Beautiful South’s Paul Heaton says Labour putting up ‘no opposition’ to public spending cuts

Published: 24 March 2011
by ROISIN GADELRAB

THE voice behind The Beautiful South and The Housemartins has told the New Journal why he has turned his back on the Labour Party.

Speaking ahead of a gig at the Koko in Camden Town, singer Paul Heaton, pictured right, warned Labour was putting up “no opposition” to Conservative policy of cutting public spending.

“It’s a very similar situation to the 1980s, a worse situation now, there’s no opposition. With Thatcher there was opposition from trade unions, people and Labour,” he said. 

“I haven’t voted for Labour since Neil Kinnock in 1993. I didn’t vote for Tony Blair in 97, I was proud of it because I had the vision to realise he was a scumbag right from the start. Gradually, since then Labour has been taken over by a Miliband tendency – who have got their eyes on a different prize, who are just free market apologists. I find it impossible. I can’t find anything they say inspiring because they’ve got one eye on the market.”

In an interview for our music page, Heaton, whose bands stormed the charts with songs like Happy Hour, said: “What worries me most is that the argument against cuts is being lost. It’s being seen as something we have to do. 

“England in 1945 was in a much worse state in terms of the infrastructure of the country and the debt and we built the welfare state and invested money in people and jobs. 

“This time, the argument has been lost because of the failure of Labour to say this is not the case, we can invest in people again and we can spend our way – not stupidly – and survive it without making cuts. But their only opposition is we’re making the cuts too quickly, that’s all they’re saying. 

“Unfortunately Labour has control of the Left and is still patronising the Left. 

“The Labour Party needs to be told, along with the Liberal Party and the Conservatives, that they’re non-representative of anybody other than the business class.”

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