Fighting to win

Last Thursday evening saw a passionate, proud, optimistic and determined debate at the Young Fabian seminar ‘Why Labour can win – and why the country need a centre-left government’. The Independent’s chief political commentator, Steve Richards,  chaired a panel of four Labour PPCs – Stella Creasy, Rachel Reeves, Stephen Twigg, and Chris Ostrowski – and some excellent contributions from Young Fabians in the audience.

Stephen Twigg summed up the context well in pointing out that it is “a bit depressing when you’re celebrating being back at 30%” (in the recent Populus poll) – but the panel set out the reasons to be cheerful and what is needed to take Labour to victory and the next stage of delivering better lives for everyone in the country. We heard about what was good – the visibility and effectiveness of Police Community Support Officers in Leeds West and how there, the commitment to investment in apprenticeships was resonating. And we heard what was worth fighting for: work-life balance, diplomas, social care, the cancer pledge amongst much more. Stella Creasy told us why she believed social mobility would come only with a Labour government, “I’m hungry, I’m impatient. I don’t want to tell kids, hang around; things’ll probably get better at some point and you’ll be able to go to uni. I want to get stuck in.”

The expenses issue framed much of the debate, and Stephen Twigg talked separately and connectedly about the need for honesty – in a balanced assessment of the last twelve years, and in an honest contrast with the Tories. (You can read here what I said earlier in the year about our politics being honest, moral and consistent.) Stella Creasy suggested that London had got off lightly with Boris Johnson in comparison to David Cameron and his ‘inert political philosophy’ whilst the audience debated whether Labour should be talking in terms of itself or in terms of the Conservative opposition.

But three things stood out; a challenge, a debateable premise, and a way of engaging. In reverse order:

1 – Stella Creasy set out the case that it was issues and not party labelling that will win Labour the election. She suggested that it was not about ‘Are you Labour?’ but about progressive politics and the things people care about, be it climate change, the local cinema or Walthamstow Dog’s Track. Rather than being about finding the Labour people who are out there and turning them out come polling day, she advocated building relationships over time. Those who are familiar with the work myself and the Young Fabians have done since our delegation to the Obama campaign in Ohio, will know that I am very supportive of such an approach and am clear that this is a step change from how much of the Labour Party currently interacts with people.

2 – Stephen Twigg argued that one among many reasons for politicians to ‘get it’ on political reform and change, was that young people now are less partisan than in the past. Is this true, and if so, how do we change the way we organise campaigns and engage with the young public?

3 – Steve Richards set the challenge of compressing succinctly in a short phrase what Labour stands for now. He contrasted the difficulty of doing this with Tony Blair’s formation in 1996: trust us now, we’ve changed. I’m torn on the utility of this. Necessary for the national media and core message. But on a local level, I think that what can be most effective is empowering campaigners to come up with their own formations that they can be passionate about, rather than relying on a ‘party line’, to build those relationships with the people they meet.

On the latter, the suggestions that came from the panel were: ‘courage in the face of challenges’; ‘building a stronger, fairer economy’; and ‘for the many, not the few’ (as it captures both fairness and empowerment).

Where do you stand on these three issues? We can be optimistic about going into the general election and we should be passionate about why a Labour government is essential. But resolving such issues as these will help us get there.

Adrian Prandle, International Officer

New Pamphlet from the Candidates Network: Join the Debate

The new pamphlet from the Young Fabians Candidates Network continues to gain momentum around the Labour blogosphere. On Progress online today Emma Reynolds, PPC for Wolverhampton North East, writes about her views on gender equality and makes the case that to live in a more equal society, mothers and fathers should have the choice of equally sharing parental leave. It’s a position that I strongly support. As Emma rightly says, the dramatic difference between maternity and paternity leave entitlement has resulted in far too many employers viewing women of child bearing age as a risk to their business. By sharing parental leave, we could challenge that view and break through the glass ceiling that continues to hamper the potential of half our country’s work force.

Young Fabians PPC Week: Join the Debate

James Green is Labour Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Cheltenham and the Young Fabians Candidates Network Officer. Check out the new Young Fabians Candidates Network pamphlet here.

Why Labour can win and why the country need a centre-left government

The Sun’s decision to withdraw its support for Labour was designed to cause maximum damage. Timed to coincide with the Leaders Speech, it’s fair to say that the headline was written long before Brown took to the podium. However, what was most interesting about the Sun’s coverage was what it didn’t say rather than what it did. “Labour’s Lost It” was far from the ringing endorsement that Cameron might have hoped for – a far cry from the beaming smile and “The Sun Backs Blair” headline of 1997.

There’s no getting away from the fact that it’s a tough time for Labour. However, what the Sun’s headline reflects is that the political sands haven’t shifted to the Tories quite yet. People are leaving Labour not because the Tories offer a better option, but because they feel disempowered by a political system that feels out of breath and out of touch. As the governing Party Labour will get the brunt of that disaffection. However, as the governing party we are best placed to do something about it.

That’s why we need a centre-left government. Labour can still win the next election because the big challenges we face can only be tackled through progressive means. Reengaging the public, giving people greater power over the issues that affect their lives, cannot be achieved simply by rolling back the frontiers of the state. What’s required is a new type of politics in which the state plays an empowering role – a point that was made by a number of Young Fabian members at last night’s PPC debate. David Chaplin and Adrian Prandle from the Young Fabian Exec, are right that Young PPCs have an important role to play in that process.

Throughout this week young PPCs have been sharing their ideas for the future. We’ve published a pamphlet, held an important debate and hosted a number of guest contributions from young PPCs on the Young Fabians blog. The Young Fabians first ‘PPC Week’ has confirmed that, despite what the Sun may say, progressive politics is alive and well and ready to take the fight to the Tories.

New Pamphlet from the Candidates Network: Join the Debate

The new pamphlet from the Young Fabians Candidates Network is gaining momentum around the Labour blogosphere. Rachel Reeves from Leeds West has written about it on Labour List today and I have posted an article about it on Open Left.

With more articles to come in the coming weeks, we want to hear your views.

New Pamphlet from the Young Fabians Candidates Network

After twelve years of Labour government, at a critical moment for progressive politics, we have invited twelve of Labour’s young Prospective Parliamentary Candidates to share their vision for the future.

It will be the next generation of Labour politicians that will need to develop new solutions to meet the challenges of changed times. Our new pamphlet aims to spark debate about the future direction of progressive politics.

Download your copy of The New Progressives: Voices of Labour’s Future here

Contributions from Prospective Parliamentary Candidates from across the country cover a wide range of issues, reflecting the wealth of ideas within progressive politics. For some like Rachel Reeves, PPC for Leeds West, an international outlook is key, whilst Emma Reynolds, PPC for Wolverhampton North East, focuses on gender equality, an issue much closer to home. Chris Ostrowski, who fought the Norwich North by-election, argues that people demand a greater sense of ‘fair play’, whilst Alan Strickland, PPC for Berwick-upon-Tweed, makes the case that the public want a more liberal state.

We want to hear your views. Have your say on the Young Fabians blog.

Since being set up earlier this year the Young Fabians Candidates Network has gone from strength to strength and is now supported by PPCs from across the country. If you are a young PPC and would like to join the network please contact James Green

Young Fabians PPC Week: Join the Debate

Rebecca Rennison is Labour PPC for South West Wiltshire and Secretary of the Young Fabians.

Why Labour can win and why the country needs a centre-left government

I recently heard a Conservative describe the Labour Party as “ideologically bankrupt”. The reality is far from this. Our challenge lies not in the generation of ideas but in the expression of them. Of all the leaders speeches this Conference season David Cameron’s stood out the most. Not for the content, nor for the oratory, but for the clear message that went with it. Cameron’s speech made it clear that his was the party of small government, keen to “roll back the state” and place the emphasis on the individual rather than the collective. It was a clear rallying cry for the party faithful whilst tempered with messaging that would have wide appeal.

Labour is still the party of ideas but we need to do more to explain why our policies are Labour, to draw a clear dividing line between us and the Conservatives. We’ll win by talking about who we are why for us it’s not good enough to leave the education you get or the healthcare you receive up to chance, that the state has a role to play in ensuring that wherever you are in the country, whatever your income, you have real opportunities to fulfil your potential. Let’s not get caught up in talk of “cuts now” v “cuts later”, let’s be brave enough to talk about why we think that Government has an important role to play, why taxes matter and what public spending has achieved so far and would continue to achieve under Labour.

In short, to win the next election Labour needs to step out of the shadows and explain that whilst the Conservatives may claim to share the same goals as us, their way leaves much to chance and has few guaranteed outcomes, it is our way that will make a real difference.

Young Fabians PPC Week: Join the Debate

David Boot is Labour Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Mid Sussex.

Why Labour can win and why the country needs a centre-left government

We’ve all heard the hype regarding the next general election:  ‘this will be the most important election since 1979’, we’re told. For once, believe the hype. This election offers the starkest choice to the electorate in a generation; between a Conservative Party licking its lips at the thought of spending cuts and a Labour Party that strives, despite the odds, to invest in the country’s future; between a party suspicious of the role of the state and one that wants to use it to build a progressive and fairer country; and between a party that baulks at the concept of greater equality to one that has it at its heart.

It is clear why Labour must win, but can we? The answer, unsurprisingly from a Labour PPC, is yes. The electorate has not yet fallen for David Cameron and his followers; the volatility of polls show that their lead is fragile and not yet ingrained. Indeed, it could be said that we are in an anti-Labour rather than a pro-Tory period after twelve years of the same party in power. The economic crisis has cracked the Cameronian veneer, revealing the Thatcherite beneath. Nice becomes nasty as the party takes on a darker shade of blue. The chasm between the two parties is Labour’s opportunity to press its progressive cause, wearing the badge of equality firmly on its sleeve.

On the door-step, Labour must argue for progressive, positive politics. We have a proud past but an even prouder future.

Young Fabians PPC Week: Join the Debate

Gareth Gould is Labour Prospective Parliamentary Candidate (PPC) for South Holland and the Deepings.

Why Labour can win and why the country needs a centre-left government

For us progressives, there was never any doubt that the path to true freedom and social justice involves an interventionist role for the enabling state.

In Victorian times, municipal government expanded because people realised that individuals by themselves could not build sewage systems or other major public works for the industrialised cities. It was the common experiences of the Great Depression and World War Two which led to the creation of the welfare state. In 1997, New Labour was given an overwhelming mandate to introduce a national minimum wage and New Deal. And now amidst the current downturn, Labour is not walking by on the other side – in marked contrast with the last Tory Government.

The Conservatives, however, have chosen to draw the wrong lessons from the recession – as Gordon Brown said, they have called wrong on the key issue of the day. Butler and Macmillan may have embraced a more active welfare state, but no-one could claim they were socialists; by contrast David Cameron, despite cloaking himself in the soft wool of compassionate Conservatism as some kind of ‘heir to Blair’, has reverted to wolf-like Thatcherite type. For the Conservatives revel in what they regard as a pretext posed by the recession for slash & burn – ‘shock & awe’ – cuts in public services that would make any 1950s One Nation Tory turn in their grave!

Labour should be heartened that the battle lines for the General Election have been drawn by Cameron’s ruthless assault on the role of the state in his Manchester speech, with the Liberal Democrats merely crowing that Osborne’s austerity package is “Lib Dem-lite”.

We should have the confidence of our convictions – “that by the strength of our common endeavour we achieve more than we achieve alone” – on the basis of our record since 1997, and our future offer to the electorate in tackling the big long-term challenges of job creation, climate change, energy security, and care for the elderly.

It is when we demonstrate to voters that pressing need for a centre-left government that Labour can then win that truly historic fourth term.

Young Fabians PPC Week: Join the Debate

Darren Jones is the Labour Prospective Parliamentary Candidate (PPC) for Torridge and West Devon. An active member of the Young Fabians Candidates Network, he is the youngest PPC in the South West at the age of 22.

Why Labour can win and why the country needs a centre-left government

Although she was drowned out by a rather annoying Ian Hislop, Yvetter Cooper made the point I’m going to make today quite clearly during her stint on BBCs Question Time. The difference between the Labour Party and the Conservative Party is with whom their priorities lay.

The Labour Party will work, above and beyond, to buffer the effects of the global recession whilst investing in order to protect and increase opportunity and equality, in this country and co-operatively in a progressive Europe and international community.

The Conservative Party will cut public spending regardless, protect the wealthy and business and retract our influence within Europe and the wider world.

It’s as simple as that.

I know it and I know that you know it, but this is where it gets confusing.

For if we glance at the output from the media – dare I say it, the Sun included – it appears the Conservative Party actually cares about the majority of the people in this country. More confusing still, they seem to think they do, but their policy doesn’t reflect it. I thought I was dreaming when I heard George ‘oops where’s that £3bn gone’ Osborne say “if you want a party of progressive reform and not a party of front line cuts, vote for the Conservative Party” What?!?! The Conservative Party the party of progressive reform – surely that’s an oxymoron!

The one thing that all of this makes clear, to me at least, is that whilst the Conservative Party might be in the lead in the polls their lead is a shallow one. A shallow one in values, a shallow one in policy and a shallow one in reality. Let’s make sure we get out there, tell people this simple message and try our damndest to make sure our great country doesn’t go to pot at the next election.

Young Fabians PPC Week: 12th – 16th October

To mark the end of conference season and the beginning of the final Parliamentary term before the General Election, the Young Fabians have organised the first ever Young Fabians’ PPC week. With the launch of a publication from the Young Fabians’ Candidates Network as well as a major PPC debate, this week aims to provide Young Fabian members with the opportunity to share their ideas with the politicians of the future.

Throughout the week young PPCs from the Young Fabians Candidates Network will be sharing their views about the challenges ahead on the Young Fabians blog. They have been invited to discuss ‘why Labour can win and why the country needs a centre-left government’. We want to hear your views. Join the debate with Labour’s politicians of the future.