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The psychology of Labour
Posted by Ben Archibald (@benarchibald)
Sunday, 7th February 2010
John Prescott's latest wheeze to stir up some fighting spirit within the Labour ranks on his pisspoor Go4th website (looks too close .jpg)
to Goatse to me, and Labour coming 4th would be something to celebrate) is to run the 'we're underdogs' argument. His headline screams 'Underdogs can beat Tory millionaires' and he goes on to develop the analogy of Hull City as Labour, in their 2-1 victory over Manchester City this weekend.
Can it really be that a party with the sizeable majority Labour has in the commons can be thinking of itself as the underdog? What does that say about the psychology of the Labour Party right now?
His contention is that if 'little Hull City' can beat the richest team in the world, then Labour can strike for an historic fourth term in office.
Well, some of his analogy is spot on if you like to stretch analogies, but so do I. Also, some of the analogy is a mess, and sheds some light on the desperation beginning to build in the Labour activist mindset. Clutching at straws is not attractive.
He's not too bad in analogising the leadership of the two teams to the parties. Like the Conservatives, Manchester City does have a significant spending capacity, but again like them, this spend capacity hasn't been really put to the test yet. Ashcroft's money has been developing constituencies, and as a result, developing some nice surprises for election night.
Again, like the Labour Party, Hull City is headed by a man nobody likes, and who would have been gone a long time ago if a good option was available. The analogy breaks down here; while Hull is peopled with players anxious to prove themselves and secure success, the Labour Party has faced a record number of resignations and planned departures.
In reality, Prescott's argument is the 'fight and never surrender' argument. It's right, it's proper and it's the only option the Labour Party has. They have accounts close to bankruptcy, they have experienced a massive fall in membership, they have lost many of their most experienced politicians and they are devoid of inspirational leadership. There were even signs this week that their leader's recovery in the pantheon of Prime Minister's questions may have been but a blip, as Cameron beasted him at the dispatch box.
A dirty, hard fought election with a small, dedicated, dogged guerrilla force of Labour activists is ahead of us. It's only this weekend that they are finally getting the picture.
Finally, if you find yourself in the unfortunate position of a Gordon Brown constituency visit this election, please follow these instructions carefully: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzmhD5IFUOg
