Labour = Socialism, not in the 'valleys' it doesn't

This is a warning for those who would like to wear the Labour Party's mantle; their political evolution from the Trades Unions into a caring neighbour based movement took more than 70 years years from the heights of a man of great principle namely James Keir Hardie, pacifist & nationalist, to plumbing the depths of Neil Kinnock and his anti-Welsh cohorts; we don't have the time and if we did would we really want to copy them? The Labour Party ruled/s the 'valleys'; its main purpose was to help people to get on and get out viz our MPs as epitomized by the Kinnock family; to get jobs, such as headships, particularly when the competition had higher qualifications? sometimes with phantom pupils, it helps boost the salary; it was about giving favours so long as there was a chance of their being repaid, usually in the form of votes but not always, it helped to be part of the family, but primarily one had to be a paid up member. Certain committees opened the door to financial gains, the planning committee was the best, there was always the chance of unofficial bonuses at the end of the month. Becoming a J.P. allowed you to judge your peers and move up the social ladder, no-one ever bothered to correct a system that everyone contribued to, the valleys were one big happy family so in a way there was no nepotism. Emrys Roberts moved into Merthyr, tried to prove to everybody that there was something better on offer so they listened to him and gave Plaid Cymru a chance, the Labour Party councillors were shaking in their boots, as Harri Webb once wrote "All the old gang are going to hang 'cos their racket has now been destroyed", if there had been corruption it was now at an end, a points system was brought in for housing need, so whether or not you were a cousin or you went to school with your representative it didn't matter any more, but guess what this revolutionary experiment in left of centre fairness got them thrown out, it was too fair. They didn't do anyone a favour so no-one did them one in return. I don't know where people got the idea that the Labour Party stood for socialism, it stands for family values, the kind that puts me in mind of Corleone, New York & Chicago; it was the long awaited golden opportunity for members of the working class to shift, to climb out of their poverty stricken existence and in some cases to do at the bottom what the Tories were doing at the top, in instances to catch up with their 'betters', but it had little to do with equality and a socialist philosophy. Many can't wait to get out, if they can't do that then they join some sycophantic committee like the one that runs the WRU, or to one that names hospitals or university wings all too often carrying their inferiority complexes with them, it's a sure way of getting invited to Buckingham Palace to get your gong proving to everyone that you've moved far enough away from that terraced house that was your mental burden; you've finally made it. That being said, the Labour Party was a success because it was part of the community, even though its leaders couldn't move away fast enough, it had something to offer that would be gladly accepted, therefore we have to be active in the local working mens' clubs, playing in the local sports teams and getting on the committees, then if it's good enough for us it's good enough for them. Nobody voted in a Labour councillor after an in-depth discussion on socialism. The communists never got anywhere because what they offered wasn't wanted, we have to make independence something they will want, but without promises. Find the formula and off we go to the Promised Land, oh no, I forgot, this is the Promised Land. Cymru am Byth