Labour Party Conference Protest in Brighton

Today I attended the protest outside the Labour Party Conference in Brighton. I merged into one central column of red banners and marched down the pavilion towards the conference centre, which then looped back down the beach. There was a large police presence, some of them mounted wearing riot gear. A sign said ‘exhibitionist marshalling point’, as if we were nothing more than show off nuisances. The march terminated at a stage where a number of people made speeches, some of which were quite good, including one by Green Party leader Caroline Lucas. As this was going on I thought about the reasons I was here, and the reasons why a Labour government would be attacking the public sector, when clamping down on unpaid corporate tax would raise an estimated £40bn. I thought it might be the idea that this method would lead to an exodus of the rich to sunny tax havens that would be putting ministers off. But then I thought, no, there are theories to suggest that the success of the rich may be more down to luck than anyone might have guessed. There is an elite band of people capable of industrial undertakings, but I am willing to bet it is by far and away surplus to the demand of such a limited number of posts. What this means is that if the rich do indeed bugger off to Bermuda or Monaco, we can cheerily say good riddance to bad rubbish, there are plenty more where you came from. Plus the chances are the new boys will be slightly less ruthless and amoral than the last lot.