Labour Lifts-Off Into 2012

Ed Miliband is seeking to relaunch his leadership and confound his critics by unveiling a clear vision for the Labour party of 2012.

On Monday, he began a media blitz that outlined what a future Labour government would look like. His speech at the OXO Tower guaranteed that Labour would continue to promote fairness and social justice “even in tough times”, but made it abundantly clear that it would be “a different party from the one we were in the past.” At a stroke, Ed appeared to banish the ghosts of New Labour while allaying the fears of those critics who believe he wants to take party policy back to the days of tax-and-spend.

It was a forceful speech made by a leader with fire in his belly. Polling at the end of 2011 revealed that while the Prime Minister enjoys a +5 point personal rating on his job performance, Ed is burdened with a -17 rating, putting him just ahead of Nick Clegg on -19. Labour’s lacklustre support among the electorate has led some erstwhile friends of the leader to openly criticise his handling of the party. Ed needed to begin the New Year with a gutsy show of character that made clear where he stood on the policy spectrum- especially in regards to the economy.

However, while the delivery was impressive, the content revealed that there is still some way to go before Ed and the party can make a coherent case on where they stand. The references to “tough times”, and admittance that “whoever is the next Prime Minister will not have money to spend” suggest that Ed is adopting the doctrine of fiscal conservatism that underpins the Coalition’s support and was recently advocated by the authors of ‘In the Black Labour’. While Ed attempts a positive spin on this by arguing that he will co-opt the private sector in the mission to improve the living standards of the vulnerable, the underlying principle still resembles that which motivated New Labour. The rhetoric also contradicts messages coming from elsewhere in the Labour Party, especially from the Shadow Chancellor, who in previous months has argued that short-term stimulus is more important than immediate fiscal contraction.

Contracting-out the task of providing fairness and social justice to the private sector isn’t exactly what some on the left want to see Labour support. What is more distressing, however, is the lack of inventive policy positions or promising reforms that would get the electorate excited about a future Labour government.

This is where think-tanks like the Fabian Society step in. In the recent Fabian Review¸ society chair Andrew Harrop argued that Labour should move away from ‘short-term Keynesianism’ and Osbornomics alike by committing to spending, rather than prohibiting it, but only spending on investment and unemployment relief.  He also suggested that Labour could steal a march on the Coalition and reboot the economy with a stimulus programme based on short-term tax cuts. The promise of a fiscal stimulus that appeals to the electorate and outflanks the Right could put Ed’s name back in lights- provided he retains a commitment to strong infrastructure spending and the welfare state.

That last proviso is an important one. As Ed seeks to convey a clear message on what the Labour Party stands for and what policies it would implement, he has to be careful not to abandon the values and language of democratic socialism. He was right to state that “my Labour Party is not going to bow to the outdated idea that says that government cannot help”, and as the Left rallies for a new campaign against the misguided policies of the Coalition,  many look forward to hearing more about what a Miliband government would do to bolster the state’s ability to create a more progressive society.

Louie Woodall is Assistant Editor of the Young Fabians Blog

‘In the Black Labour’: A roadmap to defeat?

Louie Woodall responds to Stephen Boyle’s argument for a new economic strategy based on ‘fiscal conservatism’.

The question absorbing Labour leaders, activists, and think-tanks alike is how the party can earn back its economic credibility. Recently, a quartet of Labour thinkers published ‘In the Black Labour’ , which offers one answer to this question. However, the paper does little to advance a distinctive economic strategy that traditional voters and activists can relate to, and does even less to bolster Labour’s chances at the next election.

The fundamental problem with ‘In the Black Labour’ is that it does not provide the alternative narrative that an opposition is supposed to offer the electorate. The authors are essentially trying to sell the electorate the same product pedalled by the Coalition: austerity, a small state, and the fictitious ‘Big Society’.

By placing ‘fiscal conservatism’ at the heart of its strategy, ‘In the Black Labour’ cedes the moral argument on the economy to the Conservatives and attempts to move the party onto the Coalition’s turf. It is easy to see why this would be an attractive course to take in the current political climate. November polling revealed that some 30% of respondents still blame the debts racked up by the previous Labour government for the continued economic slump

However, it also revealed that 46% believe Osborne needs to slow the pace of austerity, and that 35% favour a programme of public works to create jobs. Labour needs to remember that by 2015, the Coalition will no longer be able to capitalise on the excuse that their failures originated in the actions of the previous government. Osborne would have had a full term to place the country on the road to economic recovery, something which many indicators suggest he is far from achieving. Telling the electorate that it favours the government’s strategy but disagrees on the tools to achieve it will make Labour look uninspired and shallow to the victims of the Coalition’s policies.

By promising rigid controls over future budgets, the authors miss the opportunity to excite the electorate with a positive vision of economic growth. It is difficult to convince people that by cutting the deficit, more jobs and higher wages will follow. Labour should instead promote a programme of public works, with a focus on housing and infrastructure, and continue to sponsor the ‘green industrial revolution’ promised in the last manifesto. The Coalition is making tentative steps in these areas, and Labour should steal a march on them by promising a much more extensive campaign. ‘Effective Keynesianism’ can be sold to the electorate without recourse to fiscal conservatism.

Labour should not shackle itself to the same ideology dictating the actions of the Conservatives by promoting macho fiscal discipline over the more desirable aim of a resurgent economy. It should not reject deficit spending outright just to win back the votes of the City. The very idea that any government could commit to producing a budget surplus within a fixed timescale- as suggested by the authors of this pamphlet- is ludicrous considering the volatility of national and international economies. Setting targets that cannot be realistically met is an own goal in politics- just look at Osborne’s current woes.

Labour is suffering a crisis of identity, and every centre-left thinker is casting around for a narrative it can adopt that fits with the party’s heritage, while accommodating the current economic reality we face. ‘In the Black Labour’ seeks to gain the party short-term popularity by copying the Coalition’s approach to the public finances and planting the red flag squarely in centre ground. The authors should remember that the centre ground is always in motion, and may be some way more to left by 2015 than it is now if Tory policies fail to achieve their objectives.

Louie Woodall is a member of the Young Fabians and Assistant Editor of the Young Fabians Blog

‘In the Black Labour’: A roadmap to victory?

Stephen Boyle assesses the relevance of ‘In The Black Labour’.

With the coalition showing signs of fraying and Vince Cable supposedly so furious at David Cameron’s “veto” that he considered resigning, the odds of the coalition lasting a full term has dropped considerably since Friday.

While Europe is currently dominating the agenda, any election in the near future will inevitably pivot towards the ailing domestic economy. Worryingly,  it is on economic ground that Labour most lack credibility with the electorate. Recent polling data from Lord Ashcroft and YouGov shows that despite people’s lack of confidence in the current government, they trust Labour even less to deal with the current economic climate.

Last week saw the publication of In the black Labour which aims to broach this gap. The authors’ proposed remedy is to marry fiscal conservativism with equality of opportunity.

I believe In the Black Labour points the right way for the party. Labour desperately needs a credible alternative to the coalition’s cuts. The five point plan is all well and good, but its emphasis on the “nice” side of dealing with slow or no growth, in terms of taxing bankers, investing in youth education and infrastructure must be coupled with a more open acceptance of the necessity for cuts. At the moment this message is failing to chime with an electorate that still views Labour as culpable for the current mess. In order to re-establish credibility we need to accept that we made mistakes in the past, and unambiguously commit ourselves to acting in a fiscally responsible way in the future.

As to the first point, we need to be more open to the fact that we made mistakes during our time in power. Look to the abolition of the 10p tax rate as one example. In his recent book, Alistair Darling makes clear the political and economic costs this disastrous policy caused. Being candid that we made mistakes in the past, owning them, and speaking about how we have learned lessons would go a long way to re-establish credibility. This should not be couched in the passive voice of “mistakes were made” as if they were agentless, floating in the ether, but rather owned by us. We made mistakes. We have learned from them.

After that message has had time to sink in, we can demonstrate our commitment to acting responsibly. That will mean setting clear and unambiguous targets for the levels of national debt and public expenditure. This means that we will have to look for new ways of achieving social justice with less money, a challenge to which the Fabian’s new year conference admirably rises.

By accepting the severity of the current situation we can build a message that draws on the values Labour epitomises and that are most appealing to voters. The current cuts disproportionately target the lowest paid workers and women. Labour’s message should be that we accept the need for cuts; we know that it is wrong to leave a legacy of debt for the next generation, but we will act in such a way as to spread the burden more fairly across society.

Those viewing the policy debate since Labour lost power must have felt like they were looking through a kaleidoscope as an array of colour-coded publications cascaded by. Blue, Purple and Red have all raised their standards in the ongoing battle to define the next generation of Labour policies. While many of the colours will no doubt fade over time I believe In the Black Labour should be at the heart of what the next Labour administration does.

It is time now to start planning for the reality that austerity will outlive the current parliament and last into the next. A Labour party that does not accept that reality and put it at the fore of their message risks being seen as the greater of two evils in comparison to a resolute and ideologically driven Tory administration.

Stephen Boyle is a member of the Young Fabians.

The Squeezed Middle: How To Build A Fairer Economy

In this member post, Jeevun Sandher – a member of the Young Fabian Renewing and Reforming our Economy Policy Commission - reflects on how Labour can build a fairer economy.

Most of us have a vague idea of what the “squeezed middle” is. However, a precise definition seems to elude many in the Labour movement. Understanding precisely who this group is and designing economic policy to promote their interests is the key to building a fairer economy.

To define the “squeezed middle” we could do much worse than to look at the work of the Resolution Foundation, an organisation working to improve the lives of people with low-to-middle incomes. For them, this group constitute about 11 million working adults who tend to earn less than the median income but are above the bottom ten percent in the income distribution.

In short, they are people who are neither too rich nor too poor. They are too wealthy to get substantial state support, but too poor to flourish in an open market economy. Increasing amounts of them are unable to buy homes, and struggle with household bills. More than half have less than one month’s income in savings and face comparatively higher rates of inflation (due to the basket of goods that they buy).

However, the real tragedy for the squeezed middle is that while the economy grew by 11 % between 2003 and 2008, the median wage remained static. At the same time, those on higher wages saw their pay packets increase and executive pay rose exponentially. The squeezed middle saw their living standards reduce at a time when the economy grew and productivity rose, giving the lie to the neo-liberal idea that people are paid their “marginal product” – that the wage chosen by the market is a fair wage.

This problem runs straight to the heart of Labour’s “fairness” strategy. By and large, these are people who work hard, do the right thing, but still struggle to stay afloat in an increasingly precarious economic climate. Meanwhile, CEO’s saw their pay rise dramatically in the decade before the financial crisis and bankers continue to take home multi-million pound bonuses.

The challenge for Labour at the next election is to construct a vision that rewards hard work and shapes a free and fair economy. There is no silver bullet, however. What is needed is a raft of policies to build an economy in which all gain when there is growth.

To begin with, those in the squeezed middle tend to be those with low-to-medium level skills. Any economic strategy must be focused first on investment in education, in order to build up human capital. Given the increasing returns to education we have seen in the past 30 years, this is just common sense.

However, it is important to note that this does not merely mean reducing tuition fees. As a recent IFS study has pointed out, those with similar A-level grades tend to go to university in the same proportion but it is much less likely that the poorest students will get the top A-level grades. Earlier intervention is key (e.g. Sure Start, the pupil premium etc.) to promoting social mobility and building people’s skills.

But this should just be the beginning. For too long Labour has accepted the Thatcherite free market consensus as gospel, and only aimed to tweak it at the edges to help those on low to middle incomes with measures such as tax credits and lower basic tax rates.

It is time to consider and undertake more radical measures. We must design policies which create better corporate governance structures as well as more accountability and transparency surrounding pay in the private sector. Only then can we ensure that all people will share in the proceeds of growth and be paid a fair wage. Hopefully, with these goals in mind we can create a compelling economic vision that helps us win the next election.

Jeevun Sandher is a member of the Young Fabian Reforming and Renewing our Economy Policy Commission.

Inside conference

Liverpool is lovely. The Labour Party should be planning another conference in Liverpool again, very soon. Everywhere people have been talking more about how welcoming, friendly and revitalising the city has been. It has even provided ample opportunities for delegates and members to escape politics for a little cultural respite.

That’s not to say that the mood amongst the crowd isn’t febrile. We’re only half way through this year’s conference but it is clear that people are chomping the bit to discuss and debate the issues. This afternoon’s speech from Ed Miliband therefore has a high conference threshold to reach.

The pre-briefing points to a leader’s speech of big themes and populist rhetoric, which should play fairly well to the TV masses. But Miliband will no doubt find a more challenging audience in the conference hall.

Just take the debate at this morning’s Young Fabian fringe. Politicians should not discount the appetite for discussing our “squeezed youth” agenda and the challenges facing the next generation, it is obviously huge when an 8am fringe leads to an almost full room.

And, importantly, people are not content with just listening, they want proper dialogue.

I’m not sure what Andy Slaughter or John Woodcock were expecting but they were soon faced with a full on and vibrant debate covering the full gamut of issues our Next Generation policy development group has been looking at.

What is clear is that Labour’s policy development process needs to be geared towards continual engagement with people on these issues, consciously reassessing whether their thinking answers the concerns and hopes of the people we hope policies will affect. As John Woodcock put it, moving beyond “cut and paste policy”.

Maybe that’s not where the leadership is just now but there’s a feeling they need to show they are on that journey. Despite the need for the big picture, which Miliband’s senior advisor Lord Wood made a cogent argument for at our Institute for Government event before conference, we know that the public also wants to be convinced that we can deliver. They also want to see a credible route for the high aspirations we are espousing. On everything – from our response to the Big Society, our ideas about mobilising communities and creating a living, breathing industrial base that can lead us to growth – people want to know how we might get there and what it will mean for them in practice.

That points to more incrementalist policies in some areas and more action from Labour-led local government.

Finally there is a sense that Government cannot do it all; while state-led policy is a necessity, the state needs to find its groove as a mobilising force for business, communities and ordinary people want to lead better lives for themselves and their families.

Vincenzo Rampulla is Officer without Portfolio for the Young Fabians.

Introducing our 2011 Policy Commissions

The Young Fabians will soon be launching four Policy Commissions. Our Policy Commissions form the backbone of our policy work and since their inception they have increasingly become strong access points for our members into the policy making process of the Labour Party.

This year we launch the Commissions at a crucial time for Labour. With a thorough examination of party policy under the stewardship of Liam Byrne MP, there is a timely opportunity for our members to take a firm grasp of the chance to offer Labour our ideas on the party’s policy renewal. The process we are undertaking will be a vehicle for our members to develop their ideas and test their suggestions which we will offer into Liam’s Fresh Ideas policy review.

Over the coming months, four Young Fabian members will lead informed debates and discussions, open to all Labour supporters which will result in our submission to Labour’s Policy Review and a Young Fabian Pamphlet setting out our ideas for Labour’s future policy offer.

Our four commissions will look at:

1. Renewing and Reforming Our Economy – Maneesh Sharma and Graeme Henderson

The task of this group will be to investigate the path Labour should take to build a more sustainably prosperous economic settlement for Britain. It will investigate the need for an active industrial strategy, the fairness divide in our economy, job creation and productivity. It also will look towards opportunities in the green economy and in new and emerging markets as well as looking to incentives for business to break out of the ‘low pay low skill’ cycle.

2. Building Stronger Communities - Richard Angell and Anas Sarwar MP

This group will look at the strength and resilience of British community life in the modern world. It will investigate how families across the country are working harder for longer for less. The consequence of this for family life and community activism will be explored. It will also look at the challenge of how communities are empowered into the political process so that citizens become stakeholders in their communities and in national life.

3. Securing the Future of the Next Generation – Joani Reid

Ed Miliband has stated that “the British Promise, that the next generation would always do better than the last, is now under threat like never before.” The key challenge of this Commission will be to investigate how young Britain is coping with the consequences of government fiscal retrenchment. Facing debt, a difficult labour market and a challenging housing market, the next generation of Britain is under huge pressure. This commission will look at how Labour should respond to the challenges facing the next generation.

4. Labour and the World – Debbie Moss

Foreign affairs is at transformative moment and this group will explore Labour’s role in the World. It will span aid policy in a time of austerity, to security in the context of defence cuts and the criteria for military intervention in fragile states and the balance between domestic security and external stability. Labour in the World will look at Britain’s relationships to other states and institutions and how we form an ethical foreign policy and learn lessons from past conflicts.

Young Fabian members have much to offer these four big policy areas.

Please sign up to join our Policy Commissions and join in the debate about Labour’s future policy offer.

Together we look forward to offering the Labour Party a series of new, fresh and robust ideas.

Brian Duggan is Young Fabian Policy Officer.

Two pints of Fabiansim and a packet of crisps

It has been an interesting few months for the Fabian Society. Since Ed Miliband’s speech at New Year Conference and Maurice Glasman’s challenging contribution to the Young Fabian lunchtime session at the same event, Blue Labour has entered the Labour thinker’s lexicon for 2011, and often inaccurately set up Fabianism as its polar opposite. The debate continues over on Next Left today.

It was amusing then to see Labour’s leader use an old friend as a shield for questions about his plans for departure from bachelorhood – his stag party “won’t be two Fabian Society lectures and half a pint of beer”. Is Fabianism really the worst thing imaginable in the Westminster bubble and beyond?

If so, perhaps it is time to inject some dynamism into the society?

The second half of the year will see a new general secretary appointed to lead the organisation – and a great opportunity to show Ed Miliband why he needs an active and exciting Fabian Society. Naturally, there is plenty to build on: the leadership of the Fabians will be handed over with record levels of membership; a fantastic body of thinkers and doers in its youth wing (but as Chair of the Young Fabians I would say that wouldn’t I?); some tremendous local groups; and a history of significant interventions. Packed out events like this weekend’s Progressive Fightback conference (final few tickets here) show that the wider left wants the sort of discussion and debate that the Fabians facilitate. This is an organisation with a lot of potential for someone to take on.

So what’s the dynamism needed then?

The two things I took on board most strongly from the delegation I led to the Obama campaign in 2008 were the importance of people, and the holy grail of strategy. These principles make a good start.

The Fabian Society holds a unique position as both a think tank and membership organisation with democracy at its heart. The membership is a strength. The society can grow in size and influence by capitalising on its members talents. A small, hardworking staff with smaller than desired budgets could be supported by the people who sign up year after year and call themselves Fabians. These people are already contributing to the Fabian Women’s Network, numerous local societies, and of course the Young Fabians – but I’m sure even more members have even more to offer if empowered to contribute. Be it to greater policy debate as the critical friend of Labour, or having those difficult conversations the party steers clear of. Be it with abilities from their professional lives, as web designers, writers, industry experts, and fundraisers. Or be it liaising with local Labour parties and progressive campaigns. We should seek to grow the membership in numbers, but grow them also as individuals, developing their contribution to the movement.

The new leader of the Fabians will have new ideas. But they must bring the people on the journey with them. How? Tell them what you’re trying to achieve and facilitate their involvement in it. Get your strategy right, and stick to it. (David Plouffe’s The Audacity to Win is the key read here.) The Young Fabian executive committee has four strategic priorities (to increase membership, member involvement, funds and influence). This is public. The difficult decisions we make as a voluntary executive are taken through this gauge. And members are helping us – the Membership Ambassadors identified and supported by my colleague Anna-Joy Rickard, for example.

If the Fabian goal is to provide Ed with the ideas he needs to win a general election and improve the lives being damaged by this government’s actions, then a strategy in place to achieve that will be a crucial part of the new general secretary’s role. If the membership is contributing its maximum to this, I have every reason to think we can be successful.

If not, there’s always a night in with Ed and Justine …

• Submit your thoughts on the Future of the Fabians by clicking here.

Adrian Prandle is Chair of the Young Fabians.

The Future of the Fabians: 3 suggestions

Fabianism is older than the Labour Party. Its tradition stems back before the Labour Representation Committee, before Keir Hardie and before version one of Clause 4. And yet Fabianism was crucial to every Labour government since it formed the party and must still be crucial to contributing to the formation of the next Labour government.

Sunder Katwala moves on from his service to the society and leaves it at time of renewal across the Labour Party. The Fabians and the Labour Party will both have new General Secretaries in 2011 and both individuals will have the challenges of making their organisations adapt to opposition.

Young Fabians and Young Labour members should rise to this moment and to Ed Miliband’s assertion that a new generation has taken over the party. In 2010 over 190 of the Society’s 320 new members were Young Fabians.

So here are three suggestions I would offer to the new Fabian General Secretary as an active member of the Young Fabians:

1. Membership is more than paying your subs

The Young Fabians pride ourselves on being an inclusive organisation, where being a member means more than receiving a magazine and pamphlet in the post each month and going to conferences. Young Fabian members are encouraged to attend social events, contribute to policy commissions, join in online debates, write for our blog and for our magazine. We strive to make our members feel part of an organisation of like minded young people that they have ownership of and a space where they can debate and offer ideas. There is more the senior society can do to foster a sense that Fabians are part of a tradition, a community, a movement, where their ideas are valued and contribute to the future of the Labour party.

2. Campaigning is an important part of politics

Whilst we’re unashamed of being part of “pamphlet labour” and talking policy is our usp, the Young Fabians have a great tradition of being young campaigners as well as young thinkers. For local, general, European elections and even the US and Swedish General Elections, the Young Fabians have hit the #labourdoorstep and given the shoe leather needed to win elections for Labour candidates. There is a time for pamphlets and a time for action and the Young Fabians are as proud of our canvassing as of our policy and research. Without campaigning, Labour candidates would never get elected and our policies would stay in pamphlet books rather than getting on to the statue book.

3. Politics happens outside London

After some deserved criticism and a lot of hard work, the Young Fabians have made huge strides at improving our reach outside of London. The key lesson we learned, wasn’t to mandate a largely London based Executive to travel up and down the country running meetings. It was to learn that empowering non-London based members to run events with advice and guidance was more productive and brought better results. We still have further to go on this but there is much to be gained from empowering Fabians to run their activities, with relevant support, wherever they are. The new General Secretary should build and develop the Fabian local societies, encouraging them to become active parts of the Labour party in the regions and areas they work.

I’m sure there are more ideas that other Young Fabians would like to add to the debate about the future of the Fabians. Please join the debate and submit your contribution here.

Brian Duggan is Policy Officer for the Young Fabians.

Is Maurice Glasman more radical than the nation’s youth?

God knows if the House of Lords is ready for Dr Maurice Glasman. The newly-ennobled community organiser/academic/guru left the Fabian Conference on Saturday entertained by his brilliance and agitated by his bluntness in equal measure. None more so than the Young Fabians who had invited him to be part of the lunchtime panel discussion looking at the “Squeezed Youth”.

The clunkiness of the term mirrors the fact that 11 million-plus 15-30 year olds in the UK don’t fit into any neat political box. So whilst the left’s political narrative focuses on the vague, yet compelling idea of the “squeezed middle”, it is the ‘lost generation’ being squeezed the hardest and left with the long-term bill for the future.

Take youth unemployment. According to the Centre of Economic and Social Inclusion, long-term youth unemployment grew by 22,000 last month and now stands 4.5 per cent. That is more than the adult figure.

Yet the Future Jobs Fund has been cut with no substitute being proposed. In housing, too, the Government will cut housing benefit for single young people under 35 by an extra £215 million each year, entitling them to only shared accommodation – because young people are expected to live in shared accommodation.

The idea was simple: ask young people to what they they feel ‘squeezed’ about and let them use their own voice. Lo-fi video-editing aside, the voices in the video were honest and real:

YouTube Direkt

Jobs, housing, transport, workplace representation – the video responses show young people care deeply about more things than they get credit for. Young people like 19-year-old Richard Serunjogi are not interested in just being limited to talking about ‘youth issues’. On Saturday, his emphasis was that young people have a stake in all the decisions being taken to shape Britain’s future, since that future is the one young people will eventually be responsible for.

So the lunchtime session at the conference was billed as exploring how Labour can reconnect with the young people behind these voices.

That was until Dr Glasman turned up. The largest round of applause during the session followed Glasman’s appeal against the “dispiriting, meaningless, interminable atmosphere” that follows many Labour party meetings, like the one he was currently sitting in. He remarked that the panel discussion managed to invoke old memories of a young Maurice-the-academic attending a conference in the Soviet Union. Brutally this was exactly the kind of meeting that community organising tells you not to have.

The worst thing: Maurice has a point.

As Jessica Studdert, who wrote a chapter on Labour party reform in last year’s Young Fabian pamphlet ‘The New Generation’, acknowledged engagement in Labour was often “in spite of, not because of” the way many local Labour parties involve young people. Yet new MPs, like Rushanara Ali, already know the importance of a more open engagement with young people. She emphasised that Labour MPs and the party as a whole needs to change the way it tries to interact with young people.

So young people leaving that session were left pondering: how did we allow ourselves to become less radical than Maurice?

This post was originally posted at Leftfootforward.

The New Generation: how can we transform the Labour Party?

Chair of the ‘Transforming our Party’ Young Fabian Policy Development Group, Jessica Studdert, outlines the arguments she makes in her chapter in the just published Young Fabian pamphlet, The New Generation. We are very keen to hear what you think of the pamphlet – please let us know your thoughts by posting a comment. This is the second in a series of posts from the authors of ‘The New Generation’, which you can read by clicking here.

The election of a new Leader with a clear mission to set a new direction, for a new generation, gives everyone in the Labour Party the opportunity to consider how we operate and interact with each other and with our communities. 

As progressives, we are by our nature in a rush to get things done. We have a sense of mission and urgency, and we always strive for more. This is as it should be, but increasingly in the recent past our mission has been led and defined by an overweening centralised electoral machine, one that has taken us far from where we started as a political party that was an organic expression of the Labour movement’s values. 

The entire institutional dynamic of the Labour Party is best characterised as that of a marketing-professional company. Communication with the electorate focusses on extracting data and then pummelling people with information. The central party retains tight control over campaign method and message delivery, and defines only narrow measures of effectiveness such as voter ID volumes. 

The last election witnessed the limits of this approach. Now Labour must effect a cultural shift that allows us to become a community-embedded movement party. Since Obama surged to victory in the US two years ago, this concept has become very in vogue in Labour circles, but too often it is a tag applied to the old way of doing things and rendered meaningless.

We need to rediscover a relational sense of politics, that recognises and rewards interaction and dialogue with members, supporters and the public. Put simply, we need to turn identification and broadcast off, and turn conversation and reciprocity on. The top-down structure of our party needs to be turned on its head so that the focus of central party and regional office activity is capacity building locally. 

CLPs need to be given the freedom, and where needed the support, to develop a culture and practice of constant campaigning, building and sustaining links with the wider community. CLPs who recruit supporters, build relationships and develop networks of interest locally should be rewarded with more money, more independence, and greater weight in the policymaking process. 

CLPs should be supported to become effective campaigning organisations. Job descriptions for each officer post would enable individuals to understand what is expected of them and allow members to hold them to account. Term limits for officers of 2-3 years would better develop the talents and skills of those who hold positions and allow more opportunity to progress. Training and advice, peer support and shadowing opportunities, would help individuals develop their CLPs and realise their potential locally. 

The new Leader should consider initiating a strategic review of the Labour Party which would consider the functions and effectiveness of the party at all levels, and how they interact with each other – branch, CLP, regional, national, the PLP and the Leader’s office. This process could also analyse trade unions, affiliates and successful movement-based organisations such as Hope Not Hate to identify strengths, greater potential for coordination locally and to build capacity. 

The Labour Party can only ever prosper when it is an expression of a vibrant, diverse and active base that has high levels of visibility, trust and interaction with our communities, providing a channel through which individuals can express their values and a link between the leadership and the electorate.

This post originally appeared on LabourList.