Following the confirmation of my story yesterday afternoon that Derek Draper has resigned as editor of LabourList, I just want to scribble a few final words on the issue.
First of all, let's show a bit of human compassion towards Derek. It's not nice to kick a man when he's down. He's now done the right thing, so let's lay off him. I have never thought of him as a malicious individual. He's made a big mistake and has paid the price. He's apologised to me for what he said about me and as far as I am concerned, that's the end of it. His interview with Victoria Derbyshire on 5 Live just now showed a man who knows exactly the seriousness of what he has done. I hope he gets over this quickly and moves on with the rest of his life, and that he realises he ought to leave politics behind.
A lot has been written about the failings of LabourList. It now has a second chance, and I wish Alex Smith well in getting it right. For what it's worth, I think the site should
- Get a redesign
- Get its own identity
- Separate itself from being seen as a top down tool of UNITE or the Labour Party
- Recognise that blogging is a community and doesn't always have to be partisan
- Be more oriented to Labour's grassroots and less a propaganda tool
- Be completely transparent about its funding
- Enter into debate with other blogs but not trash them
