We need more radicals in Labour to inspire us

My dad used to sing me a song that he learned as a young lad, at a time when the average lifespan of working people was just below 40.

He sang: "Take the two old parties. Mister,

No difference in them can I see,

But with a socialist Labour Party

We can set our people free."

Those words inspired working people all over Britain and they were led by giants like Keir Hardie, Clem Attlee and Nye Bevan to form the Labour Party.

These great working-class leaders who came from the mines, the steelworks and the docks won a landslide victory in 1945.

Despite the cries of doom from the bankers in the City and the forebodings of disaster from the rich and privileged, the Labour government nationalised the railways, the coal mines, gas, electricity and much more, while also creating the NHS and full employment.

Today we face an economic situation nowhere near as dire as it was in 1945 but there is not a radical squeak from any of the political parties in Westminster.

Westminster is flooded with solicitors, lawyers and bankers, with not a working man anywhere to be seen.

Meanwhile our NHS is slowly being privatised and dismantled and fuel bills are going sky-high, while rail fare rises mean we will need a second mortgage to pay for a yearly season ticket.

Worse than that, the government is making the working-class poor and the disabled pay for the financial disaster caused by the bankers, the rich and privileged who control our lives.

Today we need to listen to the radical voices more than ever and remember the Chartists, the Tolpuddle Martyrs, the Suffragettes and our own Nye Bevan.

Ray Davies

Bedwas