Martin Bright

It seems some readers of this blog are such fundamentalist economic liberals that they even disapprove of Thatcher-style state encouragement of entrepreneurs. Check out some of the reaction to my last post for some examples of this tendency. I was really trying to alert readers to the words of Sir David Trippier, but never mind. But if my last post wound you up, I wonder what you'll make of my latest news. I have been outed by David Lister of the Independent in a very generous column as "thinker in residence" at the Southbank Centre. Helpfully, David, has outlined some serious problems I have to consider: "How do you disport yourself? You can hardly spend all your working hours chin on hand like Rodin’s sculpture.

I have written an essay for a Demos pamphlet called What Next for Labour? In it I have compared two campaigns, John Prescott's Go Fourth and my own New Deal of the Mind. I recommend you look at the whole collection of essays but my argument is pretty simple. I suggest the Labour Party needs to rediscover its verve for campaigning.  In the European Elections there was no real evidence of Labour activist. It has much to learn from Prescott's movement, which has been surprisingly successful. Following from the reserach we have been doing at NDotM, I also recommend that the party concentrate on the coming crisis in unemployment.

A subject close to my heart is the fear of mental collapse that lies just below the surface of New Labour. So I wrote about it for this week's Spectator magazine. You'll find it here.

As I wandered through parliament on Monday evening I bumped into a former minister who had just come out of the do-or-die parliamentary Labour Party meeting. He reached in his pocket and showed me a text message on his mobile from a constituency activist: “So it’s a slow, lingering death then,” it said. This was the week the Labour Party finally, definitively admitted defeat. The European elections demonstrated that Labour can’t win under Gordon Brown’s leadership. James Purnell’s courage in being the first Cabinet minister to voice what his colleagues know to be the case was met with shuffling feet and bowed heads. The expressions of loyalty from those who remain are the hollow cries of the already crushed.

There are a number of peculiar aspects of the political moment through which we are living: the fact that the Prime Minister has no mandate from the country or his own party, the collapse of the economy, the meltdown at Westminster. But never before have we had a political moment where junior ministers will be praying not to be promoted and Cabinet ministers will be relieved to be leaving the government. When they are reshuffled, Jacqui Smith and Alistair Darling will be delighted to join the backbenches (although in Darling's case the torture may continue if he gets the Home Secretary job). Who in their right mind would want to work in this government now? Has there ever been a time when the attractions of power have simply drained away like this?

Hats of to Paul Evans of the Local Democracy blog who has come up with a brilliant idea for renewing our political culture: Reselect Democracy. I am happy to endorse it along with Liberal Conspiracy. Here's the Reselect Democracy pitch to the major political parties: Following recent revelations about the abuse of expenses by a minority of MPs, the public appear to have lost some of their confidence in parliamentary politics. It is easy to conclude that a professional political class - many of whom have no real experience outside of the political bubble - has emerged. One that lives on a different planet to the rest of us. The time has come for Parliament to reconnect with the public.

Watching Newsnight tonight it felt like a dam had broken. Three MPs from the main parties having an open discussion about the future of politics post-Speaker Martin, Jeremy Paxman relaxed and cracking jokes about the growing groundswell of support for Chris Mullin to become speaker: it was all rather extraordinary. The three MPs, Chris Mullin, Douglas Carswell and Norman Baker were all unusually courteous and differences of opinion were argued about amicably. All very peculiar. One thing they all agreed on was the importance of strengthening the select committee system. Actually, I think some of these committees do a very good job. But they do not have enough power and the appointment of their chairman and women still relies on party patronage. Perhaps this will change now.