The Passage Of Time

If the Revolutionary Left was as successful in elections as it is in relaunches, Liverpool would now be a workers' soviet & the Bank of England would be run as a genuine workers' co-operative. This thought came to mind when I learned of a meeting at Liverpool's Adelphi Hotel on Wednesday evening designed to inaugurate "the campaign for a new workers' party". By all accounts, many familiar faces were there, such as Peter Taafe, Dave Nellist, etc.
Rather perversely, the meeting got some free publicity in that night's Liverpool Echo, courtesy of columnist Paddy Shennan (http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/views/liverpool-columnists/paddy-shennan/2008/08/27/terry-tribute-is-a-reminder-of-passionate-politics-100252-21614903/ ).
Tributes were, of course, paid to Terry Fields, & it was this aspect of the evening which Shennan picked up on when he recalled the 80s in local politics:
"An era when politics was largely populated by passionate people, as opposed to being largely populated by cardboard cut-outs.
"An era when our two main political parties weren't fighting over the same middle ground in a desperate bid to impress the same Middle Englanders and Daily Mail readers.
"An era when more people seemed to have something to say --often something worth hearing. An era before spin totally took over."
Too true. However, I wonder if Paddy occasionally checks the Liverpool Echo's own archive. If not, I can assure him that the propaganda & bile which filled much of the Echo's pages during the 80s rivalled anything the Mail could throw up. The Echo was merely a local version of the national red-tops, constantly attacking & smearing the city council. It should also be remembered that the Echo gave its support to Thatcher on the eve of the 1983 election.
Time to go through those back copies, Paddy.