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Labour conference 2014: How easy to call for political fizz. How tough to deliver it Labour conference 2014: How easy to call for political fizz. How tough to deliver it
(35 minutes later)
This is unlucky timing for Labour’s conference, in the hangover days of the Scottish referendum. Intoxicating political passions were stirred as rarely before, English MPs and reporters reeling back down south after drinking a deep draught of authentic political fervour. Nothing will ever be the same again, some said. Change must come. So what next?This is unlucky timing for Labour’s conference, in the hangover days of the Scottish referendum. Intoxicating political passions were stirred as rarely before, English MPs and reporters reeling back down south after drinking a deep draught of authentic political fervour. Nothing will ever be the same again, some said. Change must come. So what next?
Some ask why Labour can’t bring a bottle of that Scottish passion to rouse England’s alienated and disaffected roots, summon the young and the never-voted. Some grumble that the spectacle of an ordinary party conference looks flat after that, a coffee morning after a rave. But down-to-earth politics is a different business altogether. Real practitioners drawing up policies and getting elected is a world away from a romantic yes/no referendum about an idea, an open vessel for pick-and-mix hopes, free from parties and boring, venal, everyday human politicians. Now we are back in the realm of ordinary elections where you hear “they’re all the same” from every other doorstep, people unwilling to bestow a vote on any worthless politician.Some ask why Labour can’t bring a bottle of that Scottish passion to rouse England’s alienated and disaffected roots, summon the young and the never-voted. Some grumble that the spectacle of an ordinary party conference looks flat after that, a coffee morning after a rave. But down-to-earth politics is a different business altogether. Real practitioners drawing up policies and getting elected is a world away from a romantic yes/no referendum about an idea, an open vessel for pick-and-mix hopes, free from parties and boring, venal, everyday human politicians. Now we are back in the realm of ordinary elections where you hear “they’re all the same” from every other doorstep, people unwilling to bestow a vote on any worthless politician.
“All the same” is what most people see as they glance at conference images with brief clips of stage-managed speeches against glossy backdrops. Where are the workers? Where are the ordinary people? These look like mediocre careerists seeking seats and red boxes, too careful not to say a word out of mantra. All the public sees of political leaders is their attempts to survive bullying jousts with TV interviewers jabbing for a gaffe, intimidating their prey into safely uniform answers.“All the same” is what most people see as they glance at conference images with brief clips of stage-managed speeches against glossy backdrops. Where are the workers? Where are the ordinary people? These look like mediocre careerists seeking seats and red boxes, too careful not to say a word out of mantra. All the public sees of political leaders is their attempts to survive bullying jousts with TV interviewers jabbing for a gaffe, intimidating their prey into safely uniform answers.
But what you find at Labour’s conference, in the hundreds of intense fringe meetings, is another view altogether. Not sizzling rows that make the news, but people talking about their jobs, problems they see in their home towns; nurses, teachers, social workers, talking of payday debt, running local food banks or managing a crisis in rent arrears at their housing association caused by benefit cuts. They talk about graduates owing £40,000 who can’t get a job. Here is the leader of Durham council at one meeting, talking of the agonising over £130m cuts he has made, with a further £100m to come – half the budget he had in 2010. Labour has more than 2,200 new councillors, some here for the first time, facing monstrous dilemmas: what goes next – an old people’s day centre, the swimming pool, or some support workers? One talks of how unemployment is rising not falling in her patch in the north-east, the area which Lord Howell, George Osborne’s father-in-law, said was so “desolate” that there was plenty of room for fracking “well away from anyone’s residence”.But what you find at Labour’s conference, in the hundreds of intense fringe meetings, is another view altogether. Not sizzling rows that make the news, but people talking about their jobs, problems they see in their home towns; nurses, teachers, social workers, talking of payday debt, running local food banks or managing a crisis in rent arrears at their housing association caused by benefit cuts. They talk about graduates owing £40,000 who can’t get a job. Here is the leader of Durham council at one meeting, talking of the agonising over £130m cuts he has made, with a further £100m to come – half the budget he had in 2010. Labour has more than 2,200 new councillors, some here for the first time, facing monstrous dilemmas: what goes next – an old people’s day centre, the swimming pool, or some support workers? One talks of how unemployment is rising not falling in her patch in the north-east, the area which Lord Howell, George Osborne’s father-in-law, said was so “desolate” that there was plenty of room for fracking “well away from anyone’s residence”.
No, the parties are not all the same, Labour people a world away from Cameron’s. What motivates the two sides is further apart than for a long time. Ed Balls began by reading out Labour’s first principles: “Power, wealth and opportunity in the hands of the many not the few”. Banal? Not when David Cameron has presided over a government draining billions from the benefits of the poorest, enriching the top 1% as never before, and boasting of a recovery which none but the wealthy will feel for years.No, the parties are not all the same, Labour people a world away from Cameron’s. What motivates the two sides is further apart than for a long time. Ed Balls began by reading out Labour’s first principles: “Power, wealth and opportunity in the hands of the many not the few”. Banal? Not when David Cameron has presided over a government draining billions from the benefits of the poorest, enriching the top 1% as never before, and boasting of a recovery which none but the wealthy will feel for years.
Balls’s speech was of solid policies, from infrastructure investment to abolishing the bedroom tax, from taxing bank bonuses to restoring the 50p rate. At its core is the commitment to bring down the deficit in five years: though a bit slower, it is certain to be painful.Balls’s speech was of solid policies, from infrastructure investment to abolishing the bedroom tax, from taxing bank bonuses to restoring the 50p rate. At its core is the commitment to bring down the deficit in five years: though a bit slower, it is certain to be painful.
Some policies will please Labour people more than others – was it really necessary to make a totemic cut in child benefit, just to show Labour has the nerve to self-harm? Some have walked away, angry that Labour isn’t more radical: they will find proof of Balls’s conservative economics in praise from the CBI who were “reassured” yesterday by “Labour’s commitment to fiscal discipline”. But Labour lags a mile behind on trust to run the economy. Only a party in a commanding lead could stray much further from the orthodox consensus.Some policies will please Labour people more than others – was it really necessary to make a totemic cut in child benefit, just to show Labour has the nerve to self-harm? Some have walked away, angry that Labour isn’t more radical: they will find proof of Balls’s conservative economics in praise from the CBI who were “reassured” yesterday by “Labour’s commitment to fiscal discipline”. But Labour lags a mile behind on trust to run the economy. Only a party in a commanding lead could stray much further from the orthodox consensus.
In power, Osborne has broken all his own rules, missed all his targets, lost his triple-A rating, to no criticism or market panic: Labour is never cut such slack. However, the analysts reckon Balls’s looser policy and longer timing will give him £34bn more to spend. If Labour wins, there will, of course, be no way to prove how much better Labour austerity is than Osborne’s – it will be a thankless uphill few years – but the poorest won’t take the brunt this time.In power, Osborne has broken all his own rules, missed all his targets, lost his triple-A rating, to no criticism or market panic: Labour is never cut such slack. However, the analysts reckon Balls’s looser policy and longer timing will give him £34bn more to spend. If Labour wins, there will, of course, be no way to prove how much better Labour austerity is than Osborne’s – it will be a thankless uphill few years – but the poorest won’t take the brunt this time.
Today is Ed Miliband’s last conference speech before the general election – setting out a 10-year plan with a string of six heavyweight policies, spelled out in some detail. Saving the NHS will be at the heart of the campaign – and centrepiece of his speech. To be credible, he needs to spell out exactly where he will find the funds for an NHS in a state of meltdown: Labour’s strong pubic opinion lead on the NHS depends on honesty about the cost of fixing it. Solidity rather than rhetoric may be what’s needed this last year. Today is Ed Miliband’s last conference speech before the general election – setting out a 10-year plan with a string of six heavyweight policies, spelled out in some detail. Saving the NHS will be at the heart of the campaign – and centrepiece of his speech. To be credible, he needs to spell out exactly where he will find the funds for an NHS in a state of meltdown: Labour’s strong public opinion lead on the NHS depends on honesty about the cost of fixing it. Solidity rather than rhetoric may be what’s needed this last year.
After Scotland, Labour stands accused of neglecting its base, in Glasgow as in Bradford, by failing to rally the disaffected with high hopes and instant solutions. That’s Labour’s perennial problem. The clamour is for a rousing emotional appeal and extravagant promises with higher taxes (on others) to pay for them. But the Labour “base” this might appeal to is far too small now.After Scotland, Labour stands accused of neglecting its base, in Glasgow as in Bradford, by failing to rally the disaffected with high hopes and instant solutions. That’s Labour’s perennial problem. The clamour is for a rousing emotional appeal and extravagant promises with higher taxes (on others) to pay for them. But the Labour “base” this might appeal to is far too small now.
And what of the “squeezed middle”? Their tax phobia is strong and understandable as their pay is still falling back. Pulling together the marketplace of interests is tougher in hard times. When the national mood is so mistrustful of politics it is harder to summon people to a common cause. Cameron has done well in dividing and ruling between haves, have-nots and have-a-lots, diverting anger from the top 1% to scapegoats at the bottom.And what of the “squeezed middle”? Their tax phobia is strong and understandable as their pay is still falling back. Pulling together the marketplace of interests is tougher in hard times. When the national mood is so mistrustful of politics it is harder to summon people to a common cause. Cameron has done well in dividing and ruling between haves, have-nots and have-a-lots, diverting anger from the top 1% to scapegoats at the bottom.
Labour’s task, and Miliband’s tomorrow, is to connect together an increasingly fragmented society. That means binding the 64% of homeowners with the rest who may never be, and connecting the neglected young with protected pensioners. Women and men are voting more differently – a 22% gap in Scotland. Regional resentments are growing – but that’s only a proxy distraction from the real divisions of class and income. Miliband’s speech will try to bind all these diverse interests together.Labour’s task, and Miliband’s tomorrow, is to connect together an increasingly fragmented society. That means binding the 64% of homeowners with the rest who may never be, and connecting the neglected young with protected pensioners. Women and men are voting more differently – a 22% gap in Scotland. Regional resentments are growing – but that’s only a proxy distraction from the real divisions of class and income. Miliband’s speech will try to bind all these diverse interests together.
Still ahead in the polls, these are Labour’s last perilous steps to the finishing line. It’s easy to call for a bottle of that Scottish referendum fizz – but tough to deliver in the world of real politics.Still ahead in the polls, these are Labour’s last perilous steps to the finishing line. It’s easy to call for a bottle of that Scottish referendum fizz – but tough to deliver in the world of real politics.