The Labour response that could be

Here we go again. Another bout of Labour self-immolation. Meanwhile true to script, as Labour bickers there are dark forces assembling in the far right of the Tory party and they are preparing to unleash their own version of hell on the country. We’ll be back to the worst days of the 80s, with Labour as a loony fringe party and the Tories running amok — but this time free from the moderating influences of the EU.

We’re no longer staring down the abyss, we’re falling headfirst into it. Once the dust settles we’ll be facing the prospect of a permanent hegemony by the Tory extreme right over what remains of the UK, soon to be shorn of Scotland. The last six years will seem like a walk in the park compared to what’s next.

Into the firing line: the NHS; the BBC; what’s left of the welfare system; unions and workers’ rights; climate change and environmental protection; consumer regulations… A Philip Green, Mike Ashley, inward-looking, tax haven, little England that is fuelled by xenophobia and borderline fascism.

At this very moment, while the Tories are still riven by their own crisis, the Labour party could be organising a national mobilisation in response to this spectre. Instead it’s skulking off to do what it does best: distract itself with internal fights and hold little debates that no one in the real world cares about.

What, in some utopian dream world, would that response look like? Humour my imagination for a minute or two.

While the Tories are occupied with a three month leadership contest, we could snatch a progressive victory from the jaws of defeat.

In this moment of national crisis we’d create a coalition of national unity to speak up for and defend the basic principles of decency, tolerance and fairness that are fundamental to our society.

This make-believe Labour party would set aside its infighting and divisions and call for a coalition of all the moderate and progressive voices in Westminster, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, alongside the enormous movement of civil society organisations. The Lib Dems, the Greens, SNP, Plaid. Heck, maybe even the saner wing of the Tory party.

This fantasy coalition would prepare for a snap election by agreeing a nationwide electoral pact in support of a common, shared manifesto. A manifesto that offers a progressive post-EU settlement based on a written constitution and a vision for social justice, fairness and inclusivity.

A manifesto for EU withdrawal negotiations centred on the UK remaining a part of the EEA and retaining the EU’s environmental, employment and consumer protection legislation. All accompanied by a loud, consistent, and unambiguous message on the benefits of immigration and free movement of people.

A manifesto for an end to austerity and a return to proper investment in public services and infrastructure, with an emphasis on the communities most affected by unemployment and immigration over the last decade. Seize the opportunity of an EU exit to start state investment and support for industry, particularly transitions to tech/green/emerging industries and away from the ZHC economy and the jobs most susceptible to automation in the coming years.

A manifesto for a constitutional settlement that permanently returns the sanity to our representative democracy:

• An amendment process for referendums with minimum turnout and majority threshold rules. No future constitutional changes can be allowed on the basis of a razor-thin, misled majority.
• Full voting reform to adopt PR, plus votes for 16 and 17 year olds. An end to patronage with a fully elected House of Lords.
• A permanent settlement with Scotland — either federal or full political independence within a shared currency zone and a single market with free movement.
• Political decentralisation from Westminster; elected mayors/executives in local or regional authorities with equivalent powers and responsibilities to the Mayor of London.
• Citizens’ assemblies with a formal, constitutional role in the legislative process.
• Replace all private political donations with regulated state funding. Including union funding for Labour.
• An independent body for fact-checking public discourse. Statutory regulation for public figures and media who choose to repeat objectively false or misleading information.

But this referendum has shown us that we’re in a post-truth, post-reason age. Even if any of this was faintly realistic — would it be enough?

The only way back from disengagement and extremism is to create a new political establishment that genuinely includes and represents ordinary people.

Politics can no longer exist in a bubble isolated from the rest of the country. The political class needs to show the country that it is able to listen, and willing to change.

We could start by demanding that Parliament moves permanently out of Westminster and into a purpose-built building in a Midlands town. Convert the Houses of Parliament into a museum and national monument to the politics of a bygone era. Introduce civics classes for under 16s, including direct participation in public and political life.

In the digital tech sector we have enormous expertise in community building and participation. Why aren’t these lessons being transferred into the political sphere? Why doesn’t every single neighbourhood in the entire country have a citizen’s forum, supported by constant online communication and interaction with their councillors, MPs and other local leaders?

In the digital media sector we’ve long recognised that newspapers and print media are a spent force. For business and advertisers, digital media and platforms have almost entirely replaced newspapers and magazines as a communication channel. Why is that not the same in politics? There are tools, used by millions, to not just broadcast messages to the electorate, but to genuinely engage and interact with people and communities, bringing them into the political process.

The political machinery is broken. The press has abdicated its civic responsibility to safeguard honesty and reason in political debate. We urgently need to find new ways of listening and engaging with people, and we need leaders with the vision to bring us back from the brink.

Yes this is all cloud cuckoo land stuff but that doesn’t make it any less urgent. The alternative is too horrifying to imagine.