Sunday 8 April 2018

A new Party finaced by so called philanthropists in the air.

 The Observer this morning reports that .


A new political party with access to up to £50m in funding has been secretly under development for more than a year by a network of entrepreneurs, philanthropists and donors keen to “break the Westminster mould”, the Observer can reveal.
The movement, spearheaded hby a former Labour benefactor, is understood to have been drawn up by a group frustrated by the tribal nature of politics, the polarisation caused by Brexit and the standard of political leadership on all sides. It appears to have a centrist policy platform that borrows ideas from both left and right.

Senior figures from the worlds of business and charity are understood to be involved, as well as former supporters of the main parties, including a number of former Tory donors.
 

 They go on to say

Some of those involved have apparently been keen for the project to concentrate on funding community activism, rather than becoming a formal political party. A final decision has not yet been taken, but there is said to be a consensus that the movement will run candidates at the next election, due in 2022, should the current parties be deemed to be failing. Some form of political movement could be launched later this year.
There has been persistent speculation about the potential of a new party as Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership has taken Labour to the left, while a Tory hard Brexit has alienated some on that party’s modernising wing. The Lib Dems have been unable to take advantage of the polarisation.

Comparisons will inevitably be drawn with Emmanuel Macron’s centrist En Marche! movement, which delivered him the French presidency and earned a majority in France’s national assembly last year. Or the SDP   which split from Labour in the  1980's   and  formed alliance that secured  Liberal Alliance 7.8m votes at the 1983 election, but ended up with just 23 seats.

The SDP which at first looked like it would challenge both the Tories and Labour largely damaged the latter as the Tories who were unpopular benefited from  the Falkands effect where Mrs Thatcher status rose almost overnight.

The Observer claim that sources say the project, led by the multi-millionaire philanthropist and founder of LoveFilm, Simon Franks, has had full-time staff members for as long as a year. Initial discussions are said to have begun at the end of 2016. Franks has set up a company, Project One Movement for the UK, which is likely to be the vehicle for the enterprise.

 I am always wary of some philanthropist many of who avoid paying Taxes but gain publicity  by making donations which are often less than they would pay if they obeyed the spirit of the law rather than looks for loopholes.

Though Mr Franks may well be above board.


Are the UK public going to be conned  by a Party that has been set up by the Rich and Powerful claiming to be Anti-establishment.

For Labour which has the UK media which is largely owned by Tax Exiles  queuing up to smear its leader in which the supposed impartial BBC joins in , this has the potential to be damaging.

They can kill this however if they ditch their claim to be the only voice of the Left and former a serious Progressive  Alliance  with the Greens, Plaid Cymru, and the SNP.

It will mean that they can offer a different  approach to government which promises electoral reform , further devolution ( including into England)  a Green agenda and a end to to Austerity.

I suspect none of these policies will be part of a new Party formed by Cabal of unknown financiers, who believe  that   it is they  rather than the electorate  who can choose the poetics of the UK.

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