WTF?
Election 2023: Labour Party won’t be driven left after loss, Chris Hipkins says
The Labour Party will not be driven to the left by October’s election loss, leader Chris Hipkins says.
Hipkins said the election result came about because of the mood that “people were looking for a change” and it “wasn’t necessarily a policy-driven vibe”.
“I find that kind of idea that people vote on a left-right spectrum a bit frustrating because they don’t,” he told the Weekend Herald in an interview.
“People don’t vote on a left-right continuum. They vote on the vibe of the campaign.”
The comments from Hipkins come after Labour registered 26.91 percent of the vote in the general election.
Despite being ousted as Prime Minister, he was endorsed to remain Labour leader at a party caucus meeting last month.
In his interview with the NZ Herald, Hipkins revealed he “didn’t take the election result personally”.
“I think it was a reflection of the fact New Zealanders have had a tough time with COVID and cost of living and a whole lot of other things and were just looking for something different.”
…ok, ok, ok.
Before we call for Hipkins to be sacked, we need to work out what he meant by refusing to take Labour ‘left’.
If he means no more middle class woke activists virtue signals, then we can all agree, but if he’s refusing to adopt class based economic justice, then he must be removed!
The lies that the Wellington Beltway are telling themselves as to why Labour lost are all about ‘the vibe’. These cushioned middle class Labour arseholes in Wellington tell themselves they didn’t do anything wrong!
They tell themselves that despite an unprecedented MMP majority, it wasn’t their fault that the policy incrementalism that has robbed them of any mana was to blame, oh no, it was ‘the vibe’.
Dr Incremental, Max Rashbrooke – the Wellington Woke General most responsible for the Wellington Left’s love affair with tiny insignificant gains and calling that a revolution, has been on the accursed The Spin-Off (surely NZ on Air is turning off the light on that woke social engineering notice board any second now?) and The Project (which has been cancelled) to assure us all to always look on the bright side of life…
12 graphs that show New Zealand isn’t doing as badly as you think
Trend lines show that we’re heading in the right direction in all sorts of ways, from race relations to ram raids. Max Rashbrooke celebrates the Upturn.
…we can not allow Labour Party apologists like Rashbrooke dominate the debate and let Labour and the Greens off the hook for the pitiful wins while they were in power!
Let’s look at Max’s evidence that things are great and not really that bad.
Greenhouse gas emissions – Sure the tiny incremental changes Max loves (which are all about to be thrown out by the new hard right racist Government) have shown a lowering of those emissions, but those numbers really dropped because of Covid lock downs. In light of the enormity of catastrophic climate events and temperatures last month that were 6 sigma out all point to run away climate change meaning everything we’ve incrementally achieved to date is meaningless.
Child poverty – The level of poverty desperation is hidden by Dr Incremental, Max Rashbrooke, whose pitiful defence of Labour’s foot dragging over at the eternally compromised Spinoff is made nonsense by CPAGs criticism that the numbers he’s relying on are horrifically compromisedand show none of the true magnitude of poverty.
Race relations – As the new hard right racist Government announce a purge of every reference to the Treaty and work to legislate it out of all Government policy, Dr Incremental tells us Race Relations have never been better.
Smoking rates – The new hard right racist Government have just dumped all plans to be smoke free by 2025 meaning everything he wrote here is now trashed.
Ram raids – On this he is correct but it doesn’t mean a fuck of a lot. Ram Raids are coming down and the work Labour did in providing wrap around services to damaged kids left feral by a system that doesn’t give a shit has worked, but not before the damage to the public perception has crystallised.
Justice reform – Again, doesn’t matter because a hard right racist Government has won and intends to build a new prison empire with far harsher sentences. It’s not enough to release people from prison, you need to release rehabilitated prisoners with the right wrap around services from prison and we on the Left failed at winning community support for that.
School attendance – To justify his argument that we should always look on the bright side of life, Max argues…
Last year, regular student attendance – defined by the Ministry of Education as students being at school at least 90% of the time – fell to just 39.8% in term two, the period when children are most absent due to winter illness.
In term two this year, the rate was 47% – hardly great, but an improvement nonetheless.
…when your position is 47% attendance rate is a success because it was 39.8%, I think you are becoming desperate for examples to prop up your incrementalism. All school truancy is destructive.
Emergency housing – John Minto has attacked these numbers so many times it’s weird Max is trying to defend them. We have 24 717 on the social housing wait list and are kettling beneficiaries into unsafe motels. The petty level of state housing builds is only made impressive because National did nothing for. decade. That isn’t progress, it’s incrementalism.
Public transport use – Shit Max is getting desperate. Public Transport use trending up only highlights the economic desperation many are now forced into , that’s not a symptom of good, that’s a symptom of economic desperation.
These were all ‘good first steps’ but there is only so many times you can hear that in 6 years and not realise that all these ‘first great steps’ are just amounting to jogging on the spot.
The Wellington Professional Managerial class that Rashbrooke represents will tell us that incremental change is the only change which is just a Wellington myth.
Look at how romper stomper the Right are about to go the millisecond they take power, while the Rashbrooke’s of the Left sing to us…
It’s not time to make a change
Just relax, take it easy
You’re still young, that’s your fault
There’s so much you have to know
Find a girl, settle down
If you want you can marry
Look at me
I am old, but I’m happy
I was once like you are now
And I know that it’s not easy
To be calm
When you’ve found something going on
But take your time, think a lot
Why, think of everything you’ve got
For you will still be here tomorrow
But your dreams may not
…fuck incrementalism and everyone pushing it on the Left as our way forward while the romper stomper hard right racist Government set fires to our cultural libraries.
Incrementalism, the Wellington Professional Managerial Class and the Woke are not the future of the true Left and they must be burnt out of any leadership role whatsoever if we are to have any hope of winning back political power in 2026.
We need a revolution at the ballot box, we do not need more incrementalism that makes middle class woke activists feel unthreatened about their privilege!
Bernard Hickey has argued, “We could have gotten $200 billion in extra tax revenues if only there had been a fair tax system which meant that capital gains were taxed at the same rate as every other type of income.”
In a liberal progressive democracy, it doesn’t matter what role you play in the complex super structure of our society and economy.
It doesn’t matter of you are a garbage collector, a dr, a nurse, a drain layer, teacher or tradie – if you all stopped doing your jobs the system can’t work.
Everyone deserves to share the collective harvest of civil society with public services and policies focused on the public good enshrined in the intrinsic civil liberties each individual has.
Wealthy individuals who become mega rich thanks to the landscape generated by those values are required to pay more back into the system they have benefited from beyond the bare necessity of ruthless accountancy practices.
These rich pricks have designed the system for themselves, ‘you can’t tax unrealised capital gains’ the Right scream, like bullshit we can’t!
If it means the mega rich have to sell a mansion or two to pay the tax bill, so fucking be it!
The obligation of the Government is to regulate Capitalism so that we the people benefit from the competitive dynamics of competition!
We are not an over taxed, over regulated economy!
Our top tax rate is the 39th highest in the world behind all the Scandinavian countries plus Germany, the United Kingdom, Ireland, France and South Africa!
Australia’s top tax rate is 47cents!
Our GST rate doesn’t even get us into the top 50 and our corporate tax rate is 40th while Government spending against GDP ranks 56th!
And we are voted easiest to do business by the World Bank!
Total hours spent at work per year (OECD):
Germany- 1330
Denmark- 1346
Japan- 1598
Australia- 1683
Canada- 1644
UK- 1367
New Zealand- 1739
I’m not looking for socialism here folks, just basic garden variety regulated capitalism!
There are 14 Billionaires in NZ + 3118 ultra-high net worth individuals, let’s start with them, then move onto the Banks, then the Property Speculators, the Climate Change polluters and big industry.
You should be angry, NZ Capitalism is a rigged trick for the rich and powerful. The real demarcation line of power in a western democracy is the 1% + their 9% enablers vs the 90% rest of us!
Do not allow their smears of ‘Envy’ dilute the righteous rage you should all be feeling!
There’s no point making workers pay more to rebuild our resilience, tax the rich!
-Sugar Tax
-Inheritance Tax
-Wealth Tax
-Financial Transactions Tax
-New top tax rate on people earning over $300 000 per year.
-Capital Gains Tax
-Windfall profit taxes
-First $10 000 tax free
Lift the tax yoke from the workers and the people and place it on the mega wealthy and have them pay their fair share for once!
The true demarcation off power in a liberal progressive democracy is the 1% wealthy + their 9% enablers vs the 90% rest of us.
Stand. Stand now and demand more from this rigged capitalism!
The political project of National and ACT is to starve the State of revenue so that it can’t redistribute wealth in the first place.
If Chippy is walking away from the woke Left, great, but if he is also dumping Class Left Economic Justice then he is just another incrementalist and must be the first one sacked!
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If only Labour had gone romper stomper for the working class when they had the chance the right would still be in the wilderness.
I think he meant he won’t be moving Labour from the right wing to the left wing, and doubled down on neoliberalism.
My vote in 2026 in Christchurch central will be two ticks GREEN NO MATTER WHAT.
@ JST. Exactly (far) right. chipkins will be elated that he’s managed to ditch his nightmare prime ministership and had it over to a true blue neo-con troglodyte like luxon. As you suggest @ JST. It’s the digestive workings in the guts of neo-liberalism which is roger douglas’s Labour.
They tell us what to do, they take what they want, they leave without condemnation with huge salaries and perks while we watch as the country we built and maintain gets a hand job and a few sweet lies. Is that shit getting fucking boring or what?
Is it time for us to realise, somehow, anyhow, that we’re the owner-operators of AO/NZ? Not, our elected, obscenely over paid management staff and bureaucracy? We, are the boss! NOT fucking chipkins of luxon of his two moron Kling-on side kicks. seymour and peters! I mean, really?
I thought you talking about Max Tweedie. Same thing I suppose?
Well said .
Exactly what I thought when reading that.
My reaction was no wonder a million couldn’t be bothered to vote if that was labours mindset.
FUCK HIPKINS !!!!!!
LABOUR HAVE PERMANENTLY LOST MY RESPECT.
Forever and ever.
I’m sure Labour will have sleepless nights knowing you don’t respect them anymore Geoff, and the greens will have make alter to you for your support, after all not many men do support that man hating party.
Well the greens have had my party vote since the 2017 election .
Why because labour are gutless on reforming tax and welfare.
While you rightist types bleed the country dry.
Whinge and moan about potholes and are the first to moan you cant get a hospital operation or get cancer drugs.
YOU ARE ALL HYPOCRITICAL ASSHOLES>
So give me the Man hating GREENS any day at least they have kick started the above debate and have increased their electorate base 3 fold and picked up 3 electorates to boot.
True that .!
CHANGE is needed , real change not carrots and stupid slogans …but , aww Chippies GF says hes lovely …thats good enough for me ….
If he moved the party to the left, then those hundreds of thousands of voters who don’t bother, who are mostly working class who don’t vote because there’s nothing in it for them, might actually get off the arse and go to the polls. But they seem completely uninterested in increasing the percentage of people who vote – aside from lip service.
That was disproved by one of Trotter’s maneuvers elections ago. Unfortunately. He was a good man, I admit, in his day. Did his utmost.
“Before we call for Hipkins to be sacked, we need to work out what he meant by refusing to take Labour ‘left’.”
Nah, no need to over-think it.
Sack him.
In fact and better still, wake up and realise Labour have long been a sham and really just need to quietly go away.
We need an alternative to neoliberalism, not just another thrall to it.
Agree Christie. The arrogance of the indoctrinated upper class political cabal mixed with small man syndrome has been overwhelming in forming a fog around Hipkins’ head that has prevented the words of possibility and advice from this blog from penetrating any small opening in his brain; it has maintained a stony barrier enclosing his and Labour’s pure belief and dogma.
Random extra facts – about ‘cabal’. This shows that political moves sly or bold, of any sort, are part of our human development.
: the contrived schemes of a group of persons secretly united in a plot (as to overturn a government)
also : a group engaged in such schemes
Cabal has been associated with a group of five ministers in the government of England’s King Charles II. The initial letters of the names or titles of those men (Clifford, Arlington, Buckingham, Ashley, and Lauderdale) spelled cabal, and they have been collectively dubbed as the “Cabal Cabinet” or “Cabal Ministry.” But these five names are not the source of the word cabal, which was in use decades before Charles II ascended the throne. The term traces back to cabbala, the Medieval Latin name for the Kabbalah, a traditional system of esoteric Jewish mysticism. Latin borrowed Cabbala from the Hebrew qabbālāh, meaning “received or traditional lore.” https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cabal
You can be rather a dear with the details. Just wish….it went along with strong talkers on the main stage.
Quite amusing to see the new fashion in Labour for ‘passionate speeches’. I’m sure it will go like their interest in child poverty. Trends come and go among elites with no roots.
It is true that the electorate just wanted to smash things and has voted for a romper stomper right wing government and Labour was always going to suffer. It’s also true that Grant Robertson managed the economy well compared to other neo-liberal economies recovering from Covid.
But it’s also true that Chris Hipkins represents the “acceptable left” and is in charge of maintaining the boundary between polite superficial leftwing politics and the “madness” of challanging the neoliberal status quo.
Still, I say we should leave him in charge of the Labour Party because it’s really ramming home the message that a true working class movement needs to be formed indpependant of the establishment
“It is true that the electorate just wanted to smash things and has voted for a romper stomper right wing government and Labour was always going to suffer.”
Yep, exactery.
That is not to say they sure as shit didn’t help themselves, and they managed to seriously piss off some of their own MPs. Some they treated very badly.
Going back 3 or 4 decades, the neolibs and 3rd wayers didn’t have the decency to start their own party, especially when MMP emerged. Instead they chose to hijack Labour and shift right with all the crap that has come with it. Unfortunately we now have various demographics that have grown up knowing nothing else.
What to do what to do!
There’ll be trouble at mill over the next few years, hopefully serious enough to get people off their chuffs and cause our politicians and PMC some grief.
So many of my contemporaries over the past decade or so agree with the (now) old saying “I didn’t leave Labour, Labour left me”
The signs are not good at the mo that Labour’s ‘leadership’ ekshully get’s it.
Launch the nukes
Started in 1984. now Dead shite Labour reveals it’s true colours. We need a true new left wing party to vote for.
Does he know what a woman is yet?
Something for you to whack each night
Well put millsy, “Den” is a troll tosser extraordinaire, even for TDB.
Den is into sarcasm and irony more than you TM I think. But tends to state his concerns directly, not just stating wishful general principles.
Hopefully when women’s rights are restored he may come round but he will need to be asked frequently.
” If Chippy is walking away from the woke Left, great, but if he is also dumping Class Left Economic Justice then he is just another incrementalism and must be the first one sacked! ”
Bomber you can sack him but he will only be replaced by the next managerial Wellington candidate wherever in New Zealand they come from. Last time I looked Sepuloni was the deputy and got fuck all achieved for the working class and the poor in general including O.A.P ( old aged pensioners ) in other word all of those who don’t matter or have authority in this free market rich mans economy.
Then Deborah Russell chimed in with her comments regarding a wealth tax and said a C.G.T would be better but ruled it out during the three years they had a once in a life time majority.
Imho LINO has signed its own death warrant and will not have the answers or be prepared to stand for all of us who will suffer in the next three years. They are a managerial class party which is a perfect fit for that constituency but to go to the working class communities and ask for their votes just to improve the lot of the six figure club while promising to address economic poverty and then do nothing is treachery that no historical Labour party pre 1984 ever would have contemplated.
And identity/ woke politics has burned off a great deal of voters who don’t pretend to care when no one stands for them and don’t vote.
Trotter and his view on progressive politics as it stands today.
” Progressive politics has moved beyond the idea of uplifting and overcoming; of building a society in which there are no masters, no servants; no rich, no poor. Envisaged now is what can only be described as a perpetual theatre of cruelty, in which those to whom evil has been done, are encouraged to do evil in return. Far from serving as the emancipating “vanguard” of the Proletariat, as Karl Marx hoped, the intelligentsia of the Twenty-First Century are claiming for themselves the role of Grand Inquisitor. They have made themselves the pitiless torturers of all those whose privileges cannot be overcome or abandoned, only confessed to and punished.
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2023/09/15/delirious-hatred-the-dystopic-tendencies-of-twenty-first-century-progressiv
The same thing has happened in the U.K after Corbyn was politically assassinated for bringing Labour back to its founding principles and saw huge numbers join the party only to have it return to what the Tories stand for but with a little more kindness ( neo liberal smiley face policies ) which is why a new movement has been formed to appeal to so many who are economically marginalised. The damage done to Labour with the move back to the right has shown many that U.K Labour and the Tory party are one , neo liberal standard bearers.
” The lamentable political reality of neoliberal globalism is surely one of the major composite elements which fomented the public dissatisfaction which propelled Corbyn and precipitated his rise to power as the leader of the opposition ”
https://www.thecanary.co/uk/2023/11/07/long-term-influence-of-corbyn-on-uk-politics-is-a-testament-to-his-relevance/
” A new political party is set to launch, off the back of a movement which started several months ago. It’s goal is to ‘transform‘ politics, from the bottom up – amid chaos in Keir Starmer’s Labour ”
https://www.thecanary.co/uk/2023/11/23/new-political-party-to-try-and-transform-democracy-amid-labour-disarray-on-gaza/
“If he means no more middle class woke activists virtue signals, then we can all agree”
Who are you kidding Martyn. The contemporary left is mostly about wokeism.
It looks like Chippy is making a pitch for the centre, knowing that the Rainbow Party and TMP can be counted on to provide hard-left policies in any future coalition.
There is nothing Left about Rainbow politics – which is why neolib Labour is so happy to tolerate them, in spite of their costly demands and miniscule constituency. They provide protective coloration and reflexive attacks on critics, obscuring their unrelenting non-performance.
Still better than National any day.
It’s looking like that, their main play.
This is how we will end up in this country, on our way already. All of us right from earliest settlement, belong to those who came here for a way of life that was livable and spiritual and creative; not that of one under the ironhand of tech and a dictator – individual, group, or government by tech and efficiency.
“4+20”
Four and twenty years ago, I came into this life
The son of a woman and a man who lived in strife
He was tired of being poor and he wasn’t into selling door to door
And he worked like the devil to be more
A different kind of poverty now upsets me so
Night after sleepless night, I walk the floor and I want to know
Why am I so alone?…
Morning comes to sunrise and I’m driven to my bed
I see that it is empty and there’s devils in my head
I embrace the many colored beast
I grow weary of the torment, can there be no peace?
And I find myself just wishing that my life would simply cease .
Writer(s): Reginald Watts, Steven Scalfati, Ben Ari Hagar, Guillermo Brown, Tim Young
https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/crosbystillsnashyoung/420.html
Excellent article. The mandarins in Wellington appear to have it exactly the wrong way around. In the 2020 election there was indeed a mandate for change but since Labour blew it in 2023 that same opportunity has gone rightward. Interesting that the public did a 180 on this in three years.
Please get a computer tech — any 14-year-old Left enthusiast volunteer can do it. I know my male teenagers, still my central point of view.
Labour are now all the people left who bent to the wind of ‘richism’ for 40 years(or whatever the crap they call venerating the rich). Thin as water. Thin as piss into a headwind.
But even now, a couple of months into the new Right govt, there’s a way back for these non-truth sayers and doers, from the former’s crap. Enuff!
Well looks like the Greens hit 20%
If Chippy refuses to acknowledge his mistakes, and he retains the support of his parliamentary team in that, then they’re done for. This has happened before, and Jim Anderton sorted that out after the great betrayal of 1984, so the lesson is historical – start a new party. That ended Bolger and Richardson, but Cullen fucked Clarke’s government over. Labour hasn’t moved economically since. Time to finish Anderton’s work.