I know I'm not in a position to demand anything.  I'm just a blogger, shouting in the hope that someone is listening.  Our leaders have a habit of not listening to us, and I doubt running a blog gives me any more clout that the average Joe, but these are my terms.  

And if, a year into the next Labour administration, steps are not taken in a more liberal and progressive direction, and at least some progress is made towards the above demands, then I will indeed take my membership elsewhere.

I am very impressed with this interview by Peter Hain (who I support for the Deputy Leadership) in The New Statesman.  Hain shares my belief that we need to be bold on the international stage, and be critical of both dictatorships and Neoconservatism alike.  

As you know, this is a very internationalist blog, much more distracted with international affairs than it is with domestic policy, and this blog sees Peter Hain as an internationalist politician with genuine progressive credentials.  We live in a globalised world, with porous borders, where no country can be insular - we must look forward and engage with the international community.  This is why I believe that Hain would be an incomparable foil for a Brown government.

Hain is a team player who is prepared to be radical when contributing to policy debates, yet accepts the reality of collective cabinet decision-making.  Any Deputy PM/Leader would need these complex skills, and simply being an old Labour stalwart, hankering for a more socialist direction, is not enough.

The reality of politics is that you are ultimately let down.  I understand this.  I am ready for this.

I also promise that the instinctive independence of my blog is maintained.  During my hiatus from the Labour Party my writing has been very critical of the government and its tribulations - I see no reason for this to change.  

I'll defend the Labour Party when - and if - it engages in rational progressive politics.  I will not defend the authoritarian and reactionary politics of fear.  And I will not defend legislation or taxation that hinders the advancement of the knowledge economy.  Education is, and always will be, king.

This is not an endorsement of any aspect of Labour's third term or the pending Brown government.  Labour will be judged by its actions, but I hope, by being on the inside, I can do my little bit to shape the direction of this once venerable political party.

This originally appeared on tygerland.net