I am old enough and lucky enough to have an original vinyl copy of American Pie in our record collection, although it was my wife who was smart enough to buy it at the time. The day that music died was long associated with the death of Buddy Holly, but when the lyrics of the song were sold this year Mclean claimed it reflected a time when things were heading in the wrong direction, not a specific day. In the same way the impact of what seems to be the immolation of the Labour Party this Summer is not going to destroy the Party in its entirety, nor prevent the ideals and aims of the Party from emerging through its current self induced chaos. Equally the dishonesty and deceit of many Conservative Party members (to date Tim Loughton MP is one of the few to have admitted his dishonesty) won’t bring the Conservative Party down, but coupled with the appalling decisions to justify a made up set of stories in a DWP leaflet, a series of incoherent decisions on the environment and energy, the self aggrandising decisions over the House of Lords and many others to come, the next General Election will see much weaker and less principled main Political Parties campaigning for our votes. Democracy is not dead, nor is the concept of Party Politics, but their power and dominance is waning through self destruction of the Labour Party and corruption within the Conservative Party. American Pie speaks of a way of life that was beginning to fade in the 1950’s, the same time when so many people in the UK were inspired to join Political Parties for a good reason. This Summer it looks as though those form of formal democratic power structures have reached the end of their lives. We need to find new ways of doing Politics, a new approach to Democracy. While some are expecting a Phoenix to arise from the ashes of Labour as it resolves its internal confusion, my expectation is of something very different.