When one looks back at the early origins of the British Labour Party, it’s easy to see why there was a need for an organisation to represent those issues relevant to the Trades Unions and the increasing number of “working classes” in a growing industrial nation. The late 1800’s early 1900’s saw the emergence of a variety of socialist parties, the most successful of which (an association rather than a party proper), the Labour Representation Committee, won 29 seats in the election of 1906; shortly thereafter they adopted the shorter title of “The Labour Party”.
From 1906 The Labour Party made steady gains through 1910 and by 1922 with 142 seats became the official opposition for the first time, thanks in part to the turmoil in the Liberal Party but also because of its support for, and sponsorship by the Trades Unions and its unflinching representation of the working classes, establishing itself, from then on, as a major force in British politics.
Traditionally Labour positioned itself as a “socialist” party and still claims socialist affiliations as part of Socialist International, and the Party of European Socialists and traditionally its policies reflected this philosophy. Their (historical) socialist credentials can be seen in no better illustration than the post war Government of Clem Attlee who presided over one of the most radical administrations in the history of modern British politics. It was under the stewardship of Attlee that many major industries and utilities were nationalised, the welfare state was created, the NHS was created and the process of dismantling the British Empire proceeded in earnest.
Following a period of lost favour amongst the electorate and a prolonged stint in opposition, the government of Harold Wilson continued somewhat in the footsteps of Attlee with considerable social reforms including the legalisation of abortion and homosexuality, a large expansion in the provision of comprehensive education and the creation of the Open University.
During the “Thatcher Years” Labour was ravaged by in-fighting and experienced a prolonged period of savaging both by the Conservative Party and the Press and ran a real risk of becoming an irrelevant, laughing stock within the British Political landscape.
When Tony Blair literally broke the mould and re-wrote clause IV from: "To secure for the workers by hand or by brain the full fruits of their industry and the most equitable distribution thereof that may be possible upon the basis of the common ownership of the means of production, distribution and exchange, and the best obtainable system of popular administration and control of each industry or service."
to
"The Labour Party is a democratic socialist party. It believes that by the strength of our common endeavour we achieve more than we achieve alone, so as to create for each of us the means to realise our true potential and for all of us a community in which power, wealth and opportunity are in the hands of the many, not the few, where the rights we enjoy reflect the duties we owe, and where we live together, freely, in a spirit of solidarity, tolerance and respect." He and his party were set on a path against traditional Labour values and philosophies and those who held them and indeed the values of socialism itself.
This fact was compounded by the adoption of a “Third Way” political position, adopted in part to help the now “New Labour” to appeal to those mythical swing voters in a place known only to politicians and pollsters as “Middle England”.
However, the adoption of such a “Third Way” only served to push the Nu-Lab elite further away from their party’s working class, trade unionist and socialist roots. Indeed “Old Labour” became a phrase that dripped off the tongues of the Islington coffee house set, to mean; out of touch, throwback, reactionary, not one of us and of course we all know, if you aren’t with us...
“Old Labour” as perjorative then, like the term “Liberal” in American political parlance, as if the core values of socialism (regardless of what one may think of socialism as a political philosophy); equality, fairness, egalitarianism, the lifting up of the working classes, out of poverty, out of the grasp of the unscrupulous, were now somehow quaint notions at best and redundant fantasies at worst. As if now, with Cap’n Blair at the helm of the good ship Nu-Lab with his trusty crew of Blairite cronies (Blears, Milburn, Mandelson et al) that somehow the working classes would be so capricious as to turn their backs on their roots as well, and if they didn’t? Tough! Where else would they go… to the Tories??
The adoption of pure Thatcherite policies, especially in regard to Union Legislation, a laissez-faire attitude to, in particular “The City” and all it stood for (traditionally everything Labour didn’t) and an embrace of the private over the public all caused Labour to serially haemmorage MPs, Councillors and MEPs, through a disatrous set of General, local and European elections losing supporters and members in their droves along the way.
So just what does a Labour Party, under the leadership of Gordon Brown, actually stand for? Well to be honest, nothing much different from a Labour Party under Tony Blair, one of the great myths of modern British politics is that the rifts between Brown and Blair were somehow of great substance, set in some ideological and philosophical debate…Rubbish…Blair and Brown are cut from the same cloth, and the only rift was about who said what at Granita.
But it’s pretty difficult to tell precisely what they stand for, after having spent some considerable time on their website I found loads of ways to donate or to fundraise, but not one obvious, direct link to any document which lays out an encapsulated philosophy for the Party, and as they are the Party in Government, the Country. There wasn’t even a link to the Constitution. Oh… loads of policy documents and associated wonkery of course but nowhere that says “Hi voter, we are the Labour party and this is why you should love us”. Unless of course it’s hidden behind the “Hi visitor, give us £15” button.
It is clear that in pursuit of “Middle England” the modern Labour Party has, by and large, turned its back on its core, traditional voters just as it has turned its back on its core traditional values and philosophies. No longer a socialist party, it is, at best a social-democratic party and at worst a centre-right affiliation of disaffected, disillusioned old has-beens, and the silenced left, clinging on to the very last vestiges of power by their broken and bloodied finger-tips.
Labour has lost power in Scotland and is only in power in the Welsh Assembly by virtue of a begrudging pact with Plaid Cymru. “Middle England” seems to have woken up and realised that Tony Blair really was the Emporers New Clothes in human form and that the usurper Brown has nothing to say that anyone any longer wants to hear. Their message the same, the only difference the delivery. Blair was like listening to oil being poured through oil, it was strange, it was mesmeric, you knew you were being conned, you knew you were being sold a pup but somehow, you just couldn’t turn away. Brown’s approach is more like being battered over the head by a 5 year old Dundee Cake with him grinning at you in all the most inappropriate moments while he does it. And no Gordon, it isnt appropriate to grin like a demented bull frog when you are talking about swine flu, really it isnt, despite what your Human Behavioural consultant (Grin Doctor?) may have told you.
His recent performances; over the economy, “No, wasn’t me Guv, nowhere near it, it just fell and broke, OOOH LOOK OVER THERE its Fred the Shred!!” The environment (airport expansion is now GREEN?? HELLO… Carbon capture and storage doesn’t actually exist yet!), child poverty (targets to be missed, spectacularly), immigration, the Gurkhas, MP’s expenses, youtube, 42 days, booze Britain, the disappearing pub, surveillance Britain, ID cards, civil liberties, a budget that could have been written by Hans Christian Andersen and so on…all lamentable Hazel, yes.
On MPs expenses, and the communications allowance it was telling that during PMQs it was David Cameron who chimed more with the public mood, it was David Cameron who had the ideas, who set the agenda, it was David Cameron who got it and who wanted to sort it, now… and had the answers as to how.
Gordon Brown wanted to set up a committee…
Sadly for wee Gordy it’s the Conservatives who are leading the way, not only in the polls but in people’s minds too on a range of issues from the environment to defence. It’s the Lib Dems who are in tune with the people over the economy, over tax havens, over social reform, over economic reform. It’s UKIP who are leading the agenda on Europe and Immigration, and it’s the BNP who are appealing more and more to the working classes. What are you leading on Gordon?
So what exactly is Labour for? Well it’s a good question and as soon as I find out I’ll tell you but typical of most previous Labour Governments this administration has taxed and spent and taxed and borrowed and spent this country into near bankruptcy and it will be up to others now to come in, following the next General Election, and take the hard decisions, make the difficult choices to get us out of this wholly Labour made mess. After all, it wasn’t the Americans who allowed Northern Rock to implode, it wasn’t the Americans who allowed Bradford and Bingley to implode, it wasn’t the Americans who set up a financial regulator for the City of London and then told it to have a “light touch” so it didn’t actually do much regulating, it wasn’t the Americans who spent billions on an illegal and immoral war and subsequent occupation of a sovereign nation, Oh hang on…actually, that WAS the Americans…erm… it wasn’t the Americans who presided over some of the most benign economic conditions in memory only to wake up one morning with an empty wallet, a leaky roof and a bill for a trillion quid. Wow! Some party that must have been.
Someone should have a word really, and remind the upper eschelons of Nu-Lab that politics isn’t actually about politics, politics is actually about people and those people are important 365 days a year, not just on voting day. Labour seems to have forgotten this in the process of selling of their principles for power at all costs. I just hope they got more than $275 an ounce.
Excellent!
Posted by: Christopher | Thursday, May 14, 2009 at 00:00