Jim Murphy says ...

 How Labour can prevent core voters defecting to UKIP

Runs a comment piece in today's Gruniad without ever, actually explaining how Labour can achieve this aim after a UKIP near miss in Labour's 6th safest UK seat in North West England. I have a few ideas to share which Dianne Abbot did not consider or address.

First Labour have to define what they are actually to the left of because what ever they are to the left of, is well to the right of the centre ground of politics.

Tony Blair's big idea was to do the same as the Tories would have done, just give it trendy, leftish sounding titles to confuse and bamboozle the punters into thinking everything had actually changed.

Cameron has a similar problem renaming Labour policies to make them sound as if they were the Tory's ideas as seen in the 2012 Welfare Reform Act which simply took previous Labour policy to the next logical level and damn the impact on the poor, the sick and the vulnerable. Bedroom Tax - introduced by Labour, the ludicrously complex tax credit scheme which basically subsidises the corporates to pay minimum wages, rather than forcing corporates to pay a living wage - introduced by Labour, outsourcing NHS England to private contractors - Labour.

Is it any wonder that Labour stays very quiet about the estimated 600,000 UK citizens that the Welfare Reform Act will reduce to poverty this year or the withdrawal of NHS England contracts with Virgin Health Care, Capita and others, Labour put in place, as their failure to maintain basic standards or ability to deliver the service became public.

The big problem for Labour is an increasing number of their old red rosette on a monkey vote just are not buying the pseudo, left wing nonsense Miliband, Balls and the rest are seeking to flog.

The rise of UKIP is, at present, an English electorate wake up call to Westminster to sort its act out, the English electorate are not as daft as the political wonks try to paint them as according to Labour planners, Labour voters in England “had nowhere else to go”.

The public increase in support for the SNP in Scotland, as the party now nears 90,000 signed up members, is no longer just a threat to Labour and Westminster but a clear statement of purpose to Westminster - if you do not cough up on Fiscal Autonomy and quickly, we will be gone - as you will have refused two thirds of Scots the solution they have always wanted. The Evening Times (Glasgow) ran an article asking if No voters had been duped by the three party leaders 'vow' prior to the referendum while even the North Britain (aka the Scotsman) is expressing concerns about the short term survivability of the Union, if Westminster tries to kick Scottish Fiscal Autonomy into the long grass.

Labour in Scotland does not have a position on Fiscal Autonomy because London has yet to tell them what to think, so when asked a direct question about Labour Scottish region's submission to the Smith Committee, all Lamont and her chums can do is waffle and seek to change the subject as Lamont is not the leader in Scotland she has to be told what to do by the actual leader in Scotland Jim Murphy.

For if Lamont's gang say anything in support of Fiscal Autonomy, Murphy will summon the walking dead out of their Westminster crypts and dungeons, howling and moaning, "We are the true heart and soul of Labour in Scotland," while generally seeking to terrify and slap down Lamont and her Holyrood gang into silence and subservience to the greater cause, as the Holyrood gang are reminded of their place in the scheme of things and the only Labour game in Scotland is 'Jim Murphy says' and if you do not do what 'Jim Murphy says' your ticket is punched and you are off the Labour gravy train without your feet touching the ground.

"Jim Murphy says; make yourself look an 'eejit' at First Minister's Question Time" and Labour's Holyrood gang are only too happy to oblige, as is seen most Thursday's at Holyrood - rain, hail or shine. Maybe, as in the children's game the "Jim Murphy says" was left out and Lamont and her pals never noticed, only hearing Jim saying,"Make yourself look an 'eejit' at First Minister's Question Time". In which case no wonder Jim Murphy is in despair over Labour's performances at Holyrood but in that, as much else to do with Labour in Scotland, Jim only has himself to blame.