Why “What’s Next?” ?

A fictional President of the United States, Jed Bartlett, on possibly the best fictional US TV programme The West Wing often used this phrase. It is usually found at the end of an episode when a thing had been solved or resolved or lost or won and it was now time to move on.

Labour has often found itself looking at a pivotal moment, wondering where to head to next. It often baffles me as to why as a Party we look to the past, when we should be looking to the future.

I am 20 years old. When Tony Blair won his most famous general election victory in 1997 I was 6 years old. When Labour tragically lost the 1992 election, I was just 1   year old. I didn’t live through the battles of the ‘80s between the Centre-Left and Left within Labour, nor the great struggles between communism and capitalism.

I have been a member of the Labour Party for about the last 5 years. In that period I have seen these events debated and fought over numerous times. Some sections of the Labour Party look back 20, 30 or even 40 years to find some direction or ideology that is fit for the 21^st Century.

 

History shapes our world, but it does not define it.

I am a supporter of New Labour because I believe that a Labour Party that is the party of government is the best vehicle for positive change in the UK today. The achievements of the New Labour Government between 1997-2010 are often overlooked in favour of obsessing over one or two issues. These Labour achievements should never be forgotten.

However – I also do not believe that New Labour is something that the Labour Party today should return to. The values of New Labour, of listening to the public, rather than the Party, and of social democracy should remain. These are values which can return Labour to its rightful place in Government.

Leadership

The Labour Party can also provide leadership for two of the greatest crises that currently face Britain, and are two that can quite reasonably be called the most serious since the 2^nd World War. They are the economy, and Europe.

Both domestically and internationally, the Coalition Government, David Cameron’s Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats have shown that they are unwilling to provide the leadership that Britain leads

Economically, The Tories and Orange Book Lib Dems see deficit reduction as the economic benchmark against which they can measure their success. They do not see unemployment as a real issue for the Government. Unemployment stands at 2,640,000. Youth unemployment has risen to over one million for the first time since records began. The unemployment rate amongst women is a huge 1,050,000, the highest level for 23 years. The Tories and Liberals don’t do anything because they don’t see it as the Government’s place to help create jobs.

Despite this, Labour is not yet winning the public’s support on the economy. As a Party, we are not trusted. If recent polls are to be believed, Labour is around 20% behind the Tories in terms of economic trustworthiness.  If you would like to see the economic position that I think we should follow, look no further than the truly Keynesian ‘In The Black’ Labour.

On Europe, the Coalition Government has shown itself to be in the worst possible place – Eurosceptic at a time of great crisis in the Eurozone, where European co-operation will play an ever more important role.

A few Tories and assorted other political oddities obsess manically over the EU. David Cameron gave them only half of their wish.

The UK is now effectively no longer a part of the decision making process in the EU – France and Germany no longer want to consult, discuss and listen to the British Government on Europe. Yet we still remain a member of the EU, and remain liable for a crisis that we can no longer play a major part in solving.

The Labour Party can provide international leadership for Britain at a time that our influence on the world is rapidly shrinking.

I hope that I will be able to give my thoughts (such as they are) on some of the political issues of the moment and perhaps a few other things besides.

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