Reminding
me of my blog, a few days ago, noting that there are still problems
over the 2008 economic collapse, it is useful to go through the flyer
for the 2007 Fabian Society Annual Conference. Somehow there was
plenty of stuff which has net been recycled to the bin, and every so
often I had an instinct that ephemera might well be useful many years
on.
Please
remember that back in January 2007 (almost exactly eight years ago),
Gordon Brown had been ousted out of Tony Blair, from his premiership.
On the front cover of the leaflet, we has an image of blue sky, green
fields, and trees in the distance, just like in the current poster,
proudly advertised by David Cameron for the Tories, much mocked by
his opponents. The main difference would seem to be that in 2007,
there was no road going though the greenery, while in 2015, there was
a road running through the middle.
Well,
I guess all politicians copy roughly the same ideas.
Going
through the text, rather than the images, the Fabians note that, in
the next decade,
"In
2007, Britain will have a new Prime Minister. But how should the
political and policy agenda change?" Join us to kick-start the
new political year. Over 40 leading speakers and more than 700
delegates will b4egin the next decade debates that Britain needs. We
will ask how progressives can set the political agenda, and debate
what fresh approaches to inequality, education, the environment,
democracy and foreign policy should be involved."
It
is all completely laughable, especially what was going to happen
next. Looking through this, I feel mightily relieved that I had got
away from the Labour party many years previously.
There
was one massive gap in the Fabian analysis, in that there was no
mention of the economy. Absolutely nothing. No one seemed to bother
about the thought that the British economy was becoming seriously
unstable. It is of course possible that some of the delegates, and
maybe even the occasional politician, might have had the inkling that
the economy was on the tip of the upswing, and from then on, it was
all going to go into decline. Even the Conservatives, at this stage,
did not grasp the problems until after the crash, and so after early
2008, they needed to cobble up a few ideas to try to give an
unsatisfactory interpretation of what was going on.
Looking
at the main policy for discussion at the annual Fabian Conference, we
had, in the morning, "Philosophy after Blair" (yawn!),
"Battleground 2009" (but of of course Labour was in such a
mess, that they needed to delay for another year, until there was
going to be some sort of reprieve), "Left outside"
(possibly vaguely interesting), "The media and Progressive
Politics" (meaning what?) and Divided by Difference". In the
afternoon, Life Chances, Environment, Education, Democracy, and The
World After Bush.
But
where was the economy, stupid?
There
are some in the Labour party who have not been stupid:
Some
material to go through, both for myself and for readers.
This
year's Fabian New Year's Conference will be held next week. I shall
not be interested myself.
I
need to remind myself though that while I will almost certainly vote
for Labour in May, I have no great expectation that Labour will
handle things well.
The
usual excuse these days is that no-one could possibly have foreseen
what was about to happen, just before the crash. It seems much more
the case that Labour deliberately ignored all the warning signs.
Can't
see that the Conservatives have been doing well, or will be able to
do well if they get in after May this year.
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