Politics at Glastonbury - is it what is missing? And why

[frostypaw]

Lots of people seem to think that while this year was undoubtedly amazing and slick as a very slick thing there was something missing.

Was that thing the politics?

How many people noticed and cared about the CND logo above the Pyramid? I had an er... unintentional glottal stop when I pointed it out to my friends, it made me quite emotional to see it back where it should be.

There's a memory card missing from this year's hand that has ALWAYS been dealt to me before - every year. That card is the politics - every year there's been something properly global and philanthropic and liberal that's blown me away and made me think about how incredibly special it is that all this can achieve all... that whatever that may be.

Was the big wall of flags missing by the John Peel or am I just pulling a blank?

Previous years have seen big campaigns that have resulted in huge numbers at the festival being facepainted blue, wearing certain things or other essentially tatty but very visible signs of the politics having an impact. I'd like to see something like that again - who's with me?

[rubenz]

I thought the greenpeace campaign against drilling in the Arctic was a strong presence this year

[DeanoL]

There was the big WaterAid Pump Up The Volume thing.

[grumpyhack]

It didn't have much of a political feel for me this year. Agreed the Greenpeace polar bears were good but it still felt like token politics and not an essential part of the ethos.

[Ommadawn]

It's a big part of the festival for me and it's been in decline since they moved Leftfield. I used to like browsing through all the stalls, looking at the literature and talking to the stallholders.

I'm off to Tulpuddle this Sunday where that is still very much in evidence.

[Glastoboy]

In the 80s and early 90s Glastonbury used to feel alive as a place where the counter-culture collected. Young people there were, on the whole, pro-CND and Geenpeace, left-wing (when the Labour party still were), anti-commerce and very anti-Conservative values. The place was alive with squatters, travellers, road protesters, tree-protectors, human rights activists and many other small groups of protesters. There even used to be a sizeable amount of black people at Glastonbury. How many did you see this year (as attendees not performers)?

Some say that the left wing idealists lost the war and looking at our modern world and the modern Glastonbury that might appear to be the case. But the last 20-30 years is just a small blip in human history and no one knows for certain what the future holds. I hope that when the time is right for uprising and dissent that Glastonbury will once again be the natural home for this coming together of like-minded souls.

It saddens me that Glastonbury has lost its political edge although I don't think Michael Eavis or many of the people involved in the festival have. But the festival has been forced to change in many ways over the years - just to stay alive. Pressure from local coucillors, health & safety, police etc and having to conform to new draconian laws passed in Parliament. The people we used to rail against managed to get their claws into our (Michael's) festival.

These changes, along with changes in the real world and societies attitudes (especially the seeming willingness to shut up and conform) has created a different audience at the modern Glastonbury. It is still a great place to be but it only has echoes of its former counter culture history.

If the 2008 financial crash had happened in the nineties, I could almost envisage an enraged mob forming at Glastonbury and heading straight to London afterwards for some severe anti-social destruction. Nowadays, there are probably dodgy financiers actually there - someone is paying for those £7500 luxury Glasto experiences.

So yeah, I miss the old politics of Glastonbury and I miss the idealism too. But I don't see a lot of it about anywhere these days. It's almost as if the nation is quite content with it's bread and circuses. Glastonbury is just another circus that the powers that be allow to happen (now it has been forced to fall in line).

[essenceofman]

A great summary, Festival Freak.

[bamber]

There is no old politics or new politics. There is just righteousness and the contravening evil. These men exposed the evil intention of the governors of the so called free world. Support them and do not accept the national security lie. Fight with all our might against their inevitable unconstitutional imprisonment.

http://www.bradleymanning.org/

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/pardon-edward-snowden/Dp03vGYD

[bamber]

I am Bradley Manning

I am Edward Snowden

[frostypaw]

A great summary, Festival Freak.

It truly was, though I'm just quoting this as it's much shorter. That was pretty bang on how it seems to have gone.

The hippy/arguement/politics thread was interesting as it threw up a lot of folk who weren't interested in politics, had grown such apathy that they didn't really want it being discussed. As someone said there it's just a win on the politician's part, it keeps the voting population in the small wedge that are getting their way.

I am so incredibly saddened that the Lib Dem surge got soured - there was a brief immense happiness in people there as muscles were flexed and an effect was felt. Shame the campaigners managed to ruin the whole thing over a couple of broken promises... other parties break hundreds without so much furore - in the end it all felt a bit like a rehearsed routine to dismember the LD support at the first opportunity presented. And voila, back to disillusioned voters and the status quo

The petitions website is almost the pinnacle of it all - a little automated service so people's complaints can be collated by computer, briefly looked at and dismissed with an email. No more demonstrations please, we're British. We need a Poll Tax moment to remind people we have the power

I am Bradley Manning

I am Edward Snowden

Facemasks like that could have been an awesome campaign for glastonbury. Could have made for some very freaky photo moments

[Ed209]

Snowden was hanging around Silver Hayes

[Mr.Tease]

It didn't have much of a political feel for me this year. Agreed the Greenpeace polar bears were good but it still felt like token politics and not an essential part of the ethos.

I was hoping for something big and focused on fighting the spending cuts, the increase on people having to use church food parcels to survive, 'workfare' (i.e. slavery) and the systematic destruction of the welfare state by the Tories. We are living in very dangerous times, and are on the way to losing things that took centuries and decades to get. The Tories are doing stuff that even Thatcher didn't dare to, and they're getting away with it.

Would a big protest focused on this have attracted much attention? Not sure- a lot of the festival goers were pretty wealthy and probably oblivious to it, but I think it's important to draw peoples attention to these issues as they are greatly under reported by the media.

[Peaceman]

Would love to see some real political speakers on the Pyramid again. Or even a Mark Thomas/Marcus Brigstock type of act just donig 15 mins between bands or something. Still lots going on in the Green Fields of course but most peopel seem to want to be at the main stages and watch teh big bands. Which is fair enough I guess. Just not how I see Glastonbury.

[Field Commander Jefferson]

Excellent posts and I agree 100%, when you see the response to the water aid petition and the anti trident/anti cameron/ CND logo bit during Portishead you see the potential that is still there. Let's hope Massive Attack are playing next year because they don't pull any punches with the messages on their visuals.

I agree though 100% the political/counterculture side of the festival needs to be pushed again, make people remember the real things that Glastonbury stands for, the music is just the medium to help transfer the message. I don't know how feasible it is but agree with the post above, I'd have talkers on the Pyramid stage between most of the bands.

In these times of an apathetic/de-radicalized society where we are being mugged by those at the top and turned against one another, Glastonbury's role is potentially more important than ever and a massive opportunity to get some crucial messages across.

I thought small things like the programme seemed not to be pushing a message as they have done previously? Even Michaels opening message used to be politicised if I remember, criticising the iraq war etc

What we do have to remember though is people take away from the festival more than just the surface politics... We live in an increasingly inward looking society, the authorities have turned us against each other and if we can take the sense of a positive united community free from discrimination with us when we leave the festival this is at least a step in the right direction... If one person's views are changed by something as small as the 'leave no trace' message and what it means in wider society then that has been a success. I know my own social/political position was massively re-inforced at my first festival when I was younger and the point I guess I'm trying to get across is it's sometimes the subconscious vibes of the place you pick up that make the difference.

The festival should push more but I feel we ALL have as much a role to play in shaping this as anyone else though, we can't sit back and expect to be spoonfed as that makes us part of the problem. Little things like tent banners/flags pushing agendas all add up to making a difference. Same with the bongos on the other topic, if we want them we've got to bring them.

Edited July 20, 2013 by Field Commander Jefferson Monkey

[frostypaw]

The festival should push more but I feel we ALL have as much a role to play in shaping this as anyone else though, we can't sit back and expect to be spoonfed as that makes us part of the problem. Little things like tent banners/flags pushing agendas all add up to making a difference. Same with the bongos on the other topic, if we want them we've got to bring them.

Well said sirrah, there is the whole more subtle detail layer that still exists I reckon - it just needed the speedbump in place to get people to slow down enough to notice on their way to Shangri-La

Campaign banners in the campsites isn't a bad idea. We love decorating our campsite, a banner or bunting or flags goes a long way and seems an ideal opportunity for people to express whatever message

Can I bring something that makes NOS cannisters stop working so we can hear the bongos? It's the one thing I would like to see them enforce up the stone circle.

[Ommadawn]

Maybe include a couple of pages in next year's programme about the festival's history. I reckon the vast majority of the people this year had no idea of how the festival came to be what it is today (or what the letters CND stood for, as I found to my dismay)

Edited July 21, 2013 by Ommadawn

[UEF]

The politics of Glasto is always both interesting and inspiring, but people are kidding themselves if they think it's balanced. The simplification of "all left wing=good" occasionally splills over into here and is always a funny read.

I walked past a talk in the leftfield at some point which just seemed to consist of 4 people all agreeing with each other on how amazing unions are. There's nothing constructive or even realistic about that.

Edited July 21, 2013 by UEF

[phil the shrew]

Think part of the reason the festival seems less political is that newer bands rarely get caught up in politics. Certainly not like they did in the 70s and 80s

Spent a lot of time in Leftfield and its great Billy Bragg is talking about fighting fascism and the likes of the EDL, and there were some really interesting debates put on there. but it's a little sad newer younger bands aren't taking that message up on the main stages

[Northernsoul45]

_{think thread title should be slghtly altered too:}

_{left wing politics at glastonbury - is it what is missing? and why?}

_{as essentially thats what you guys want more of, but then its no surprise the decline & lack of interest these days, given the total failure of the labour party & realisation that the country has become more centralist. (or probably right wing to some)}

Edited July 22, 2013 by Northernsoul45

[CaledonianGonzo]

Would love to see some real political speakers on the Pyramid again. Or even a Mark Thomas/Marcus Brigstock type of act just donig 15 mins between bands or something.

Owen Jones spoken on the Pyramid this year, just after Jake Bugg.

[eFestivals]

_{think thread title should be slghtly altered too:}

_{left wing politics at glastonbury - is it what is missing? and why?}

_{as essentially thats what you guys want more of, but then its no surprise the decline & lack of interest these days, given the total failure of the labour party & realisation that the country has become more centralist. (or probably right wing to some)}

the country is NOT more centralist. There's greater support for a nationalisation programme for national infrastructure assets now than there's been for 40 years. The support for such a programme is indisputably overwhelming amongst the population - because privatisation has been proven as the lie it was.

(I could also mention that Blair's '97 victory was also a huge disappointment to a majority of the electorate [including those who didn't vote for him], because he just carried on with the same failing tory policies).

The reason for the general disenchantment with politics is because there is no major political party who are representing these majority views.

The world has been taken over by neoliberals, who put forward the idea that there's no alternative - and there isn't for those whop are motivated by the cash they're looking to scoop up for themselves. Give a fat govt contract to ABC Corp, and that politician knows that he'sd got a fantastically well-paid job with ABC Corp any time he wants it.

We have a govt pushing thru the privatisation of the NHS - while approximately one third of MPs have financial interests in private healthcare firms.

Dave Moron's sidekick has been telling his clients that Brits do not support the NHS, and that he can get them fat contracts ..,. because he tells Dave Moron to make those contracts available to them. Is that a lie? Then ask yourself why it was that Dave Moron and co tried to change the rules for the 'reformed' NHS (that the tories had already put in place) within 1 month of Crosby starting working (again) for Dave Moron, so that it was easier for Crosby's clients to pick up those contracts.

The country is being sold off - and not even to the highest bidder, but to whoever pays the tories the most.

And Labour just sit on their hands, saying there is no alternative because there's no money. And yet when Dave Moron wants a parade for his teenage sex fetish, the money is found; and yet when Dave Moron wants 'free schools' (which cost more than the existing schools), the money is found; etc, etc.

It's the greatest robbery in history.

[CaledonianGonzo]

Would have expected The People's Assembly Against Austerity to maybe be there in some shape or form - though maybe it was discussed by Jones, Tony Benn, etc. and I just missed it.

Likewise UKUncut - an organisation that, perhaps, arguably, feels a little bit more relevant to what's currently happening in the UK than the likes of Greenpeace.

(Not dissing the latter by any means).

[CaledonianGonzo]

Would love to see some real political speakers on the Pyramid again. Or even a Mark Thomas/Marcus Brigstock type of act just donig 15 mins between bands or something.

Back to this - while Marcus Brigstock seems to think he's left wing, a lot of his act consists of material about how awful poor people are. No thanks.

[Teddington]

the country is NOT more centralist. There's greater support for a nationalisation programme for national infrastructure assets now than there's been for 40 years. The support for such a programme is indisputably overwhelming amongst the population - because privatisation has been proven as the lie it was.

(I could also mention that Blair's '97 victory was also a huge disappointment to a majority of the electorate [including those who didn't vote for him], because he just carried on with the same failing tory policies).

The reason for the general disenchantment with politics is because there is no major political party who are representing these majority views.

The world has been taken over by neoliberals, who put forward the idea that there's no alternative - and there isn't for those whop are motivated by the cash they're looking to scoop up for themselves. Give a fat govt contract to ABC Corp, and that politician knows that he'sd got a fantastically well-paid job with ABC Corp any time he wants it.

We have a govt pushing thru the privatisation of the NHS - while approximately one third of MPs have financial interests in private healthcare firms.

Dave Moron's sidekick has been telling his clients that Brits do not support the NHS, and that he can get them fat contracts ..,. because he tells Dave Moron to make those contracts available to them. Is that a lie? Then ask yourself why it was that Dave Moron and co tried to change the rules for the 'reformed' NHS (that the tories had already put in place) within 1 month of Crosby starting working (again) for Dave Moron, so that it was easier for Crosby's clients to pick up those contracts.

The country is being sold off - and not even to the highest bidder, but to whoever pays the tories the most.

And Labour just sit on their hands, saying there is no alternative because there's no money. And yet when Dave Moron wants a parade for his teenage sex fetish, the money is found; and yet when Dave Moron wants 'free schools' (which cost more than the existing schools), the money is found; etc, etc.

It's the greatest robbery in history.

LOL

And relax..............

[Teddington]

Think part of the reason the festival seems less political is that newer bands rarely get caught up in politics. Certainly not like they did in the 70s and 80s

Spent a lot of time in Leftfield and its great Billy Bragg is talking about fighting fascism and the likes of the EDL, and there were some really interesting debates put on there. but it's a little sad newer younger bands aren't taking that message up on the main stages

I have to smile about the Left thinking they are the shining light for this.

Correct me if I am wrong but the only chance the Communists had of fighting Fascism 70 years ago, they signed a pact with them.

It was that well known Left Winger Winston Churchill who warned throughout the 1930's that they were not to be trusted and a tough line be taken with them.

The reality is that if this country was populated entirely by Left Wingers and pacifists, we would be talking German and saluting Roman Style to our Fuhrer by now.