We are nearing the 10th anniversary
of the longest sustained and most successful period
of Labour government in our party’s history under our
most successful Labour leader and, in my view,
one of our greatest ever prime ministers. Whereas
the last century was overwhelmingly a conservative
century, Tony Blair has given us the chance to
make this century Labour’s century. But we
cannot entrench progressive change in a decade,
which is why we need a fourth term to cement in
the fundamental changes to society we’ve
started to make. Only in a sustained period of
government can we ensure the Tories never undo
what we have achieved.
However, all parties must renew themselves if
they are to continue to enjoy the support of the
electorate and remain connected to their priorities
and aspirations. Renewing in government, however,
is much harder. We’ve never succeeded in
doing it, and in recent history neither have the
Tories. But we can do it, and we now have the opportunity
to do so.
We now have the chance for a healthy, and I hope
comradely and open debate in the party in the coming
months. We do not need a fundamental debate on
our aims and values, as I believe we are ideologically
united as a movement. Unlike the Tories under Cameron,
who have failed to have that tough debate about
their ideology – and who continue to rely
on gimmicks and progressive posturing– we
actually settled our internal debate in the mid-90s.
However, we do need to rekindle a sense of unity
around our values, putting them at the heart of
our public and internal dialogue, remembering that
we have far more that joins us than divides us.
In this manner we need to debate policy, and how
we best achieve the historic goals of our movement.
I welcome the fact that we seem likely to have
contests for the leader and deputy leader of the
party. Personally I will be voting for Gordon Brown.
He, along with Tony Blair, is the other towering
figure of our movement, and I believe his record
as chancellor and his vision for the future make
him the right person to ensure our renewal and
our continued period in office. I have said that
I will stand to be deputy leader of the Labour
party whenever that contest takes place, and I
would be proud to be Gordon’s deputy. This
is not seeking office for its own sake, but because
I believe I can contribute to the process of party
reform and renewal, and ultimately our sustained
electoral success.
That process I believe needs to be made up of
two elements.
First, we need to reconnect the leadership of
the party in government with the wider party in
the country – with our MPs, with our members,
and with the trade unions. The Labour party is
at its best when it is a strong, active, united
and campaigning party, and we have not been at
our best for a while.
I’ve long been concerned – and spoken
out – on the disconnect that exists between
the government and the party. We’ve often
seemed simply to hand down policies from on high,
and too often our communication with the party
feels like a lecture, rather than a dialogue. Through
initiatives such as the Big Conversation, the National
Policy Forum and Labour Supporters’ Network
we have made real genuine improvements to our policy-making
process and exhibited a proper desire to achieve
a better way of working – not least to connect
the party back into our communities at a local
level. Now, however, we need to go further and
show a new respect for the different and diverse
parts of our party, trusting more the grassroots
of the party to be involved and lead on the big
decisions that will determine the future of Britain.
The replacement of Trident is a good example.
Second, as well as binding the party back together,
we need to reconnect the progressive coalition
that Tony and Gordon so successfully brought together
before 1997. I believe that coalition has been
fractured, if not shattered, and I believe that
with a positive, exciting and radical programme
of progressive policies, we can bring back to Labour
those that have splintered off.
There are four key areas where I believe, if we
can demonstrate a renewed passion and hunger for
delivering real change, we can win back those we
have lost – and thereby recreate the coalition
that has crumbled.
First, we need a new drive to achieve social justice
for all. We’ve done a huge amount to lift
up out of poverty those at the very bottom – through
the minimum wage, tax credits, child benefit rises,
as well as helping people back to work through
the New Deal. But now we need to also take steps
to narrow the gap between the rich and the poor.
Equality of opportunity and aspiration should remain
goals for the Labour party.
Second, we need to recommit ourselves to dispersing
and handing down power, and to personal empowerment
and liberty. Devolution has been one of our proudest
achievements, but we now need to revitalise local
government with greater responsibility and economic
freedom. Furthermore, while not in any way becoming
soft on security or not appreciating the severity
of the new threats we face, we also need to ensure
we do not sacrifice hard fought for civil liberties
and get the right balance between the power of
the state, and the freedoms of the citizen.
Third, we need to complete the process of democratic
renewal. Personally I believe this must include
electoral reform to introduce fair votes for the
Commons, not through Proportional Representation,
but the Alternative Vote because I believe in retaining
the constituency link with MPs. We must also realise
the commitment in our first manifesto to remove
the hereditary peers and introduce a fully elected
second chamber.
Fourth, and most importantly – because our
whole future and our children’s future depends
on it – we need to place the green agenda
at the very heart of our agenda across all parts
of government and all areas of policy. This means
a huge push on renewable energy as the real and
only solution to tackling climate change, as well
as commitments to new technologies that can reduce
transport pollution and increase energy efficiency,
and new steps to reduce waste.
At the last General Election we lost seats because
progressive voters turned to the Liberal Democrats,
letting the Tories in the back door. We need to
learn this lesson, and if we can commit to great
strides forward in these four areas I believe that
we can go a long way to recreating the coalition
that united progressives behind us in 1997.
If we can achieve these two things - if we can
forge a new bond between the leadership of the
party and MPs, members and the unions and if we
can reach out, with a radical vision for the future,
to those people who have become disillusioned with
our government - then I believe we can reassemble
that progressive coalition and we can achieve that
fourth term. And by reforming and renewing the
party, we can defeat the Conservatives and earn
the chance to make an even greater difference to
the lives of those we came into politics to serve.
Peter Hain is MP for Neath and Secretary of State
for Northern Ireland and Wales |
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