BBC Screenshot
The BBC is featuring a rather scary video of British Labour Party supporters voting on whether they support socialism or capitalism at their annual conference, which finished yesterday.
It is hardly a surprise that the majority of Labour Party members shown in the video voted for socialism. However, there are some particularly disturbing parts of the video, namely the young woman who said, "I don't think anybody benefits under capitalism" and the two young men who mention their support for something called "responsible capitalism," as if "capitalism" wasn't quite good enough or entails some degree of irresponsibility.
A few politicians are shown in the film; Chuka Umunna MP and Caroline Flint MP both decline to cast their vote. But Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls MP, who will (absent a shadow cabinet reshuffle) be chancellor of the exchequer if Labour wins the next general election, enthusiastically cast his vote for socialism.
Watch the video below:
A few days ago Labour Leader Ed Miliband gave a speech at the conference in which he unveiled (among other things) energy and housing proposals.
Under the energy plan, if Labour wins the general election in 2015, the government would freeze gas and electricity bills for 20 months. Miliband has described warnings of power cuts from power companies as "scare stories." The plan has been criticized by some in the Labour party.
Speaking about housing Miliband said "we'll say to private developers, you can't just sit on land and refuse to build. We will give them a very clear message—either use the land or lose the land, that is what the next Labour government will do," a message that was called "a Stalinist attack on property rights" by the chief economist at the Institute of Directors.
It would of course be easier to laugh off such absurd proposals if it weren't for the fact that they are being put forward by the leader of the U.K.'s main opposition party, who could very well succeed David Cameron as prime minister.
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