Independent enquiries are the Labour party's antibiotics

Posted 16 Oct 2012 by Walaa Idris

Antibiotics

We might joke and laugh about Labour and their obsession with independent inquiries and wanting to launch them at a drop of a hat.

But it is not funny, because it is symptomatic of a serious lack of grasp of what’s important.

Like doctors who prescribe antibiotics for every illness. Some physicians are known to begin writing a prescription for an antibiotic at the start of the consultation, before the patient even finishes explaining what is wrong with them! That kind of one size fits all, masking treatment, can cause serious problems long term.

The same with Labour, they never seem to have the time to investigate or allow organisations to self- examine and assess what went wrong or why…. How is anyone going to learn from their mistakes if they don’t study them? Telling someone what went wrong is not the same as them actually learning what went wrong – either as an individual or a group! Because walking through what actually happened (in any given situation) is fundamental for advancement and moving forward.

Take me for example, I have horrible spelling and ‘for ease’ will many times ask for the correct spelling of a word rather than look it up myself. But most times the words I tend to miss spell again are the ones others spelled for me, the words others showed me how to spell! On the other hand, the words I look up myself I never forget or miss-spell again!

Besides their cost to the public purse, which Labour never seems to consider, public enquiries are time consuming and can also teach very little. Alternatively, an internal investigation, a self-examination exercise tends to cost less; they are also more inclusive plus give confidence to the organization and its members. Not to mention, they allow for genuine vigilance – thus allowing for a more practical approach to change and betterment.

In my opinion, Labour desperately needs to move away from this one size fits all solution to every situation. Antibiotics are strong very helpful and important drugs, they can zap most diseases within a week, but with overuse the human body can quickly develop resistance to them and become immune to their effect. Who’s to say the same won’t become of public inquiries!?

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