Why Penny is right
From Lady Powell Sir: Thank God for Penny Mortimer ('New Labour is riding for a fall', 17 July)! As one who, like her, hoped for a Labour victory at the last election, I salute her courage in putting her own strongly held convictions about hunting and freedom before the party line. I hope that more Labour party stalwarts will follow her example, on this and other issues, until the government sits up and pays attention.
For it is quite clear, after more than two years of Tony Blair's Labour government, that there are certain things wrong with the new regime. First, it is too authoritarian. Second, it is too much influenced by Big Money. Penny Mortimer draws attention to both these weaknesses in refusing to toe the party line over field sports.
The authoritarian issue is, of course, the more important. New Labour is about free- dom, or it is nothing. It is about intelligent, public-spirited and thoughtful people com- ing together, in patriotic fellowship, to improve conditions in Britain and raise the quality of government after the dead Major years. Obviously such people have to be like-minded over many important issues, but they do not have to be unanimous about all of them; still less do they have to suppress their own informed and cherished opinions for the sake of party unity or to suit the convenience of government.
Labour MPs are too well drilled. They are too scared of the party Whips. They are terrified of being caught 'off message'. As a result they are in danger of becoming zom- bies, mere lobby fodder. I am sorry to say that women Labour MPs are even worse than the men in submitting to this kind of unthinking discipline. So I am particularly glad that Penny Mortimer, a prominent Labour woman supporter, has taken a prin- cipled stand against it.
Second, I notice that money politics seems just as rife now as in the past, with the rich anti-field-sports lobby seemingly able to dictate government policy on fox- hunting. It is no use the Labour party shaking free of the old financial ties to the trade unions, only in order to place itself under new obligations to any group in society which can make out a big cheque to party funds.
Penny Mortimer is a breath of fresh air. She has not only done the right thing, she has issued a warning which the government will ignore at its peril.
Let's hope for some more Pennies from Heaven!
Carla Powell
3 Lombard Street, London EC3
Previous page
