En Marche, UK? Anyone interested?

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Macron has shown Europe that it's not always about the old politics. So is there any serious interest here, on MN, for developing an equivalent?

Broadly centrist, with social justice and fiscal/financial balance as key non negotiables. No tax giveaways, no bashing the less fortunate. A simple tax formula, so the wealthiest can't dodge paying, but no hand outs to the idle either. Small businesses to be funded generously to provide training for apprentices (knowing they will be headhunted or otherwise stolen later) and a focus on investing in infrastructure and productivity.

I know this is a thin manifesto, but I can't help thinking that we need some new input from outside politics.

Anyone? Ideas?

The problem with an En Marche solution for the UK is that it would require a massive swing to the left to achieve what is seen as a centrist position in France.

In fact, even electing Corbyn wouldn't deliver En Marche style social justice ...

Bear in mind that one of the key points of Macron's programme is labour market reform - but if successful it will still deliver a labour market that is significantly more regulated than in the U.K. Likewise, while he plans to reduce the tax burden on companies and (to a lesser extent) individuals, the French tax system is far more "left wing" than the UK's even though we have had a right wing government for much of the time I have lived in France. In particular, it taxes land and other assets far more aggressively than in the U.K., and the system heavily favours low income families at the expense of high earning single people.

When I see the press and public reaction to the Labour party's entirely sensible proposal to tax land values, or to the Tory party's perfectly reasonable proposal to raise NI, I am forced to conclude that you will never get a UK En Marche.

You are probably correct Misti but I yearn to see a Parliament filled with non-politicians who don't bring with them the baggage of being party hacks or policy wonks since they were 15. Bonne chance to all French people in their brave experiment!

France voted for change, or did they, based on the near record low 35% 2nd round parliamentary turnout for this newly established En Marche Party, self-labelled as a centralist party?

But I will agree that after the UK general election results, where both main parties will now move further left and right, that there is room for a vacated central ground in UK politics, but one could argue that if the Lib Dems under Farron had not hoisted their electoral flag mainly to frustrating Brexit, arguably they could have done better in the election – but now Vince Cable has the opportunity to reshape the party’s policies going forward, away from the Brexit core issue.

If the Lib Dems cannot attract the centralist vote and the UK has a new centralist party, and lets not forget UKIP could rebrand itself within the next few years under a then ex MEP Farage on the right, the UK had better get used to multi party coalitions in government, as they’ve had in the likes of Germany.

The French people in voting for a President Macron and then his brand new parliamentary party with his centralist coalition gaining a landslide, have voted for a change, but may not be entirely sure what they WANT, but know what they don’t want – the previous administration and its allies, as after 5-years in power President Hollande’s party crashing to just 7.4% of the popular vote, and 9.5% for the left parliamentary group as a whole.

Hollande initially applauded for 75% penal taxes on the rich, later cut and put more upon businesses, but had said back in 2012 to judge him on his record, especially on French unemployment that had generally stayed around 10%, with around 1 in 4 of the under 25-year olds unemployed within, and it appears they did.

But here, policy wise, is where to me it gets centralist questionable, as alluded to by Mistigri, but to my mind throws out a slightly different conclusion;

As again looking over ex investment banker Macron’s key policies - which are generally pro business (including the lowering Corporate Tax), make Euro 60 billion of annual government budget cuts, and further reduce the cost of the State by cutting government workers by 120,000, all while reforming the overly restrictive labour laws holding back their economy, investment and job creation - one could argue that they are not centralist at all, they are further right wing.

Which could explain a low voter turnout as uncertainty, within a country where parties for decades have TALKED about a smaller State, but never achieved it as evidenced by I believe the 56% of French GDP it takes up - and so as those policies individually come up in the French parliament for legislation, France could see widespread anger from many of her citizens.

On the EU Macron is for a much closely integrated 19 country Eurozone, with a separate budget and MEPs etc, and quite where that will sit in French politics, or the other EU member countries officially left as ‘satellites’ around an inner core they’d have no power of veto over, is anyone’s guess.

Is the Labour party about to split, amid the ongoing threat that Jeremy Corbyn, who hardly welcomed any moderates back into the shadow cabinet from June 9ths ‘victory’, could now actually back the mandatory reselection of Labour MPs, on stronger rumblings that he is preparing to mount a purge of moderate members of the party – or more post related, give them their Marche-ing orders?

So as a result of getting everyone within the Labour Parliamentary Party in line, no doubt using Corbyn’s ‘a new kinder politics’ slogan to democratically purge anyone who dares to disagree with the Corbyn, McDonnell and ‘Momentum’ way - are we indeed on the way to a new more centralist party to compete with the Labour Party – or will the hype behind the Corbynisters rename the movement after its 1970’s style politics, ‘founders’, and allow the vast majority of moderate MPs, trade unionists, and voters, to at least keep the brand name?

As the Chinese say, 'may they live in interesting times'.

I am hoping that a new more centrist party is taking shape behind the scenes. Simply, I could not bring myself to campaign for either of the main parties at this juncture; it was all I could do to cast my vote without holding my nose. I don't expect great things, but a bit more energy and a lot less cynicism, a healthy dose of realpolitik and the willingness to thrash out some fresh ideas would be a good start.

1. What counts as "centrist" in the UK is pretty right wing.
2. We've already had a "charismatic centrist" reshape British politics in recent times. Look how that worked out. I do look at Macron with a gaze clouded by the Blair experience. He could well start in a blaze of glory and end in ignominious contempt.

GreenVelvet, when I say centrist I mean pragmatic, fiscally neutral (like, pay as you go, spend on infrastructure not benefit), police your tax revenue and don't enter unfunded future liabilities without long consideration and doing all the sums. NO giveaways or BOGOFs. Too many political promises turn out to be hot air. It's cheap and easy to promise.

Often that means sacred cows have to be sacrificed. The triple lock should be a double lock; we need to reassure younger generations that they are not going to be minced alive to pay their grandparents. The grandparents need to accept some of the cost of their social care, if they have assets. After 10 years of ownership (while you have children under 11 for example/ raise your family to school leaving age) there needs to be a tapered tax on property capital gain, rising with the length of ownership. And a modest tax for people who improve properties and sell them on. There should be an exemption for the first or last 80,000 of wealth in an estate to be inherited, so people are not angry at having to pay for their elder care.

I do know that I have said nothing about disabilities and how those should be assisted; I agree assistance is necessary but I really don't know enough to know how it is best approached so that A) the tax payer is not stuck with a bottomless pit or B) the recipients are short changed. That line is seriously tough imo.

Emm, "no benefits" sounds very right wing. I know you make a (very) qualified exception for disabled people, but what about children? Old people? People fleeing domestic abuse? People will illness rather than disability?

And it is totally unrealistic, given where we start fiscally, to only "pay as you go" if by this you mean no public sector borrowing whatsoever. And if you mean no PFI, then you're going to have to be flexible re on the books PSBR, if you're not going to start sacking teachers, nurses, policemen in even greater numbers than has been done already, and end up not in the centre compared to the Tories but to the right of them. Proper enforcing tax codes would mitigate that, but it will take a while to be effective and it will take spending money- more people to actually undertake the work in the tax sector.

Many more people. And there you have to find a balance between hiring highly qualified people (e.g. forensic accountants) from the private sector immediately (and they won't come cheap) or hiring people who have few skills and training them up, which will take at least a parliament. The anticipated tech revolution in accountancy which will make many skilled financial people redundant is in your favour there, but isn't quite on us yet.

Mainly though, what you are espousing has no positive vision or picture of what society should be. Just more managerial tinkering round the margins.