My decision to vote Labour – a further explanation

Missing from my column this week, for reasons of space etc, was this simple point: I am a Socialist. I am not a liberal. Liberalism, or what it has become, makes me heave; I loathe it. More often than not, liberalism is economic self-interest cloaked in faux concern. I do not mean the economic liberalism of Margaret Thatcher (although I’m not keen on that either. Her foreign policies, yes. Her domestic agenda, no.) I mean the totalitarian political correctness and acquired victimhood of the London pretend-left. Yes, that idiotic Thornberry woman and Harman and maybe Ed Miliband included. But that doesn’t quite negate Labour as a party for me.

I think societies work better when there is a greater degree of equality (and yes, the last Labour government did not offer much redress on that point). I think we are happier as a country and a people when there is a communitarian spirit and ethos – which is one of the reasons I loathe the creed of multiculturalism. Shared values and a shared pride in our heritage. A respect for work and for the financial benefits that hard work brings. A belief in virtue for virtue’s sake. I accept all the stuff you might throw at me which suggests that the current Labour Party is a long way from that mindset. I have a lot of sympathy for those who intend to vote Ukip – I’m not far from that position myself – and even for those who vote Tory in order to stop Miliband – who I believe is inept and in a sense the epitome of what I dislike about the modern Labour Party – getting in. But in its soul, I think the Labour Party is closer to what I want for my country than any of the other parties.