Dumb and Dumbergate: can any positives come out of this?

By Gabe Trodd

In an age dominated by the hazy sugar rush of the 24/7 media, perhaps a primary political rule is the immortal strategic principle outlined by Barack Obama’s White House Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel: “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste. What I mean by that is it’s an opportunity to do things you couldn’t do before”.

The thing about a crisis is that it creates a sense of urgency – it makes the heart beat a little faster. Actions that once appeared optional suddenly seem essential. Moves that might have been made at a leisurely pace are desired all the more.

Indeed, the context for yesterday’s events was this: a poll for YouGov had Labour narrowing the gap to an encouraging 9%; a rattled David Cameron had taken a beating at PMQ’s, hitting rock bottom with one of the most excruciating, un-Statesmanlike moments I can remember (“The difference between me and you is this – when I lean across and say ‘I love you, darling’, I really mean it”); and many of the Tories’ flagship policies were falling apart just hours after they had been announced. To be honest, Cameron has U-turned so many times on the marriage tax break, it is difficult to fathom which announcements are actual policy pledges and which are just ‘cast iron’ guarantees.

In many ways, yesterday was not really a crisis at all – it was all a bit frothy and overhyped. For example, the ‘PM in deep trouble, says Cameron’ BBC story is only the ninth most read story on the BBC website this morning. The ‘pornographic videos flood YouTube’ story is at number six. I, personally, thought that most significant thing about yesterday was the Fonze, of Happy Days fame, arriving at Downing Street.

But are there any positives that could come out of yesterday’s events?

* Firstly, despite the hushed divisions over Europe and the environment within the Tory Party, Cameron has had plans to relentlessly attack Labour over divisions, plots and unrest, painting the Prime Minister as vulnerable. Yesterday brought any unrest or doubt that may have existed to a head, and the party stood strong. There is space to unite behind Labour’s campaign now.

* Secondly, yesterday confirmed something we all knew about Labour’s strengths and weaknesses. There was no new policy programme being offered by Hoon and Hewitt. This was all about personality, and Cameron had a field day. When it comes to personality issues, airbrushed posters et al, Cameron has us on the ropes. It’s policy substance that makes Labour comes alive.

* The third positive is, admittedly, easy to underestimate: LabourList finally came of age. Breaking stories, feeding detail into the evening’s Newsnight and setting the agenda for the day, the events of yesterday may end up being an important moment for the Left in the blogosphere. Indeed, it was a similarly adrenaline-soaked moment when ConservativeHome finally arrived: the 2005 Tory leadership election.

Perhaps the most important thing to remember about yesterday is that Progressives thrive in the face of adversity. Now that attentions will hopefully turn away from personality issues to policy and activism, I wanted to share a passage from Tony Benn’s new book, Letters to My Grandchildren:

“The pattern of progression has always been the same.

If someone comes up with a good idea – such as abolishing slavery, votes for women or the end of apartheid – the establishment ignores it completely. It is not allowed to feature in public debate.

If the campaigners carry on, they are denounced as being mad. If that does not deter them, they will be described as dangerous, and possibly locked up. The suffragettes were imprisoned and, in 1911, Prime Minister Asquith said that if women got the vote it would undermine parliamentary democracy.

If all of these attempts fail to silence people, then there is a significant pause at the top. Finally you will not find anyone in authority who does not claim to have thought of the reform in the first place.

So if you are campaigning on a cause dear to your heart, check it out against this list and see how far it has reached. And never give up!”