12, 2008 at 8:32 am
Amazing how this has turned into another Andy Newman rant – haven’t you comrades got anything better to do … like aiming your fire at Labour MPs who backed the 42 days rather than a blogger who’s next to unknown among working class people? Talk about skewed priorities.
» Other bits and pieces on 42 days Though Cowards Flinch: “We all know what happens to those who stand in the middle of the road — they get run down.” - Aneurin Bevan said,
June 12, 2008 at 10:53 am
[…] Interesting points about “export-only” socialism on the part of the Compassites from Shiraz Jim. […]
modernity said,
June 12, 2008 at 1:40 pm
AVPS,
its all politics
so if Newman wants to attack people in a sectarian fit, then why are you shocked that his poor behaviour is highlighted?
had Newman adopted a more mature attitude on some of these issues then he might be given a bit more latitude, but as it is his hubris and desire to settle political scores weaken any valid points that he might have
Newman is his own worse enemy and his greatest fan
a very public sociologist said,
June 12, 2008 at 5:19 pm
I’m not shocked, just depressed to see a collective of talented and individual comrades obsess over what another socialist who runs another blog has to say. If you want to disagree with him, fine, but the best place for that is on Socialist Unity rather than the comments boxes here.
That said I cannot access SU at the moment. Anyone else having the same problem?
modernity said,
June 12, 2008 at 6:17 pm
AVPS wrote:
I disagree, I prefer neutral ground, either Dave’s, Stroppyblog or at Shiraz Socialist, at least I know my comments won’t be deleted because I disagree with the hosts
whereas at SU blog Newman and Co implement an erratic system of censorship, bans, deleting posters comments, etc so I don’t feel that it is a useful environment to touch on these issues.
I am, of course, an avid reader of SU blog, just I don’t like the moderation scheme
here’s the problem, Newman is known for using his Admin powers at SU blog to settle scores, delete posts, when they show him up for the immature person that he is, so it hardly sensible to debate him on his own ground
the other blogs, however, implement a fairly free and easy environment without restricting debate, as Newman does, so that’s why I and many others don’t post at SU blog
martin ohr said,
June 12, 2008 at 6:33 pm
It seems to have gone un-noticed that Trickett resigned from Compass this afternoon, presumably a minor ministerial limo will be waiting for him outside his house in the very near future.
charliethechulo said,
June 12, 2008 at 11:47 pm
Ooh, diddums!
http://www.compassonline.org.uk/article.asp?n=2155