After the 1945 General Election which swept the Labour Party into power, a Labour MP summed up the aim of his party as 'full employment, all-round national prosperity, international concord, health, homes and happiness for the whole people'. Of course, the Conservatives and Liberals would have claimed that this was their aim too; but the voters had decided, as they did again in 1964 and 1966, that the best chance of getting what they wanted was from a Labour Government.
Why then are so many Labour voters disappointed? Why is there a swing to the other parties at by-elections? Why do more and more people not trouble to vote? Why do so many people become cynical about politics and say that nothing makes any difference? Why have some trade unions that are affiliated to the Labour Party threatened to withhold contributions and to form an independent 'trade union party.
The Labour Party claims on its website to have 'revolutionised the lives of the British people'.
At this meeting we will consider this claim and see how it stands up to the record of Labour governments and the developments of British capitalism. At a time when one household in five suffers from fuel poverty, can it really be claimed that the policy of reforming capitalism offers any real hope?
Speaker: Paul Bennett
Monday, November 28, 2011, 8:30pm
The Unicorn, 26 Church Street, Manchester M4 1PW
All welcome. Free entry. Audience participation
Organised by the Socialist Party of Great Britain.
Full details of this and all SPGB meetings can be found here:
http://www.meetup.com/The-Socialist-Party-of-Great-Britain/events/40458442/
