Labour must talk about the past if they want to shape the future

If the Tories get their way in 2015, the general election will be fought on the basis of the same myth that shaped the last one, the myth that Labour’s ‘reckless spending’ caused the crisis our economy still faces today. They need this myth to stand uncontested. Without it, begging for more time to finish the job would make little sense at all and, apart from attacking Ed Miliband, it is all they have. Unless they are challenged, they will use this myth to continue to justify selling our national assets to their friends and donors, destroying our vital public services and vilifying the poorest and most vulnerable in our society. Labour cannot challenge this myth effectively without owning up to the mistakes of the past and framing them on their terms. If this is not done then the ground is ceded to the Tories, and it is ground that they will exploit.

There is still unease and uncertainty surrounding our belated economic recovery, and rightly so, but, even taking into account the destructive record that this government has on our economy by stifling demand, cutting off growth and lowering living standards and spending power, Labour still lag behind in the polls on the question of economic competence. Trust has been lost. To win this trust back, it is not enough only to attack this government’s record, terrible as it is, or to try and match them by looking tough on spending. Ignoring the past and having the debate on their terms is having little effect. It is time to take a new approach, it is time to talk about the past so Labour can shape the future.

People need to be reminded of what the Tories agreed with pre-crash and where they thought Labour should go further. They wanted Labour to go further in the very areas which caused the crash and they wanted Labour to go further with unpopular and destructive privatisation, but, they did back Labour’s spending plans. This must be articulated and used to help reshape how we have this debate. It helps provide a counter argument to the Tory myth, and will help draw to the Tories cutting taxes for the rich and imposing austerity on the rest of us at the same time as creating a new housing bubble.

Labour must admit to the mistakes of not properly regulating the financial sector, and of not intervening to stop a housing bubble, but it must remind people that the Tories wanted less regulation of the financial sector and are now fuelling a fresh housing bubble. An alternative vision, a fresh approach, must then be shaped and communicated. Promising to build houses is a good start, but splitting the banks, imposing tough regulations backed by a powerful regulator and setting up regional investment banks to get lending to small and medium businesses moving would be a good next step. This would differentiate the Labour Party from the status quo so many are so sick of, help move us on from the past and refocus attention on just how little has been done by the Tories to actually combat the causes of the financial crash. Perhaps more importantly, it would be popular.

Labour must also promise to reverse the trend of privatising our national institutions and the outsourcing of vital public services to unaccountable private sector firms, who too often take the money, deliver poor services and then come back for more contracts. People are rightly furious over the Royal Mail sale and Labour should be seriously considering renationalising this vital and much loved part of our national infrastructure. 

It was heartening to read, in a favourable piece in the Daily Mail, that Ed Miliband is considering bringing rail franchises back under public control. This is not only popular but it works. Attacking the profiteering energy companies proved to be a popular move, and I'm sure that reform ranging from renationalisation, mutualisation, splitting production and supply, or even investing in regional/local green alternatives, as the Labour Council here in Plymouth has done with its support for the Plymouth Energy Community, will prove popular moves. Ed Miliband should also set his sights on the privatised monopoly of the water companies, bringing down water bills would be of particular benefit here in the South West!

Owning up to the mistakes of the past will be difficult but I am firmly of the opinion that it has a key part to play in winning back public trust, building a credible vision for the future and of allowing Labour to again talk about the progress that was made between 1997 and 2010. There is still a feeling amongst many that there is no difference between the parties, and that there is no alternative vision to the status quo. UKIP have tapped into this and there anti-politics is working for them. By admitting the mistakes of the past, and using the lessons learned to shape an alternative future, the Labour Party can move away from this perception and provide a real alternative to the small state, privatised services, low taxes for the rich and permanent austerity for the rest of us put forward by the Tories.