JIM SPENCE: Labour must not see compromise as betrayal

On 4th July a motley collection of individuals and parties will ask for our votes.

Among them will be the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Already as the leaders TV debates begin there’s a sense of weariness, with many voters feeling scunnered with all the parties.

I’m regularly critical of many politicians but I accept that they’re a necessary evil.

Any society has to organise itself (even anarchists have a secretary to keep the minutes of their meetings) and decide what is important to the running of that society,

There’s no way around that.

We need to make decisions on the big day-to-day issues which affect us all, like health, education, defence, and a myriad of other things which every society needs to function.

So while there are parties and individuals with whom I may disagree, I appreciate that they’re prepared to put their views and their necks on the line, and tell us what they think is good for us, and then let us decide whether to put an X next to their name.

From the major parties to the minor ones, from Screaming Lord Sutch and all other points in between, including the single-issue candidates from those wanting to save the whale to those who want to scrap the TV licence fee, and a hundred other causes, there are folk willing to give up their spare time and money to argue and pontificate and persuade us that they alone have all the answers to creating a better world.

While the rest of us settle down to watch Coronation Street, EastEnders, or Vera, the true believers are out in all weathers campaigning, chapping doors, leafleting, and trying to cadge our votes.

I’ve been there many years ago when I stood as a councillor, and have three times knocked back approaches to stand for Westminster.

So while I can and do criticise the policies, beliefs, and hypocrisies of some of those who do stand and represent us, by and large I think the majority of them set out with good intentions in the hope of creating a better society.

Rishi Sunak launching the Conservative campaign bus at Redcar Racecourse in the in the North East of England while on the General Election campaign trail. Image: Jonathan Brady/PA Wire

The problem with politics, like life and all relationships, is that compromise is an essential component, but too many frown on it as a sell-out or a betrayal.

No individual or party has all the solutions and sensible folk accept that in any discussions or negotiations they will never get everything they want all of the time.

Some folk though are notoriously myopic when it comes to the idea of finding a middle ground.

Labour radicals would rather lose than compromise

That’s most clearly seen I think in those on Labour’s radical left, which at any given moment is a melting pot of the inane and of those who plumb subterranean depths in their stupidity.

There are those pure souls within the Labour party who would rather perpetually be out of power than sully their principles with any negotiations that required them to move a centimetre from their rigid dogmas.

Of course their lofty principles also save them from the actual reality of ever having to make any actually tough decisions.

The older I get, the greater my contempt grows for such self-righteous buffoons.

From left: Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves, Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer and deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner at the launch event for Labour’s campaign bus at Uxbridge College. Photo credit should read: Lucy North/PA Wire

Sir Keir Starmer and Labour will cruise to victory in July but his life is already being made awkward and will continue to be made so by those in the party incapable of any willingness to accept any degree of compromise.

For them an inch yielded isn’t a victory, merely a stepping stone towards their aim of complete subjugation of those not on their side.

Taste of island life is enough

I’ve often wondered what life would be like living on an island (I suspect there are more than a few folk who’d like me to make that a permanent fixture).

Last week I had a flying visit to Orkney and got a flavour of what life is like for those away from the mainland.

I can see why the vast openness of the landscape inspires writers and poets, and the spotless, graffiti free, and elegant town of Kirkwall, is an enjoyable destination for tourists and a short break.

But while I love to get in to the countryside on my bike or on scooter club runs, the trip confirmed I’m definitely a city boy.

The quiet and contemplation afforded by island living has its charms and they’re attractive in small doses, but they don’t make up for the liveliness and activity of the city.

For me nothing beats a trip into the city; a chance meeting with an old pal or neighbour, a blether with a stranger on the bus, and the choice of café, pubs, restaurants, or shops that us townies have at our beck and call.

Island life has its merits but they’re strictly short term for me.