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| As a former Tory strategist, here’s my urgent to-do list for Labour’s next leader | As a former Tory strategist, here’s my urgent to-do list for Labour’s next leader |
| (1 day later) | |
| “The search for Labour’s new leader is over… OK, he lives in California, doesn’t wear shoes and used to be David Cameron’s chief strategist in Downing Street. But these are desperate times.” So began one review of my book, More Human, published a couple of months ago. Don’t worry Jeremy Corbyn, you have nothing to fear: I’m not about to throw my hat in the ring. But I wanted to at least throw some ideas into the debate – not because I particularly want to help (or indeed hinder) this or that candidate’s chances. It’s because I think there are some revolutionary changes that Britain needs to make to avoid economic decline and social discontent in the 21st century – and not being a particularly partisan person, I’d be delighted if any candidate, in any party, became a champion for those changes. | “The search for Labour’s new leader is over… OK, he lives in California, doesn’t wear shoes and used to be David Cameron’s chief strategist in Downing Street. But these are desperate times.” So began one review of my book, More Human, published a couple of months ago. Don’t worry Jeremy Corbyn, you have nothing to fear: I’m not about to throw my hat in the ring. But I wanted to at least throw some ideas into the debate – not because I particularly want to help (or indeed hinder) this or that candidate’s chances. It’s because I think there are some revolutionary changes that Britain needs to make to avoid economic decline and social discontent in the 21st century – and not being a particularly partisan person, I’d be delighted if any candidate, in any party, became a champion for those changes. |
| Since it’s the Labour party that has a leadership contest – exactly the kind of time when radical ideas should be on the agenda – let’s start there. In fact, let’s start with the rather brilliant words at the heart of Labour’s constitution: the mission to ensure “power, wealth and opportunity are in the hands of the many not the few”. I couldn’t agree more. How to achieve it though? | Since it’s the Labour party that has a leadership contest – exactly the kind of time when radical ideas should be on the agenda – let’s start there. In fact, let’s start with the rather brilliant words at the heart of Labour’s constitution: the mission to ensure “power, wealth and opportunity are in the hands of the many not the few”. I couldn’t agree more. How to achieve it though? |
| In Britain today, power is definitely not in the hands of the many. Our country is one of the most centralised in the world, with a shocking proportion of decisions that affect daily life taken by an insular ruling elite of politicians and unaccountable bureaucrats in London. Yes, I was part of it; that’s why I know what’s wrong with it. At best, it can lead to stale thinking and shut out innovation. At worst, it breeds corruption. | In Britain today, power is definitely not in the hands of the many. Our country is one of the most centralised in the world, with a shocking proportion of decisions that affect daily life taken by an insular ruling elite of politicians and unaccountable bureaucrats in London. Yes, I was part of it; that’s why I know what’s wrong with it. At best, it can lead to stale thinking and shut out innovation. At worst, it breeds corruption. |
| It’s not like this in other countries. In America, for all its faults, at least the dispersal of real power and meaningful budgets to the states, cities and local communities creates opportunity for serious policy experimentation: many of the best ideas for solving social problems were first developed at the local level. France may not be a model for everything, but one area of strength is its palpable sense of civic pride. This is not unconnected to the fact that, across the Channel, the average number of citizens in the lowest tier of executive government is 1,500, at the “commune” level. Here, it’s 160,000, the local council. No wonder people here feel so disconnected from politics and unable to affect the things they care about. | It’s not like this in other countries. In America, for all its faults, at least the dispersal of real power and meaningful budgets to the states, cities and local communities creates opportunity for serious policy experimentation: many of the best ideas for solving social problems were first developed at the local level. France may not be a model for everything, but one area of strength is its palpable sense of civic pride. This is not unconnected to the fact that, across the Channel, the average number of citizens in the lowest tier of executive government is 1,500, at the “commune” level. Here, it’s 160,000, the local council. No wonder people here feel so disconnected from politics and unable to affect the things they care about. |
| Let’s fix it with a revolutionary programme of decentralisation. No one should be surprised that I support George Osborne’s plans to devolve power to Manchester and other cities. But why stop there? If you want to place power in the hands of the many not the few, an obvious way of achieving that would be a directly elected mayor for every city and town, with complete local control over economic development and public services, and full budget-setting and tax-raising powers. | Let’s fix it with a revolutionary programme of decentralisation. No one should be surprised that I support George Osborne’s plans to devolve power to Manchester and other cities. But why stop there? If you want to place power in the hands of the many not the few, an obvious way of achieving that would be a directly elected mayor for every city and town, with complete local control over economic development and public services, and full budget-setting and tax-raising powers. |
| You can see why this could be something of an intellectual challenge for Labour. The postwar welfare state is based on the idea that all citizens everywhere are entitled to exactly the same services, delivered in exactly the same way. While this may be a noble intent, the pursuit of national standardisation has resulted in vast and counter-productive bureaucracies that fail to treat people as humans and mainly hurt the poorest, who can’t afford to buy better quality alternatives as the rich can. Diversity is the surest route to raising standards for all – and the way to achieve that is localism. | You can see why this could be something of an intellectual challenge for Labour. The postwar welfare state is based on the idea that all citizens everywhere are entitled to exactly the same services, delivered in exactly the same way. While this may be a noble intent, the pursuit of national standardisation has resulted in vast and counter-productive bureaucracies that fail to treat people as humans and mainly hurt the poorest, who can’t afford to buy better quality alternatives as the rich can. Diversity is the surest route to raising standards for all – and the way to achieve that is localism. |
| An ultra-localist manifesto could bring political bonuses too: it used to be argued that mayoral elections might offer Tories a way back in northern urban areas where they have been shut out of power. Well, the same could be true for Labour in the south. | An ultra-localist manifesto could bring political bonuses too: it used to be argued that mayoral elections might offer Tories a way back in northern urban areas where they have been shut out of power. Well, the same could be true for Labour in the south. |
| But, of course, it’s not just political power that is centralised in Britain today. Economic power is also in the hands of the few, not the many – and a truly radical approach to the democratisation of wealth would embrace the need for a much more open and fair economy. Labour seems to lurch from one extreme position on business to another – from slavish CEO-worship under New Labour in order to appear economically trustworthy, to allowing an “anti-business” impression to be established more recently. Neither attitude makes sense. | But, of course, it’s not just political power that is centralised in Britain today. Economic power is also in the hands of the few, not the many – and a truly radical approach to the democratisation of wealth would embrace the need for a much more open and fair economy. Labour seems to lurch from one extreme position on business to another – from slavish CEO-worship under New Labour in order to appear economically trustworthy, to allowing an “anti-business” impression to be established more recently. Neither attitude makes sense. |
| What we needin this country is an aggressive attack on the market power of big businesses that operate against the public interest because they don’t face enough competition. Break up the banks, the big six electricity companies, BT/Openreach, Network Rail, the supermarkets… in all these parts of the economy and beyond we need an all-out assault on the concentration of economic power that allows the exploitation of workers, customers, suppliers and wider society. | What we needin this country is an aggressive attack on the market power of big businesses that operate against the public interest because they don’t face enough competition. Break up the banks, the big six electricity companies, BT/Openreach, Network Rail, the supermarkets… in all these parts of the economy and beyond we need an all-out assault on the concentration of economic power that allows the exploitation of workers, customers, suppliers and wider society. |
| Related: Jeremy Corbyn might just be able to unite Britain’s progressive parties | Letters | |
| Putting wealth in the hands of the many not the few doesn’t mean being “pro-business” or “anti-business” – it means being pro-market and pro-competition, in the public sector as well as the private; standing up for the entrepreneur and the risk-taker, but just as passionately standing up to the smug plutocrats raking in their millions while ripping off the rest of us. | Putting wealth in the hands of the many not the few doesn’t mean being “pro-business” or “anti-business” – it means being pro-market and pro-competition, in the public sector as well as the private; standing up for the entrepreneur and the risk-taker, but just as passionately standing up to the smug plutocrats raking in their millions while ripping off the rest of us. |
| In the long-term though, the most important part of a new and radical mission for Labour could lie in the final element of its constitutional commitment to a fairer society: putting opportunity in the hands of the many. | In the long-term though, the most important part of a new and radical mission for Labour could lie in the final element of its constitutional commitment to a fairer society: putting opportunity in the hands of the many. |
| We’re going in the wrong direction today. The privileged are increasingly entrenching their advantages through marriage and the kind of support children receive at home, before they even get to school. It’s time to shake off anxieties about a “nanny state” and realise that without a complete transformation in family policy and early years intervention, the social problems that have devastated communities for decades – and cost the country untold billions in the process – will simply get worse, leaving our economy weakened and our society more divided. | We’re going in the wrong direction today. The privileged are increasingly entrenching their advantages through marriage and the kind of support children receive at home, before they even get to school. It’s time to shake off anxieties about a “nanny state” and realise that without a complete transformation in family policy and early years intervention, the social problems that have devastated communities for decades – and cost the country untold billions in the process – will simply get worse, leaving our economy weakened and our society more divided. |
| A true party of opportunity would be a champion for families, massively expanding successful initiatives like the “troubled families programme”, and going way beyond this to boost the support available to all families and parents, not just those in most urgent need. Parenting education, for example, should be seen as being part of being a good parent, not stigmatised as it is today – something that’s done to you by the state because you’re a “bad” parent. There’s nothing that would do more to democratise opportunity in our country than making sure every child has the best possible start in life. We know how important this is, and we know the kinds of programmes that work. Now we just need the political commitment to do it. | A true party of opportunity would be a champion for families, massively expanding successful initiatives like the “troubled families programme”, and going way beyond this to boost the support available to all families and parents, not just those in most urgent need. Parenting education, for example, should be seen as being part of being a good parent, not stigmatised as it is today – something that’s done to you by the state because you’re a “bad” parent. There’s nothing that would do more to democratise opportunity in our country than making sure every child has the best possible start in life. We know how important this is, and we know the kinds of programmes that work. Now we just need the political commitment to do it. |
| I’m sure the Labour leadership contenders are not holding their breath, waiting for my advice. But any political leader who became a champion for localism in our politics, competition in our economy, and, above all, for families in our society, would get my backing – and most importantly, would be on their way to making Britain a better, fairer country for everyone. | I’m sure the Labour leadership contenders are not holding their breath, waiting for my advice. But any political leader who became a champion for localism in our politics, competition in our economy, and, above all, for families in our society, would get my backing – and most importantly, would be on their way to making Britain a better, fairer country for everyone. |
| Steve Hilton is a former director of strategy for David Cameron and the author of More Human. He will write a monthly column for the Observer | Steve Hilton is a former director of strategy for David Cameron and the author of More Human. He will write a monthly column for the Observer |
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