Have Labour Pushed Their Luck?
Another year and another election and much of it seems eerily familiar to 2017. The Conservatives have a lead, and high hopes for a majority, moderate Labour MPs are eyeing job adverts and everyone is talking about Brexit.
Even so, Labour’s front bench appears surprisingly confident as if they know something we don’t. In 2017 they were right. Labour’s manifesto was popular. Day by day people going to work or taking the kids to school heard fresh news about a Labour policy which would make their lives a little better. It was radical, and gave people what they wanted.
This time, they are convinced they have pulled off the same trick and have doubled down with a set of policies which are even more radical than last time around. However, going by the admittedly loose social media test, there’s a chance they might have shot themselves in the foot.
Many of Labour’s policies are again popular to a certain point, but each time they may have pushed things a little too far.
Most people will agree that public schools should not have charitable status, but outlawing them altogether? Not so much.
Billionaires may be among the most likely to be up against the wall come the revolution, but getting rid of the concept altogether? That plays against aspirations of everyone who would like to be a billionaire one day. Surely just having a billion pounds in the bank account doesn’t make you a bad person, even if it may significantly increase the odds.
Everyone wants to work less, but when they hear talk of a four day week, people are understandably asking whether they will end up being paid less.
Other ideas such as the National Investment Bank and forcing companies to transfer 10% of shares to workers, all attract interest but they will cost money and cause disruption at a time when people are feeling nervous enough about life after Brexit.
Even their line of guaranteeing a referendum and delivering a much softer, less impactful, version of Brexit runs into opposition when they realise it could mean another six months of hearing about the bloody thing.
What people want
There’s a chance, then, that Labour have misjudged the mood. Yes, people want change and they are losing trust in the system, but they are also nervous about what might come after it.
Most of all they are facing very real problems such as the rising cost of living, higher rents and stagnating wages. More and more people earning between 75% and 200% of the average income are struggling to get by, which accounts for everyone.
Last time around Labour judged things perfectly, but this time they might just have overplayed their hands. As such, their magic weapon could turn out to be their Achilles Heel.
