Something new

Unlike Dave Osler, I couldn't face rejoining the Labour Party - not just yet. Phil, as ever, hits the reasons not to on the head.

I have, though, I think, found a backdoor way back into the official Labour movement - by joining The Co-operative Party (see Wikipedia. My card arrived in the post yesterday.

It is an independent party, although it mostly operates, in reality, as a sort of autonomous internal fraction of the Labour Party (though one may be a member of either without being a member of t'other). That said, notable members include Ed Balls - likely future Chancellor under Gordon Brown.

Partly this is simply a response to the good deal of sense talked by Kevin Carson who, without defending every dot and title of his postings, puts forward a strong egalitarian model of market economics. If we are stuck with the market for the forseeable, then lets at least make the best of the bugger.

The ideas of mutualism and co-operation may even be easier to sell to market indoctrinated workers who are suspiscious of state socialism and trade unions generally.

And how could I refuse to:

declare myself a co-operator, assert my belief in the Co-operative Commonwealth and agree to accept the programme, policy and constitution of the Co-operative Party national and local.

I can't see any harm in trying a new route, and stepping outside, slightly, the left ghetto.

Anyway, the Manifesto of the Co-operative Party is largely harmless. And "First, do no harm" is a pretty good guiding political principle.