Labour - A Party In Need Of Redefinition?

 

I've been lucky-if that's the right word, to spend time with labour activists, MPs and party members over the past few months and I've come to one conclusion - They are feeling lost, confused and unsure of what to do in this no mans land of opposition.

This isn't intended in any way as a criticism. The party has been in power for a long time. Many of the ministers and party activists have cut their teeth as part of a very different party - a party in government. Sure there were challenges (Please let there be no more trees sacrificed to retelling the sorry tale of the Brown/Blair soap opera) but they were inevitably superseded by the fact that they were in power. Their values and their policies, were what changed the lives of millions of people in this country and beyond. And now, they don't. They're not in government and they're not in power. And it's not their values or their ideas shaping the country.

And that must be incredibly difficult. Not on an ego level (although I'm sure that must dent ones self esteem) but on an identity one. Who are the Labour party if not the party of government?  Much like someone made redundant or forced into early retirement, so much of our identity is tied up in our jobs, our social standings, our relationships with others. Now that the Labour party is not the Government, ministers, activists and members need to redefine who we are and refocus on what we stand for. Because now more than ever we need to be surer than sure of that.

Just how we navigate this transition, this identity change is unimportant in many ways. What is important is that we do it-and quickly.

I have literally lost count of the conversations I've had with Labour party supporters over the past few weeks particularly about how timid Labour currently seem. The 'we won't oppose every cut' seems to be manifesting itself in a few witty comments at PMQs and some tamer than tame comments of muted disapproval at the worst cuts to public spending in living memory. Cuts that are far tougher than Labour would have taken, far quicker and directly squarely at workers and recipients of public  services and benefits. That have been economically proven to hit women hardest of all. Cuts that avoid hitting the richest, that protect the banks & big business whilst demonising the poor, vulnerable and dispossessed.

Even worse for the Labour party, they are cuts blamed on the 'previous Labour Government' - for bringing the country to the brink of bankruptcy. All of which is nonsense but is a myth that has stuck because the Labour party has failed to counter the argument strong enough and in language designed to change public opinion (a theme of many future posts.)

Labour seem to be a party in the grips of an identity crisis. Passion & empathy are missing from their current position. Along with confidence and righteous anger.  Anger at the dismantling of the welfare state. Anger and the blatant diversion tactics to shift public attention away from big business and the banks who caused the global financial crisis and towards the usually villains in a Tory narrative - the poor and the public sector.

But the Labour party seem to be frozen - not knowing which way to turn.  What's more, I've heard many activists and even a few ministers saying that Labour can't oppose these cuts because they would have had to make cuts too.  What??? When did we become so polorised and inarticulate that we can't explain the difference between £3000 student tuition fees to £9000 fees & 80% cuts to University funding? Or oppose welfare reforms simply because Labour made some reforms themselves?

If Labour isn't the party of the vulnerable then who is? If Labour don't stand up against inequality, who will? What does Labour as a party stand for? I, like many Labour members & voters thought we knew but recent weeks have made many question it. What does fairness mean to us? What do we champion? What are we against? These are the important questions -NOT what do we think we'll take least flak on?

The past is another country. We can't continue to act contrite & boxed in by past decisions.

Lets redefine the future. As a party we need a clear, open and honest debate about what we actually stand for, believe in and will fight for. Because a fight is what we have on out hands but unless we know what we are fighting for, we're sunk.

I felt this even more acutely after speaking to a Labour MP recently. She was of the belief that the party was in a very difficult position-unable to defend against many of the Coalition's policies because they were built on things Labour initially started. Take university tuition fees. The rise of the cap to £7000 - £9,000 per year puts university education way out of many people's reach.  I have 2 children. There is no way we could afford to send them to Uni without them having to take out huge loans. £27,000 for a 3 year course (before we even begin to talk about living expenses) is a burden I don't want my kids to have to carry. It will undoubtedly put many people from more modest background off. In a way that £3,000 PA might not have done. £3,000 wasn't ideal-in fact it will have been a barrier to many people.  But trebling fees makes it 3 times worse. And that doesn't mean that the Labour party has to keep stumn about the rise. It doesn't have to be so black and white.You're going to take flak from the right wing press & Coalition ministers-that's a given. It doesn't mean that they're right - or that, if argued in the right way using the right language, the public won't see through their rhetoric.

Better still, don't worry about how you will defend yourselves - do things you can passionately argue for and take it from there.

People (and in this context I mean voters in particular) are swayed by passion, values and emotions. The Labour party is currently showing very little of any of these. This is a mistake. A BIG one. By remaining timid we appear weak, uncaring and lost.

There aren't many benefits to being in opposition but one of the few is that you don't have to have the full policy worked out. Look at the coalition - many of their policies seem to have been written on the back of a fag packet - but they're being clarified and developed as they go along. Labour are no longer in power. So we no longer have to come up with plans and policies that are 100% dry inked. We can start with the basics - what do we stand for?

What are Labour's values?

What do they mean?

What do we want for the county?

What will we stand against?

What will we fight for? What is worth fighting for? What is worth fighting against?

These questions may seem basic and obvious. We may assume we already have answers. But sometimes we need to revisit such questions. We need to redefine what we mean by them. And what our answers should be. Voters go with their gut instincts. We need to revisit concepts of fairness, equality, prosperity for all.

If we want to take on the self proclaimed heir to Blair (as Cameron has called himself) and fight someone who is using our own language and strategies against us, we need to redefine the argument. It needs to be more than 'how can we spin this' or 'what will the public accept' - public opinion is swayed by language, argument, passion and strength of values. People vote with their hearts, not their heads.

It's something the Coalition understand all too well. They're using this understanding to redefine the battle ground, to shift the argument and change the political landscape. If Labour don't get this and start using similar tactics, then we are dead in the water. We can't rely on the Coalition's economic policies not working. I would argue they don't work from their inception because they are so unfair and damaging to our society.

There are many opportunities for the Labour party. We are not sunk. There are strategies and a way forwards, renewal and ultimately back to government. But we need to quickly do some groundwork first.

I'm going to develop this argument further over the next few weeks - how reminding ourselves and clarifying our values will help us to reconnect with our core beliefs. And in doing so we will rediscover our purpose, passion and drive.  Because millions of people across the country need us to fight for them. And fight hard. It's doable. It is. But we need to know why we are doing it - and I don't think as a party we have that forefront in our minds yet.

Comments

[Anthillel]

Jo, this blogpost is amazing and I completely agree esp with the lack of passionate opposition from our LEADER! As you say "If Labour isn't the party of the vulnerable then who is? If Labour don't stand up against inequality, who will?" and we the activists seem lost as we have no guidance. We need a plan to fightback and an army can't fight without a commander! Great post- permission to quote some of it?? :)

[Jo]

Thanks for the comment Anthony. Please feel free to quote anything you feel is relevant.
Jo