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| If this is the end of neoliberalism, how does the left take advantage? | If this is the end of neoliberalism, how does the left take advantage? |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| If you ignore the nasty, divisive rhetoric on immigration and the worrying attempt to position “human rights lawyers” as figures of hate, Theresa May’s conference speech was basically an admission that Ed Miliband had it right. Gone was the individualism and free-market fetishism that has defined her party for decades. In its place, a focus on collectivity and the necessity of activist economic policy. | If you ignore the nasty, divisive rhetoric on immigration and the worrying attempt to position “human rights lawyers” as figures of hate, Theresa May’s conference speech was basically an admission that Ed Miliband had it right. Gone was the individualism and free-market fetishism that has defined her party for decades. In its place, a focus on collectivity and the necessity of activist economic policy. |
| The reception among conference attendees was fairly muted. Mutters of “socialism” were heard from the floor, and libertarian thinktank the Adam Smith Institute published a statement condemning the move towards government intervention. | The reception among conference attendees was fairly muted. Mutters of “socialism” were heard from the floor, and libertarian thinktank the Adam Smith Institute published a statement condemning the move towards government intervention. |
| In many ways it feels like the death of an old order. Post-financial crash, there’s little reason to believe in the efficacy of a laissez-faire approach to governance. It’s strange to think that a decade ago, Labour and the Conservatives were competing over who could most enthusiastically deregulate the financial sector. The mood of the country has changed dramatically. We were told that we should celebrate the rich getting richer because the wealth would trickle down and benefit us all. | In many ways it feels like the death of an old order. Post-financial crash, there’s little reason to believe in the efficacy of a laissez-faire approach to governance. It’s strange to think that a decade ago, Labour and the Conservatives were competing over who could most enthusiastically deregulate the financial sector. The mood of the country has changed dramatically. We were told that we should celebrate the rich getting richer because the wealth would trickle down and benefit us all. |
| There’s no point telling people that immigration is beneficial for the economy if they’re not feeling those benefits | There’s no point telling people that immigration is beneficial for the economy if they’re not feeling those benefits |
| Now, there’s a feeling that we’ve been conned. Elites have taken us for fools as employment rights have been rolled back, communities have been destroyed and our economy has been savaged by the “spivs and gamblers” in the City. No wonder the “take back control” slogan of the Vote Leave campaign was so seductive. Collective control is exactly what we’d lost. EU membership became a symbol of the faceless, unaccountable, technocratic power that people in many parts of the country have grown to resent. | Now, there’s a feeling that we’ve been conned. Elites have taken us for fools as employment rights have been rolled back, communities have been destroyed and our economy has been savaged by the “spivs and gamblers” in the City. No wonder the “take back control” slogan of the Vote Leave campaign was so seductive. Collective control is exactly what we’d lost. EU membership became a symbol of the faceless, unaccountable, technocratic power that people in many parts of the country have grown to resent. |
| In hindsight, the return of class politics was inevitable. Twenty years ago, John Prescott told us that “we are all middle-class now” – but in 2016, the stark divisions in our society are impossible to ignore. Across Europe, centrism is in a similar state of decline. Even the term seems outdated, as the centre point of public opinion is now in a different place altogether. Collectivism is the new mainstream. The most relevant debate isn’t over the necessity of working together, it’s about who is allowed in the tent. | In hindsight, the return of class politics was inevitable. Twenty years ago, John Prescott told us that “we are all middle-class now” – but in 2016, the stark divisions in our society are impossible to ignore. Across Europe, centrism is in a similar state of decline. Even the term seems outdated, as the centre point of public opinion is now in a different place altogether. Collectivism is the new mainstream. The most relevant debate isn’t over the necessity of working together, it’s about who is allowed in the tent. |
| At the dawn of the post-liberal era we have the opportunity to make a choice. When we demand policy that benefits the majority rather than an elite minority, who does that include? There are two options here and it’s clear which May has opted for. The sort of rightwing, xenophobic rhetoric she espouses has a long and unillustrious history. Focusing her critique primarily on economic elites would probably be difficult given that they make up the majority of Conservative party donors and cabinet ministers. Instead, she has trained her guns on a group far less able to fight back: migrant workers. | At the dawn of the post-liberal era we have the opportunity to make a choice. When we demand policy that benefits the majority rather than an elite minority, who does that include? There are two options here and it’s clear which May has opted for. The sort of rightwing, xenophobic rhetoric she espouses has a long and unillustrious history. Focusing her critique primarily on economic elites would probably be difficult given that they make up the majority of Conservative party donors and cabinet ministers. Instead, she has trained her guns on a group far less able to fight back: migrant workers. |
| The terrifying thing is that this has a track record of working – and it’s working again. The Tories are 17 points ahead in the latest Guardian/ICM poll, the joint-second highest lead ever recorded for the Conservatives by ICM going back to 1992. When people face real hardship, when they’ve seen their communities decline in the face of processes they feel powerless to control, they’re naturally on the lookout for someone to blame. Media barons like Rupert Murdoch – who are much more the genuine enemies of working-class interests – have stoked the idea that migrants are the cause of all society’s problems. | The terrifying thing is that this has a track record of working – and it’s working again. The Tories are 17 points ahead in the latest Guardian/ICM poll, the joint-second highest lead ever recorded for the Conservatives by ICM going back to 1992. When people face real hardship, when they’ve seen their communities decline in the face of processes they feel powerless to control, they’re naturally on the lookout for someone to blame. Media barons like Rupert Murdoch – who are much more the genuine enemies of working-class interests – have stoked the idea that migrants are the cause of all society’s problems. |
| The facts of the situation are largely irrelevant. There’s no point telling people that immigration is actually beneficial for the economy if they’re not feeling those benefits. Pointing out that migrants are net tax contributors doesn’t have much impact when people have seen our public services gutted. On the left, we’ve tried to fight powerful, emotional narratives with stats and wonkery, and unsurprisingly we’ve come up short. It’s time to talk to voters in language that makes sense. | The facts of the situation are largely irrelevant. There’s no point telling people that immigration is actually beneficial for the economy if they’re not feeling those benefits. Pointing out that migrants are net tax contributors doesn’t have much impact when people have seen our public services gutted. On the left, we’ve tried to fight powerful, emotional narratives with stats and wonkery, and unsurprisingly we’ve come up short. It’s time to talk to voters in language that makes sense. |
| Some aspects of this will make those with liberal instincts uncomfortable. In the face of venomous, racist, anti-migrant rhetoric many of us feel a natural desire to defend freedom of movement without any qualification. This allows the line to become blurred between the utopian principle that people should be able to live wherever they want and the reality of what is currently happening. | Some aspects of this will make those with liberal instincts uncomfortable. In the face of venomous, racist, anti-migrant rhetoric many of us feel a natural desire to defend freedom of movement without any qualification. This allows the line to become blurred between the utopian principle that people should be able to live wherever they want and the reality of what is currently happening. |
| Many people do not relocate out of a personal desire to experience life somewhere new, but because economic pressures compel them to seek a higher income than they’d be able to secure in their place of birth. Why should someone from Sheffield or Bolton be forced to move down to London – away from family, friends and support networks? Why should someone from Poland or Romania have to live in cramped, shared accommodation and send money to a partner and children hundreds of miles away? Whose interests does this really serve? | Many people do not relocate out of a personal desire to experience life somewhere new, but because economic pressures compel them to seek a higher income than they’d be able to secure in their place of birth. Why should someone from Sheffield or Bolton be forced to move down to London – away from family, friends and support networks? Why should someone from Poland or Romania have to live in cramped, shared accommodation and send money to a partner and children hundreds of miles away? Whose interests does this really serve? |
| While supporting all workers making these decisions in the current economic context, shouldn’t the left have greater ambitions than this? How has Norman Tebbit’s instruction to “get on your bike” if you can’t find decent employment close to home come to be seen as something desirable? | While supporting all workers making these decisions in the current economic context, shouldn’t the left have greater ambitions than this? How has Norman Tebbit’s instruction to “get on your bike” if you can’t find decent employment close to home come to be seen as something desirable? |
| If we only talk about the positives of the current regime, we’re never going to connect with voters who don’t perceive that their lives have improved in recent decades. And the issue is not going to go away. Climate change is the greatest looming threat and is likely to cause refugee flows magnitudes greater than the current Syrian crisis. It’s going to be hard to adjust. Unless we can develop a version of collectivist politics that doesn’t draw a sharp line between “us” and “the other”, the most likely consequence is rising hate, fear, and a political culture that edges closer to the exclusionary authoritarianism of fascism. | |
| Labour will never convince people that it has the answers if it is forced into defending the status quo. However, the cynical triangulation attempted by some MPs in recent weeks concedes ground to xenophobia, while utterly failing to persuade voters that its advocates mean what they say. It’s time to ditch the reticence and come up with a more radical vision: what do we actually want the future to look like? | Labour will never convince people that it has the answers if it is forced into defending the status quo. However, the cynical triangulation attempted by some MPs in recent weeks concedes ground to xenophobia, while utterly failing to persuade voters that its advocates mean what they say. It’s time to ditch the reticence and come up with a more radical vision: what do we actually want the future to look like? |