When Max Rashbrooke and Labour’s incrementalism is the solution – the NZ Left is in trouble
Comrade Ian Powell writes glowingly of Max Rashbrooke in his most recent TDB post, and while there is much to credit in Max’s assessment of poverty, the reality is that his and the Wellington Labour Mandarins promotion of incrementalism almost killed the last Labour Party.
We forget that Jacinda was losing the election before Covid.
The policy positions, while all great first steps, simply weren’t prepared to challenge Capitalism nor regulate it.
The lack of real traction on crucial social issues was going to sink her Government until Covid came along and she shone in the crisis.
The problem with Labour was that while they won the Covid War, they lost the Covid Peace.
The incrementalism promoted by Rashbrooke and the Wellington Mandarins wanted to only rebuild back to the present inequalities and after so much sacrifice, that simply wasn’t politically palatable.
After locking down Auckland so the rest of the country could catch up on their immunisation rates, all Labour and to offer us was GST off fresh fruit and vegetables which felt like a kick in the balls.
As Verity Johnson so elegantly argued this week…
Unless he’s changed. And Hipkins hasn’t.
Subsatck
…this incrementalism has become the kiss of death in the UK…
Labour MPs demand Starmer change course after humiliating byelection loss
Scale of defeat to Greens has plunged party into fresh despair and again raised prospect of leadership challenge
NZ Labour’s incrementalism has been shown the contempt it deserves in the UK with a shocking win for the Greens.
Instead of demanding the State does something meaningful in the cost of living crisis as Mamdani has, Keir Starmer has been a wet limp fart.
It is the tactic NZ Labour are chasing.
It was a very interesting interview with Kieran McAnulty on The Bradbury Group this month, where he categorically ruled out any new revenue streams to pay for the welfare state and infrastructure that NZ requires.
This is a tactic by Labour to create a tiny target and not spook the middle.
This refusal to look at new revenue streams to fund hospitals, education, the welfare state and our infrastructure is a boon for TOP and the Greens to use that room to propose better policy than Labour is prepared to offer.
The reality is the economy is going to continue to hurt and voters will want policy that has a meaningful and material difference in their lives.
If Labour are not prepared to do that, the Greens, TOP and te Pati Māori must pick up the political slack!
