Anyone else spot the slight discordance here:

They argue that Labour’s lost support stems from falling out of touch with the core values upon which the Party was established.

and

Their website says:

GEER is all about putting the third way behind us, by renewing our focus on Gender, Environment, Equality and Race. We aim to develop policy and promote ideas that work towards helping secure a Labour future for Britain.

I’m pretty certain that only one of the E’s is a core value on which the Labour Party was established – the G came later, the R much later and the other E is modern…

In all honesty, this sounds like a front for Harriet Harman rather than anything Old Labour.

It seems like a rather pointless organisation given the existence of other bodies to represent the Labour Left, and as has been mentioned it is still refusing to focus on class. Gender and Race are probably the two aspects of equality that Labour actually has a *reasonably* good record on.

It seems like a rather pointless organisation given the existence of other bodies to represent the Labour Left

I think in principle a think tank for the left is not a bad idea – the other bodies which represent the Labour left do a lot of organising, meeting, campaigning, and so on, but it’s not clear that they’ve been very good at generating new ideas, as opposed to campaigning for orthodox left positions. That’s come mainly from small publications with no wider purchase.

and as has been mentioned it is still refusing to focus on class.

They seem to regard equality and class as synonymous, once gender and race are split off into separate equality strands.

Gender and Race are probably the two aspects of equality that Labour actually has a *reasonably* good record on.

I worry about the electoral logic. The founder talks of “80% of voters being female or working class or an ethnic minority”, but while we should support equality across different vectors, it’s not clear from our history that the ‘rainbow coalition’ model of electoral politics is, in and of itself, the path to success.

Fine, 80% are at least one of those three things. What percentage are all of those things? How do radical feminist policies go down with working class Muslim men? How do radical race equality policies go down with middle class white women? How does radical redistribution of wealth suit ethnic minority voters like Alan Sugar, Arun Sarin, or Jermain Defoe?

Odd name. Why are gender and race separate from equality?

Also, as you might have guessed from the comments what “”true socialists” must want, Dr Clarke sounds like someone who takes a tub-thumping and painfully simplistic view of everything. From GEER’s site:

“GEER is about seeking out the true meaning of words such as Equality and Liberty. There will be no prefixes or suffixes or appendages. There is no such thing as Muscular Liberalism, there is simply Liberalism. Equality of Opportunity is a fallacy, there is simply the aspiration of Equality.”

Taken at face value, that appears to say “I like having arguments over the dictionary” and “only liberals who agree with me get to be real liberals” and “I think Harrison Bergeron was a vision of a perfect utopia”. In reality I suspect it’s just applause lights, a bunch of words that sound positive but don’t really mean anything. Either way, it’s annoying.

Trying again, with proper attention for my html tags (glad others seem to share my concerns):

renewing our focus on Gender, Environment, Equality and Race

Super. I do have regard for Dr. Éoin Clarke, but those aren’t exactly “core values upon which the Party was established”, emphasised in the way that they are.
Class, anyone? Anyone?. Opposing untrammelled capitalism?

A couple of people have said it before and I will say it as well. Whatever ‘GEER’ is it is not about the founding principles of the Labour Party. The Labour Party has lost touch with the core vote BECAUSE it focussed on these GEER issues.

Now, we could argue that losing votes in that way is a shameful indictment of British politics and I would agree with that, but you will never reconnect with those who drop of the radar with lecturing people on GEER.

Look no further than this very site to find what the ‘Left’ find important and what the rest of the Country think as important. No-one will be brought back into the fold in political terms by highligthing the media’s obsession with Pippa Middleton’s arse.

I hope they get a real website soon…

Nothing about the welfare state so i think we will have to work on that one, but old labour, nope i think it’s a bit of blue labour new labour.

One day somebody will say heck you know something it’s better to have a good MP not a male or female. I myself voted to keep a man as my MP because he lived in the area all his life, but sadly Blair decided his secretary needed a seat, she got it and now we in my area of Wales have an MP who lives in London.

Curious name and some odd uses of English, not least describing ‘Feminism, Environmentalism… ‘ as goals? We desperately need a leftist grouping that isn’t afraid to use the S word. This lot appear somewhat cack-handed already though judging by their name and the statements above. Still, the proof will be in’t pudding.

“Gender, Environment, Equality and Race UK”

I wouldn’t dream of having a go at someone because of their gender, I’m a lot wiser to the effects of what we are doing to the environment, equality makes me think….I must try to be fair and race now makes me think people are more alike than I once did.

Well done those who have brought this mind set about, I know my mind has changed, I’m sure the country and the affects around the world are a great positive thing to have done and I salute them for it, but, enough is enough!
How much more can you make things equal and fair? Ok of course in some peoples minds, obviously, you can, but for the majority I know we can’t handle much more, we are at a nice place, don’t let’s spoil it.

Quick example. Some of the lads I work with look like bulldogs chewing a brick & don’t take no s**t from anyone, but believe it or not even they make jokes to the other lads like, stop looking at her legs you sexist beast & even make comments about polluting the environment, all joking aside, the mind set is there now, we know how we should and shouldn’t think and made us better people for it.

But come on! Can’t they be happy they have changed the mind set this far because I believe if they push further they will start to get the opposite reaction they desire and could spoil so much of the good they have done, but then some people are just like that I suppose.

The pic used to illustrate this article on the list to the right is of someone holding a PCS placard, one of the few trade unions with the common sense not to give money to the pro-cuts, anti-union, pro-privatisation Labour party.

Not strictly relevant but it amused me.

@6 Jim

Nail on the head, again.

GEER UK? God help us! These people need to get out more.