A Frank Dialogue With The UK Labour Party
While the Left has gathered momentum in the US, in the UK it is in turmoil.
Hartlepool: an honest, working-class, former industrial town in the north of England. All of the ingredients for a safe Labour seat. And it has been, since becoming a constituency in 1974. But not any more.
On Thursday 6th May, the constituency held a by-election, and the results of the main two parties were as follows:
Jill Mortimer (Conservative): 51.9% vote share (up from 28.9% in 2019)
Paul Williams (Labour): 28.7% vote share (down from 37.7% in 2019)
A couple of factors certainly affected the vote. The previous Labour MP, whose resignation prompted the by-election, is under an ongoing investigation over sexual harassment. The Brexit Party, which collected more than 25% of the vote share in 2019, is no more. The vast majority of its voters flooded to the Conservative Party.
But the Starmer-led Labour leadership, which has gone to great lengths to distance itself from the far-left ideologies of its predecessor, had hoped that it was starting to regain the trust of communities such as Hartlepool. These are bricks of the formidable ‘red wall’ that Labour had built up over decades, only to see them come crashing down after Brexit and widespread working-class mistrust of former leader Jeremy Corbyn.
Going on the offensive, Starmer has regularly capitalised on slip-ups by the Government, such as Boris Johnson’s alleged use of public money to pay for flat renovations, painting it as a return of ‘Tory sleaze’.
So why, on the whole, is support for the Labour Party continuing to dwindle? How can they lose by such a large margin in a former heartland? Well, the first question to answer is exactly what kind of Labour Party is being presented to the people.
The Highs and Lows of the Labour Party
The Labour Party has always been built on, well, labour. Founded by the trade union movement in 1900, it has generally been a socialist party, guided by the principle that we should all use our collective voices, however small or seemingly insignificant, to look out for one another. This paves the way for a fairer, more socially conscious society that strives for every citizen to be provided with the services and opportunities to lead a dignified life.
Post World War II, the Labour Party entered its golden era. The United Kingdom needed reconstructing, both visibly and structurally, in order for it to get back on its feet again.
In 1948, an ambitious, controversial and never-before-seen service was introduced: a public health service free at the point of access. The National Health Service (NHS) revolutionised public health care in the UK. Of course, it has its fair share of problems (it is one of the largest employers in the world), but it continues to be a beacon of light — an example of meaningful equality in action.
Then we have The Open University. Imagined by socialist and Labour leader Harold Wilson as ‘a university of the air’, the OU is a simply wonderful institution — one that I have had the pleasure to study with. Founded in 1969, the OU was, and still is, a university open to anyone, anywhere. There are few formal entry requirements, meaning that pretty much anyone can aspire to study a high-standard university degree, whatever their educational background.
The NHS and Open University are cornerstones of British society — and the envy of many others. They do not discriminate. They provide comfort and hope.
But as the world began to enter a new, neo-liberal phase, Labour’s social and fiscal policies were left in the lurch. In recent memory, the only real success that Labour has had in power has been in the centre-ground, under Tony Blair and his ‘third way’. Any attempts to reignite policies of the past (such as nationalisation of rail and internet) have not gained enough public support, a fact most spectacularly illustrated in 2019. Thus current leader Sir Keir Starmer, far more Blair than Wilson, now finds himself heading up the shadow cabinet.
And Starmer appeared to be learning from Corbyn’s mistakes. He addressed Labour’s antisemitism problem. He brought credibility back to the Labour leadership. And his thorough, inquisitive performance during PMQs generally provides Boris Johnson with a rigorous but fair examination.
Yet the Labour Party are still not doing enough to win the hearts and minds of the public.
A Rupture to the Status Quo
Put simply, as little as 10 years ago it would have been unspeakable for the majority of former industrial towns to even contemplate voting Conservative. Viewed as the party of the middle-class, with its stuffy atmosphere and social hierarchies, it couldn’t be further detached from the daily grind in places like Wakefield, Burnley and Scunthorpe. Yet all fell Tory in 2019.
This is because it is now the Labour Party that many in these regions feel deeply disconnected from. The party’s push for a second Brexit referendum was, in particular, a horrible miscalculation that pushed many ardent, generational Labour voters beyond the precipice. At the same time, it was the Conservatives that offered a way out — a means to an end.
Except there is no end in sight. The recent council elections have, on paper, been the Conservative’s most comprehensive triumph to date. The Tories are riding the wave and taking lifelong Labour voters with them.
If there is one thing that Labour can learn from the Conservatives, it is the efficacy of their propaganda. All parties, of course, seek to use propaganda to their advantage. But the kind that the Tories project is far more potent than Labour’s or anyone else’s:
‘Take Back Control’
‘Get Brexit Done’
‘Level Up The Country’
These slogans are to varying degrees misleading. But they are clear, catchy and easy for people to transplant into everyday conversation. Indeed, they have become such common phrases to hear that it wouldn’t be at all surprising for someone to ask to ‘take back control of the TV remote’, or ‘get breakfast done’. (It turns out that the latter has already been coined).
Repairing Broken Trust
So, the real problem for Starmer and Labour is this. While many of the current Labour policies have great value — not least the commitments to measurable goals on wellbeing, and local, national and international climate justice — they will never, at the current rate, get to implement them. Not all of the general public (though it may seem like it when browsing on Twitter) actually have the time, energy or political interest to actively seek to engage with these ideas. Those who do are primarily graduates in metropolitan areas. That’s fine, but it is not going to win you an election.
Whether the Labour Party is going to take the centre-ground or the centre-left, it risks losing its relevance. The Conservatives’ dominance of the Right, coupled with the slow but sure rise of the Greens on the Left, means that Labour risk being out of power for a generation.
If they are going to have a fighting chance of regaining the trust of former Labour heartlands, they need to learn to communicate far better with the people they want to serve.
Social justice, for example, is a concept that needs to be broken down. What is it? Why is it important? How will it actively improve your life and the lives of those whom you know and love?
In light of this terrible pandemic, I have no doubt that Labour’s thoughtful, equality-driven policies would benefit those that have been hit the hardest. But they need to tell us, in plain English, how they can and will. This would, at the very least, give them a fighting chance.
