Where is the new centre ground, and how does Labour win it?

 

This post was written for Progress.

 

Labour cannot wait, as it has done in the past, for the sitting Government to be unpopular. We need to present our own vision for the future, and provide a radical, fresh approach that is credible, and that the Country can understand. Since the 2010 General Election, people have become more concerned about their own financial position, job security and living standards.

The public believes that the Government are right to cut public sector spending, and that they are right to be reducing the deficit. This presents Labour with a fundamental problem. If you believe, as I do, that the center ground is, for the most part, where the voters are, then it would seem that Labour needs to make some firm commitments on how we would go about cutting the deficit.

Taking a tick box approach to cuts as the Tories have done would be wrong. But Labour should be articulating how it can exist at a time that there is little money for new ambitious spending programs. We should identify how we would improve the efficiency of the public sector, and, crucially, how we should invest what money we can spend discerningly, on projects that will promote growth whilst rebalancing the economy away from the South East, like High Speed Rail.

Labour can, and should take the opportunity to reassert the “tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime” approach of the New Labour years. As unemployment rises and living standards fall, the level of crime- particularly crimes which really affect people, like burglary will increase.

David Cameron talks tough on crime, but his cuts of £2bn in the Ministry of Justice’s budget mean that sentence tariffs are being reduced. Labour should exploit this weakness in the Government’s position ruthlessly and show them to be soft on crime.

Combine this with the Government’s disturbingly inept handling of the August riots, and we can use this opportunity to regain Labour’s position as the party of law and order and reclaim the centre ground.

On standards of living, the OBR reports that households face a two-year squeeze on their spending power, as wages do not keep pace with prices. In 2011, a typical class family saw their disposable income fall by £1,500. Labour can use this opportunity to attack the Government on hitting the poor and the “squeezed middle”. This is something that can gain traction – when people are asked, most would describe themselves as being pretty average. Labour should use this opportunity to make itself the Party of the majority once again, and reaffirm our commitment to making life better – for all.

We must also remember that we should not become a conservative party. Reacting negatively to Government policy – whether on the NHS, on Free Schools, or on Academies is short termism at its worse. As long as the public have good schools and free at the point of use healthcare we are fighting a losing battle.

Moreover, we can use our time in opposition wisely.

We are not in Government, but we must use our time wisely to reinvent Labour, not as New Labour, but as Next Labour – whatever that may be.