After Glasgow East

Much has been written over the past few days about the Glasgow East by-election and its likely aftermath. It was indeed a watershed, but not because a seat in a Labour heartland was lost. The SNP is a credible party for a protest vote: they are left-leaning and have power as the largest party in the Scottish Parliament, to say nothing of the national question. Personally I think Crewe and Nantwich was more of a disaster. No, the significance of this one is its timing – Party Conference this year will be hell on wheels.

It is more important to ask what people are protesting about, and how Labour might respond. It’s not enough to keep saying the Party is listening. I look forward to learning more about the decisions made at the National Policy Forum this weekend, but from what I’ve read so far it’s piecemeal and reactive stuff.

It will be clearer who should lead the Party if we know what Labour stands for. In times of economic hardship, Labour should prioritise protecting the poor as much as possible, through ensuring benefits retain their real value as the cost of living rises, and also by returning to an emphasis on the importance of high quality public services, which used to be known as the social wage. Labour could learn from the Irish experience of social partnership here.

Also the electorate needs to grow up. Cheap energy isn’t coming back; cheap food probably shouldn’t. House prices need to continue to come down if the next generation is ever going to be able to afford home ownership. We’ll need to modify our behaviour, and it’s gratifying to see this starting to happen. We’ll also need to become more aware of what governments can and can’t control, or rather, how much government intervention in the market we want, and how we think it should be paid for. This is the context for the debate on Labour’s future.

Two American cities

Nick and I have been on holiday in the USA for a couple of weeks, in Chicago and New York City, as he has described in more detail.

In Chicago there was a sense of pride in the city, people were friendly and we felt welcome. I had been at a conference before Nick arrived, and after three days in windowless, air-conditioned rooms, I was ready to start exploring. Millennium Park contained some fantastic designs including the Anish Kapoor sculpture Cloud Gate (pictured). The nearby Art Institute had a brilliant collection, despite some rooms being closed for renovation: I particularly liked the Ellsworth Kelly commission in the Sculpture Court.

We also took an excellent boat tour organised by the Chicago Architecture Foundation. If you are in Chicago do take this opportunity to learn about the development of the city centre and the different architectural styles used. Buy tickets in advance, as they sell out, and in the summer try to get the 9.30am tour to avoid the worst of the heat. Finally I would recommend the Chicago History Museum.

We’d last visited New York City twelve years ago and thought it was fabulous, but couldn’t say the same this time. We did interesting things, but somehow they didn’t cohere and we left with a sense of a tired and fragmented city, existing from day to day but not really aspiring to much more. And the people are incredibly rude and unhelpful, more so than last time, we thought.

Of course we went to the incomparable Museum of Modern Art, Rothko and Pollock being my favourites while Nick enjoyed the special Dali exhibition. But we found the new acquisitions disappointing, and the same applied at the Whitney Museum. The more established collections may be playing it safe, but we discovered the New Museum of Contemporary Art where there was a higher standard, in a great new building in the Lower East Side. It is near the Lower East Side Tenement Museum, which has expanded since we last visited and now has a wider educational mission: ‘to promote tolerance and historical perspective through the presentation and interpretation of the variety of immigrant and migrant experiences on Manhattan's Lower East Side, a gateway to America.’ Unmissable.

Two other historical sites we visited were the Ellis Island Immigration Museum, and Ground Zero. Ellis Island was fascinating, but it took us two hours to get there from the time we bought our ticket in Battery Park, including about an hour queuing for the ferry - on a very hot day. The visitor centre at Ground Zero was hard to find, but I’m glad we didn’t give up because the displays tell the story of 9/11 in a dignified and moving way.

So we came away thinking that New York consisted of a series of disjointed experiences which we wouldn’t have missed, but I suspect we won’t visit again. Chicago, on the other hand, is now on the list of favourite cities and we’ll definitely be back.

My generation

A happy birthday to multi-millionaire and pillar of the Establishment, Sir Mick Jagger, who is 65 today and will be adding the UK state pension to his other riches.

I couldn’t think of an appropriate song of his own with which to serenade this Baby Boomer, but by chance was listening to Patti Smith today and this is the one. Play very loud.

Patti also does a great cover of Gimme Shelter.

The cartoon that didn't shock America

It's been interesting trying to follow US politics here on holiday in the USA, in Chicago to be precise. It's easy to let it all pass you by, as both the TV and the newspapers are by and large pretty dreadful. Politics is reduced to slogans, which helps me to understand the appeal of Barack Obama - all you need to know is that he's for change, and then carry on with the rest of your life.

But this week's New Yorker cartoon penetrated this indifference to some extent. Think of a UK equivalent - say, in 1996, Cherie Blair waving a balaclava and an AK-47 while Tony sits around in a Celtic shirt. The New Yorker's defence has been that they are satirising the idea that Obama is unpatriotic. Hmm. Many are not impressed - including his opponent Senator McCain.

The event made me realise that I'm in a different culture. At home, the idea is that you don't publish things that might offend. Here, a trip to Chicago's Freedom Museum explained that in the USA, as a result of the First Amendment, the balance is much more towards expressing yourself and then fighting your corner if someone disagrees. The museum does a great job of presenting the argument that this is more democratic but, of course, more difficult when 'freedoms' contradict each other.

Could it ever catch on in Northern Ireland, I wonder?

P.S. The New Yorker redeems itself with this article.