The Killing off of Cunliffe

By
Martyn Bradbury
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80
6

david-cunliffe-backers-1

With Cunliffe stepping down, the Labour Party not only lose one of their best MPs, they lose any real opportunity to reform its neoliberalism.

The reason Cunliffe terrified the establishment and provoked such a vicious response to his Leadership was because he openly spoke about challenging free market mythology.

Remember when the Herald demanded Cunliffe resign over a $100 000 bottle of wine that never existed? Remember that this was before the publication of Dirty Politics and every news agency in NZ was still feeding and enabling Cameron Slater? Remember the humiliation Cunliffe was forced to endure because Paddy Gower erroneously reported Cunliffe was plotting  coup against Shearer?

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The establishment and its corporate media were not going to allow Cunliffe to threaten the neoliberal project.

Cunliffe’s win was a win for the Labour Party membership who demanded more say over who led the Party.That many in the Caucus sat on their collective hands and killed off Hone in Te Tai Tokerau to crash and burn the Party in an effort to eject Cunliffe after the 2014 election spoke to how determined many in Caucus were prepared to go to stop any real Left political voice inside Parliament.

Some on the Left prefer to be in control of the losing side rather than lose control of the winning side.

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I think that once David steps down, he will become an even more important voice for progressive politics. I expect to see him take up a lot more media pundit roles, especially with another global economic collapse looming.

David could end up having more influence outside of Labour than he had inside it.

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80 COMMENTS

  1. The Labour Party is a lost soul. Have been saying it for years. They backstabbed the only possible Corbyn in 2014 and it looks like thanks to Labour we will have another Shonky Government in 2017.
    Auckland has just elected a neo-liberal in Goff and already he has got to work to kill any democracy left. Our only hope at the moment is Winnie and I don’t know how much to trust him.

      • I worked in industry when Little was the head union delegate. You would not do that job unless you were for the people.
        Winston fought for the people in the Winebox inquiry so has some honor.

        John Key raised a son who thinks real men ride women instead of bikes and today Audrey Young has made the dodgy Saudi Sheep deal a Labour story rather than where it lies, perceived corruption on McCully and Key’s behalf.

        Please do not talk about trust in Little without giving credible evidence, other than Little changing his mind on something, it is normal human behavior.

        • Undermining Little is eating out of the Natz hands!

          What do you think the Natz strategy is for the next election? doing exactly what they did last election to Cunliffe to Little!

          Don’t support the Natz by posting anti Little posts. There’s plenty of rot in the Natz camp to focus on.

          • He did not support Cunliffe when he was leader and capitulated to the Grant Robertson faction . The only reason he is leader of Labour is because he was the second choice of Nania Mahuta’s supporters when the ballot was held. He has shown 3/5th’s of fuck all loyalty to Mahuta also. Nania Mahuta did the hard yards for Labour when the voting rules for leadership were changed. She traveled the country and consulted and wrote and re wrote and negotiated with the scumbag Blairites like Little and Robertson to keep the effing party alive! It is Maori and women who have kept Labour alive these last 9 years. it is the Labour women who fundraise tirelessly and organise, organise, organise, organise. It is Maori who are the heart and soul of Labour not National lite middleclass males like Little. He i dull uninspiring and I know from having had 2 members of the EPMU in my household just how far Little will go before he tugs his forelock to the bosses. Yeah nah I won’t be voting Labour this time around!

          • Labour do not deserve to be trusted. A party full of self serving careerist beltway windbags, forelock tuggers and Blairite scumbags. They do not care about or promote the interests of NZ workers. They are quick to flog off publicly owned assets and while they are competent managers of the Public Health and Education systems they did not do enough o repair the damage done by Shipley and co. For example the repeal of the Electricity reforms the Reserve Bank Act or the lack of state housing while Clark was in Government.

        • Ok second time I am replying to you Bert hopefully this one gets on the thread!. Little did nothing to support Cunliffe. He has NEVER won an electorate seat and simply does not have the experience or personality to be a successful Prime Minister. The only reason he is leader is because he was the second choice of Nania Mahuta’s supporters during the leadership ballot. He has shown 3/5th’s of fuck all loyalty to Mahuta . It is Maori who are the heart of Labour (what’s left of it) and the women members who work tirelessly to raise fundraise and organise organise organise are Labour’s soul. It was Mahuta who consulted and worked her guts out to rewrite Labour’s rules for electing it’s leader. Little chose Blairites Robertson and King to be his assistant leaders. I have 2 members of the EPMU in my immediate family , both of whom saw their wages and salary erode by over 30% under Little’s reign. So yeah nah not trustworthy. National lite forelock tugger. That’s Little.

          • By all means, have a discussion of ideas and facts, that’s what these forums are for. However, if someone criticizes your argument (“That’s rubbish Shona), responding to them with the personal insult “Up yours too” when they never said “Up yours” to you in the first place, is a very telling revelation of character on your part, and will only further any trust or respect that people have in your ideas, or indeed, you. A little civility goes a long way.

            • Shona sort of gave her character away with this comment:

              “A party full of self serving careerist beltway windbags, forelock tuggers and Blairite scumbags”.

              I have not seen any evidence of this other than a ponytail tugger who is our master and commander. A sad indictment indeed

    • +100 GADFLYS DAD…they are a bunch of self serving careerists without much talent ( with one or two exceptions) imo

      …and those most against Cunliffe were the least talented and most ambitious imo

  3. Come on, David Cunliffe had his shot, and he realised that Labour are not reformable, with the present lot they have as MPs. They still wield the power, no matter who the leader is. Hence Little is of little importance to some, and just a kind of caretaker leader, until the next defeat, that is when a Mr Robinson will again make his claim.

    We have mostly self serving MPs who are on the trough of government paid MPs salaries and expenses, who do mostly not even connect much with the electorate anymore. They are disconnected, some dinosaurs, some lost souls, they are desperate for straws, so they come up with various ideas and comments.

    There is NO coherence, no consistency, no honest unity, it is all glossed over, there is few talented ones, and so the ones that have skills and intellect, they jump ship, remember Charles Chauvel, remember others, now Cunliffe.

    I am not one bit surprised, Labour failed long ago to reform from within, now a new party that replaces it is the only solution for the future. The Greens will continue being a small lobby group kind of party, they are stuck at between ten and perhaps a maximum 13 to 15 percent.

    NO party we have does so far represent the ones that may be tapped into as non voters, as disconnected, as no longer interested. Those have lost hope and trust, I fear we need a Donald Trump or otherwise a Sanders or Corbyn, to stir things up, it is so far not happening.

      • This is also something that many seem to have forgotten. Still in late January this year, David Cunliffe was still intending to stand again for his electorate seat in New Lynn in the 2017 election:

        http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11579449

        Why the sudden change, one must ask? Did he get an offer he could not turn down, as Mike Williams said on RNZ the other day, or was it perhaps the fact that he saw no future in staying with Labour and in Parliament as a lower ranked spokesperson or Minister?

  4. Martyn, we heard David speaking twice last week, both speeches were excellent. his speech on Sunday at the Peace meeting about the coming Arms Expo in Auckland was to the point and very well received. I am sure we will hear much more from David Cunliff.

  5. I watched Cunliffe on tv tonight and thought that he comes across better than Little. One wonders what power plays were in place that saw him literally dumped. Pity really.

    • SERIOUSLY?? I guess you weren’t around for the greatest hatchet job in this country’s history back in 2014.

      It was a spectacular sight to behold, seeing John key’s dirty politics and smear campaigns in full force aided by the most complicit vicious and sickeningly nasty msm in living history that made Cunliffe toxic, and that also included commentators on LW and RW blog sites, and some back stabbing members of Labour’s caucus itself. I heard Patrick Gower is still creaming his pasts in his hatefest on Cunliffe upon the announcement of Cunliffe’s retirement.

      • Well, that’s one view.

        Another is that Cunliffe engaged in his own ‘dirty politics’ by cooperating with Nicky Hager and the entire failed ‘dirty politics’ hit on Key (remember Labour’s 2014 election slogan?).

        Or that his own megalomania simply ostracised him from the very people he needed to take with him, his own Caucus.

        • I think you are falling for the Whaleoil interpretation of events, David Cunliffe was somewhat careful and distanced himself and Labour from Mana, Dotcom, and then later also the dirty politics discussion, as he may have realised the MSM had suddenly turned off the topic.

          You will surely not be so silly to suggest David Cunliffe “conspired” with Nicky Hager, will you?

        • None of that is true and David Cunliffe had nothing to do with Nicky Hager’s book on John key’s dirty politics, his attack bloggers, black ops crew and ministerial abuses of power.

  6. I had actually hoped that David Cunliffe would have left Labour and volunteered to start and lead a new party to the left of centre, but I was disappointed.

      • @ MIKE IN AUCKLAND and CHOOKY …

        Same here, but it wasn’t to be unfortunately. Our loss.

        And Cunliffe also had the support of Nania Mahuta and her supporters (both Maori and Pakeha), myself included there. Nania is true Labour to the core, old Labour values that is. However that said, if Cunliffe had started a left of centre party, it would have been interesting to see whether or not Nania might have gone with him.

        A Cunliffe/Mahuta led party would have been the way to go, to give ordinary working class Kiwis an alternative option.

        From what I can see, Nania is the only MP there now, holding strong to core Labour principles.

    • Was never going to happen. David Cunliffe is Labour. Look at the timing of this Mike, it is to prevent a by election and by the time of the next election, the dust around Cunliffe would have well and truly settled by then.

  7. Researching and reporting on the Donghua Liu Affair () was probably the nadir of recent local politics.

    I was left in no doubt that there was collusion between the Herald and National to undermine and destroy Cunliffe’s career.

    https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2015/07/10/dirty-politics-exclusive-the-donghua-liu-affair-one-year-on/

    As I wrote back in April,

    The entire Donghua Liu Affair was a “black ops” devised by National to destroy David Cunliffe’s credibility. The fact that the NZ Herald went along with this odious plot is a stain on their reputation that will take a long time to overcome (if at all).

    Your reputation, Mr Cunliffe, by contrast, is cleared fully.

    • But when did it become ok to go after the family so to speak. These people aren’t just saying it’s ok to collude (also high level collusion OIA, trade, world organisations ie WTO, UN, OPEC, BRICS, 5is) these people are celebrating.

      In 2007 we saw the same levels of hubris and we know how that ended.

      A radio live poll today said over 80% of respondents said its cool to jail people if they abscond on there student loans. So I give people loans I know they have no ability to repay then send them to jail for a much tidier profit on the back end. Because every banker knows there’s yield in private prisons. But if I collude with whites against coloured people it’s ok. Ok.

      Grown up NZ media didn’t just die in that disabled toilet it’s taken any form rational thinking with it and Trump pressed the flusher

    • The only substantiated donation made by Dong Hua Liu was in return for a private dinner at his home with John Key arranged by Jami-Lee Ross. The $25000 rested in the Botany MPs bank account until after the election when it was returned to the donor. Black Ops anyone??

    • For me Frank it was Gower calling David Cunliffe a liar live on tv over the Don Wah Lieu affair.
      That was a despicable act considering they knew he was telling the truth and when it confirmed for me what i already knew that we no longer had an independent fourth estate that was dedicated to informing us with the truth and with no hidden agenda.
      Instead the media is more interested in destroying peoples reputations for political gain and the truth is just an inconvenience to overcome.
      I agree totally with your point about collusion.
      The power of the media has been one of this governments best weapons and meant that we are an official one party state a headline to this effect the Herald ran on its front page celebrating a poll putting the National party at over 50 % support.
      The strategy is working brilliantly.

    • I remember when John Armstrong finally retired from the NZ Herald he apologised to David Cunliffe in his final column for his outrageous “Cunliffe must resign” call over the 11 year old “Liu letter”, obviously too little too late from an ill person, but it confirms what Frank says about the Herald

        • Couldnt agree more Words.

          The horrible Herald should have made a full public apology for that utter outrage and begged for forgiveness from David Cunliffe for the damage that caused his political reputation and made a large donation to the Labour party.

          John Keys crimes and misdemeanors are what the Herald should be concentrating on when demanding resignations.

        • Couldnt agree more Words.

          The horrible Herald should have made a full public apology for that utter outrage and begged for forgiveness from David Cunliffe for the damage that caused his political reputation and made a large donation to the Labour party.

          John Keys crimes and misdemeanors are what the Herald should be concentrating on when demanding resignations.

    • “there was collusion between the Herald and National to undermine and destroy Cunliffe’s career.”

      Spot on Frank. btw, you covered the Donghua Liu Affair brilliantly imo

      • Thank you, Words. I received quite a bit of help with the last chapter from a professional journo (who has requested anonymity), who added his/her valuable insights and editing experience.

      • Ditto, Words. Frank’s coverage of the Donghua Lui scandal and looking at the players who instigated the downfall of Cunliffe was quite illuminating. It’s the sort of investigative journalism NZ has lost as the MSM races toward tabloidism and clickbait journalism.

  8. Yes,
    It’s sad to see that David Cunliffe will be leaving.
    N.Z will be the poorer for it, although most are too ignorant to realise it!
    What a waste of talent !!
    Many New Zealanders are just so basic and stupid and that is why Key stays in power.
    The David Cunliffes of this world are seen as too intellectual , too smart, too clever clogsish for their own good etc blah blah blah .
    If N.Zers don’t start to become more politically sophisticated we are in for a very rough ride.
    Let’s also not forget the wilful misinterpretation by all the childish commentators in the media, regarding the ‘Women’s Refuge ‘ speech.
    Here he was trying to bring exposure to their plight, (which has since worsened) and all they could come up with is ” Oh look, he’s sorry for being a man.” …..pathetic
    N.Z needs to grow up !!

  9. sad day for us all when Labour lets such talent go as they should have alleviated him again but someone was doing some dirty work for Shokey PM we believe.

    • Thank goodness for this site. Over on the standard you would think they were glad to see DC go. I totally agree with most of the posts here today. Basically the loss of Cunliffe is the loss of the possibility that Labour could reform. In my opinion they have just lost the next election by removing the hopes of the party membership.
      Keep up the good work Martyn.

  10. Winnie, while untrustworthy, is the only hope of avoiding a non-democratic, blood in the streets backlash. Labour has been a right-wing party since Lange (Douglas), masquerading as a people’s party under a thin veneer of identity politics. Economic nationalism is left-wing.

  11. Bring back Buck bumper stickers was a novel idea.

    Bring back “the peoples hero” in a year or so might just have an effect when the good New Zealand people realise they have three more years of Key and the National party to endure.

    We will need a hero all right !!!

  12. How long will it take for our politicians and public to realise neoliberalism is a flawed model whose days numbered. Surely with worldwide trends this can be seen if people look outside there little bubble…

    • It’s only flawed if it’s not working in your favour, and last time I looked, the government and their supporters seemed to be enjoying the successes of it. As for people looking outside their bubbles? Sadly, they seem to have had the tinted windows installed inside out. We can all see in, but they can’t see out. Inside the bubble, it’s shiny and clean and perfectly smooth. No worries, mate.

      • The top end of town is doing very well and I am sure that they love the National govt. but it is the majority who are going backward in this economy that I am concerned about.

  13. We are trapped on a slowly sinking ship, with the owners and the crew and most of the passengers busying themselves with banging out the rivets that hold the steel plates together, having already thrown the compass and maps overboard and locked the steering into position.

    The problem anyone who is still sane is to decide how to spend the last years before the ship goes completely under.

    Attempting to persuade the owners, crew and most of the passengers to not bang out the rivets is futile: they are quite insane and utterly determined to sabotage the ship and everyone on it -avid members of a suicide-death cult, one might say.

    Atmospheric CO2 is the highest ever for the time of year and is rising by the highest rate ever as Abrupt Climate Change (Planetary Meltdown) accelerates.

    We have witnessed a series of record-high monthly global average temperatures, with no end in sight.

    Arctic ice cover is the lowest ever for the time of year and is still diverging from the previous record low. A ‘blue water’ event (no ice) is certain soon, perhaps as early as September 2017, after which global temperatures can be expected to rise even faster.

    Antarctic ice sheets are being undercut by overheated water and glaciers are collapsing, bringing forward the time frame for multi-metre sea level rise..

    Oil is trading internationally at below the cost of extraction for most companies and many nations.

    Interest rates have been rigged at historically low levels to prevent immediate implosion of the financial system, and there is no end in sight. Savers are being crushed.

    Debt levels are rising at record highs, and many are rising spectacularly.

    Currency markets -especially those of ’emerging nations’- are in turmoil.

    Share markets are in decline, both in capital value and earnings.

    There is a state of perpetual war.

    Increased government surveillance and ever-greater restriction of movement, freedom and free speech have become the norm.

    Government is of the many by the few, with no policies geared to the needs of the many and all policies geared to the short-term wants of the few, and all with no accountability -effectively fascism.

    An ‘epidemic’ of obesity, diabetes, cancer and other industrial diseases is afflicting industrial nations.

    The corporate media cheerleads dysfunction and destruction, for short-term profit, and controls the minds of a large sector of the populace.

    I know of not one thinking person who believes this corrupt and utterly dysfunctional system will deliver anything other than further destruction and mayhem over the coming years, whoever forms the next government. And I know of many who have no hope at all for humanity.

    What disturbs me most is that comments such as those above are totally ignored by the majority, and that certain elements continue with the narrative that ‘if only we could……..’ (fill in the blank, usually with ‘elect a Labour government’) things can be turned around: that bizarre stance comes after more than 3 decades of everything being made rapidly worse by a succession of Labour and National governments, with occasional input from the so-called Greens.

    The dismal state of affairs is not only occurring at the national level, of course, but is also occurring at the local level: the newly-elected council here is the worst I have ever witnessed, and is guaranteed to drive what little remains of the community straight off the cliff via out-of-control spending. There is a mood of utter disgust amongst the informed, and celebration amongst the blissfully ignorant.

    • Bit wrong to blame National, the Media, I would have thought. It seemed to me that some within Labour did not support him.

    • That’s a good idea Esoteric pineapples! Now they have an alliance it is all win win for all. Better to have his as a coalition partner than Labour lose him completely.

    • If Cunliffe joins the Greens, he will probably be assassinated by the Chinese secret service, just like Rod Donald.

    • He is going back to management consultancy, so seems to have little interest in political engagements now.

  15. What’s with all this fake drama queen indignation on Cunliffe leaving politics that I see here?

    After everything this man was put through, after being ground up and spit out in 2014, it was inevitable that Cunliffe would quit politics before the next election, and he did say as much back in 2014. So why are people so surprised and indignant?

  16. “I think that once David steps down, he will become an even more important voice for progressive politics. I expect to see him take up a lot more media pundit roles, especially with another global economic collapse looming.”

    “The reason Cunliffe terrified the establishment and provoked such a vicious response to his Leadership was because he openly spoke about challenging free market mythology.”

    I too look forward to him continuing on this tack and leading the fight against neo liberalism. Hopefully he can find some spare time in his new role as part of the leadership team for a firm that specialises in radical and progressive ideas such as “Mergers, acquisitions & divestitures” and “Strategy facilitation” to stick it to the man.

  17. There’s a parallel here.

    Many years ago the National party was in a similar state with Bill English at the helm: A nice enough guy but not a charismatic leader. Eventually John Key came to the rescue. And what did he do? He made Bill English is close ally and minister of finance, where he since has done a fantastic job.

    So why did Little banish Cunliffe the back seats? Why these endless self-destructive purges on the Left, based on some childish notion of ‘ideological purity’? The left has done the same to both Josie Pagani and Phil Quinn for doing little more than pointing out the bleeding obvious.

    Labour has a dearth of talent and cannot afford to cast aside competent thinkers.

    Is there something in the drinking water at Fraser House?

  19. David Cunliffe should write a book on his experiences since his election in 1999.
    He should not hold back and i reckon it will be a beauty.

    Release it in time for the 2017 campaign, at least it would provide a distraction to the phony election and more of Keys craparama.

    Thanks for serving David and making a contribution in the last Labour government.

    All the best.

  20. David Cunliffe should write a book on his experiences since his election in 1999.
    He should not hold back and i reckon it will be a beauty.

    Release it in time for the 2017 campaign, at least it would provide a distraction to the phony election and more of Keys craparama.

    Thanks for serving David and making a contribution in the last Labour government.

    All the best.

  21. Great News, I hope, Gareth Morgan has started a political party. It will sound the death knell of the Labour party.

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