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Today's political realities must be the left’s priority
Regardless of what politicians say does or does not come up ‘on the doorstep,’ our movement needs to engage in real, practical and mass agitation that’s rooted in working people’s lives, argues KEVIN OVENDEN
Keir Starmer waves at Labour conference in Brighton earlier this week

“IT’S not coming up on the doorstep” is one of those politicians’ lines that tells us that they would rather be struck by lightning than be asked that question.

In my experience it antagonises the audience twice. First, most people know that most MPs are on their doorstep only at election time. The most common refrain on the actual doorstep is “Oh, so you’ve turned up — must be an election on?”

Second, most people do not like being told by supposedly important talking heads what their true concerns are or what they are allowed to say about them.

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