Another day, another “comedy” spam email from John O’Farrell on behalf of New Labour. This time he’s exhorting the faithful to “Let’s Keep It Labour Weekend”, a mass mobilisation of activists:

Sometimes being a Labour Party activist can be a lonely occupation. The same few party members discussing item three on the agenda; “How can we get more people to come to meetings?” It’s no different in the Cabinet; Tony Blair sits there with a handful of ministers and lots of empty chairs and says “Um, let’s just give it a few more minutes and see if anyone else turns up.”

But this weekend you could be one of thousands of Labour supporters across the country descending on Labour’s key seats. This looks set to be an even greater mass mobilisation of political activists than the rush to join Robert Kilroy-Silk’s Veritas Party. Think of Mao’s long march; think of the unemployed walking from Jarrow.

Think of Mao’s long march? OK, I will:

The Long March was a massive military retreat undertaken by the Chinese Communist Army to evade the pursuit of the Kuomintang army. The Communist Army of the Chinese Soviet Republic, led by Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai, was on the brink of complete annihilation by Chiang Kai-Shek’s troops in Jiangxi Province in October 1934. The communists escaped in circling retreat to the north which ultimately covered some 8000km (4960 miles) over 370 days. The route branched through some of the most difficult terrain of western China and arrived 9600km (5952 miles) west, then north, to Shaanxi. (In 2003, Ed Jocelyn and Andy McEwan retraced the route in 384 days and estimated it was about 6000 km (3700 miles) long.

All along the way, the Communist Army confiscated property and weapons from local warlords and landlords, while recruiting peasants and the poor. Nevertheless, only some 20,000 out of about 90,000 soldiers who had started the march ultimately made it to the final destination of Yan’an in 1935. A variety of setbacks contributed to the loss including fatigue, hunger, coldness, sickness, desertion, and military losses.

Of course, Mao Zedong, or Mao Tse-Tung as he’s sometimes better known, was hailed as a great leader who brought sweeping reforms to his country. He was famous for his Little Red Book. And he caused the deaths of a great many people.

Is that what O’Farrell means when he says, “think of Mao’s long march”?