A centrist Labour think tank just made a fool of itself on Twitter

Labour Party centrist think tank the Fabian Society caused quite a commotion on Twitter on Sunday 18 April. It might have been best if the group hadn’t bothered.
Keir Starmer: help needed
The Fabians are “crowdsourcing” ideas. The group wants to know what people think “Keir Starmer & the Labour party should do over the next 12 months”:
We're crowd-sourcing ideas for what Keir Starmer & the Labour party should do over the next 12 months. So far we've had policy suggestions of UBI, electoral reform & the green new deal. What do you want to see?
Take our survey now https://t.co/T68Yjw4QKG pic.twitter.com/x59qcNW25h
— The Fabian Society (@thefabians) April 17, 2021
Read on...
You can take the Fabians’ survey here. But needless to say, the tweet didn’t go down very well.
Quite a few people thought Starmer should go:
Resign and take his shadow cabinet with him https://t.co/JCUjLZdA3g
— James williams 🚩 (freeassange) (@welshlefty2004) April 18, 2021
Others gave some actual policy ideas:
Increase minimum wage and introduce a 4 day working week…
Also repeal all anti-union laws. 🌹 https://t.co/d15ApCWSDI
— #McStrike 🏳️🌈 (@SocialistLew) April 18, 2021
Proportional representation
— Brian Wernham 🔶 💚😷#StayHomeSaveLives (@BrianUkulele) April 18, 2021
But many people weren’t impressed. Not least because they thought there was already a document that had plenty of good ideas in it:
Try this. It got 40% of the vote. Turns out reversing neoliberalism is a popular idea. pic.twitter.com/EykIkEAd5Q
— RedHerring (@CoastKerry) April 18, 2021
Of course, Corbyn repeatedly came up:
Restore the whip to Jeremy Corbyn, reinstate unfairly suspended members, publish the Forde report. I joined Labour after the 2019 election but will not vote Labour again until democracy is restored. Starmer broke his election pledges, is untrustworthy, unelectable & needs to go
— Sparky (@Sparkyxxx) April 18, 2021
But the bigger picture with the Fabians’ plan was this. As The Canary‘s editor-at-large Kerry-Anne Mendoza tweeted:
No. You’re on your own.
Why would you want the suggestions of “rabble, trots and thugs” anyway? https://t.co/Q0o5XPZlar
— Kerry-Anne Mendoza 🏳️🌈 (@TheMendozaWoman) April 18, 2021
Yes, of course the Fabians have a history with a distinct whiff of anti-Corbynism.
Anti-Corbyn Fabians
For example, Socialist Appeal wrote about a report the Fabians produced in early 2017. In short, it argued that at the next election, Corbyn’s Labour could have been reduced to 150 MPs. As Daniel Morley wrote at the time:
Another week, another terrible headline for Corbyn in the Guardian, this time courtesy of their friends in the Fabian Society. Announcing the findings of a highly superficial and subjective report from the anti-Corbyn faction as if they weren’t biased, the Guardian website’s main headline shouted “Labour Could Slump to Below 150 MPs, Fabian Society Warns”. Anyone actually reading the article, however, quickly discovers this claim to be so superficial as to be meaningless.
We all know how that ended.
Undermining the leader
Corbyn ended up denying the Tories a majority at the 2017 general election, gaining more MPs, and seeing the biggest vote share increase since 1945. Even the Guardian itself had to admit that Corbyn did this:
amid decidedly mixed opinion polls and an often thunderously hostile media.
Yet the Fabians remained hostile. At times, the think tank pushed a pro-EU narrative (aided by Starmer) in the party which would eventually help annihilate Labour in the 2019 election. And after that, it gleefully shouted that “the Corbyn experiment must end”.
So, as Kay Ballard summed up:
Bit optimistic thinking he will still be leader in 12 months?
Don't recall the same support for previous leader. https://t.co/2rwFvh7Wf1— Kay Ballard (@KayBall77922912) April 17, 2021
Yet now the Fabians want help from the public? Too little, too late may be many people’s response.
Featured image via the Fabian Society – screengrab and the Telegraph – YouTube
We need your help to keep speaking the truth
Every story that you have come to us with; each injustice you have asked us to investigate; every campaign we have fought; each of your unheard voices we amplified; we do this for you. We are making a difference on your behalf.
Our fight is your fight. You’ve supported our collective struggle every time you gave us a like; and every time you shared our work across social media. Now we need you to support us with a monthly donation.
We have published nearly 2,000 articles and over 50 films in 2021. And we want to do this and more in 2022 but we don’t have enough money to go on at this pace. So, if you value our work and want us to continue then please join us and be part of The Canary family.
In return, you get:
* Advert free reading experience
* Quarterly group video call with the Editor-in-Chief
* Behind the scenes monthly e-newsletter
* 20% discount in our shop
Almost all of our spending goes to the people who make The Canary’s content. So your contribution directly supports our writers and enables us to continue to do what we do: speaking truth, powered by you. We have weathered many attempts to shut us down and silence our vital opposition to an increasingly fascist government and right-wing mainstream media.
With your help we can continue:
* Holding political and state power to account
* Advocating for the people the system marginalises
* Being a media outlet that upholds the highest standards
* Campaigning on the issues others won’t
* Putting your lives central to everything we do
We are a drop of truth in an ocean of deceit. But we can’t do this without your support. So please, can you help us continue the fight?
-
Show Comments
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to leave a comment.Join the conversationPlease read our comment moderation policy here.
Looked at the list. The answer to all of those is “Get a new leader.”
Do I win a prize?
“What do you want to see?”
For EVERY ~182 of Thatcher’s Neoliberal Neolabour Party MPs to lose their seat at the next GE!
With a Democratic Socialist UK Labour Party of just 10/20 MPs and a Massive Member base, The return of HOPE and UNITY like 2015 to 2017, huge Democratic Socialist Union Support, ALL Thatcher’s Neolabour Tory Saboteurs chucked out, we would, be louder for The People have more clout, power and unity than a HoC full of Thatcher’s Neoliberal Tories!
https://youtu.be/60C-RjGkuOo
At least they ASKED – all credit to them
Especially a they may not be surprised by the results, so it shows willingness to engage -obviously unlike Starmer
Seems to me that addressing democracy and reinstatement is 1st priority
Because without freedom of speech there can be no sensible discussion of policy
Googled “Fabian”; first two results were;
1) Roman general noted for indecision, called “The Delayer” by the populace.
2) Hugo Dill (Benny Hill)’s dog in 1956 movie “Who Dun It?”
Say no more (nudge nudge).