A number of commentators have suggested that Labour leader David Shearer’s speech last week is evidence of a move by Labour to the right. At first I was not convinced with any of the arguments, and I dismissed them as baseless speculation. It seemed to me that what few policy hints Shearer gave out rooted Labour firmly to the centre, a place where the party has been for a couple of decades.

So when Brian Edwards announced his disgust with Labour’s positioning, it seemed to me he was about 30 years too late.

But then I took another look at Shearer’s speech, analysing carefully his choice of words. I have to say that what I discovered in those words has left me profoundly disturbed.

My concerns were first raised when Shearer mentioned in his speech the sword Excalibur. That he mentioned the famous blade in a political speech evidences an admiration for the Arthurian legend.

But how many people are aware that the Nazis were also fascinated with the legend of the Round Table? The quest by Arthur’s knights for the Holy Grail inspired Hitler and many other senior Nazi figures.

The Labour leader also mentioned Finland in his speech. The very same Scandinavian country that during World War Two was allied to the Nazis!

Shearer talked of a job-rich economy, and spoke of having big plans. As a student of history he will be aware that Hitler’s war economy eliminated unemployment, and the German leader certainly had big plans.

Shearer also said in his speech that the nation required vision and boldness. These are things Hitler spoke of many times. Hitler’s own vision involved transforming Europe into a vast Germanic settlement, while other ethnicities were to serve as slave labour or be exterminated.

If you still don’t think Shearer is planning genocide, then what was he doing in Rwanda in the 1990s? Delivering aid? Sure, sure….

Shearer’s language is replete with martial terminology. He talks of “biting the bullet” and “magic bullets”. If his intentions are peaceful and not terrifying, why the need to keep mentioning bullets? Could it be because he can’t help himself? I expect that even as he was delivering his speech he was imagining a day not so far into the future when his brownshirted goons would break up political events such as the one he was at, spraying bullets into the room and leaving the venue choked with bodies.

With all of this in mind Shearer’s goal of building a high-tech economy makes perfect sense. If he wants to be the leader of a fascist state, he will need the best weapons and machinery. If we are to conquer our neighbours in the South Pacific we will need the best military technologies available. There’s a risk that international outrage over Shearer’s plans will lead to sanctions, and Shearer has figured out that his monstrous plans rely on a self-sufficient military economy.

Shearer bemoaned in his speech the fact that we are turning out an army of accountants, clearly because what he really wants is an army of highly-driven super-soldiers. Hence the need to pour resources into educating the young, immersing them from an early age in his ideology of hate.

Shearer finished his speech with an ominous threat. He stated boldly that his fascist superstate would be a good place for lambs. What he meant is that those who are compliant and obedient and who follow the crowd would be safe from his murder squads, while those who opposed him would be killed.

I don’t know about you, but to me this is a fundamental betrayal of everything Labour stands for. As a Labour member I like the idea of wearing a smart uniform and a gun, bullying my way to the front of queues, and generally behaving in a tyrannical fashion towards my colleagues. But I’m not sure that engaging in mass slaughter will lift the nation’s economy. It seems to me that other nations might decide to choke our economy to death or even bomb us.

So I will not be voting for this David Shearer. Like so many others I am going Green, but only on the condition that they work on getting some sharp looking uniforms for their party members. And let me be clear that hemp won’t do.