A society of equals: an egalitarian agenda for Labour

By Alex Smith / @alexsmith1982

Yesterday, the Open Left project at Demos, led by James Purnell, published its first report “Society of Equals“.

The paper seeks to establish a new egalitarian agenda for Labour, though forthcoming reports will also focus on what the Tories and Lib Dems can do.

The new report, written by Graeme Cooke, argues that the goal for Labour should be:

“A Britain of powerful people in a reciprocal society – rooted in an understanding of shared fate and the ways a more equal society benefits us all. This means challenging concentrations of power and structural injustice – harnessing the state, markets and society where possible, and curbing each where necessary.”

The report says that:

“One of the lessons from Labour’s time in government so far is that it has sometimes been too hands off with the market and then too hands on with the state; too unwilling to challenge market outcomes, then overly reliant on the state as a corrective force. Both the state and markets can empower, but both can overpower to”.

And it argues:

“Labour should combine government’s essential role in redistributing resources with the pursuit of ‘active equality’. This means ensuring the rules of the game are democratic and egalitarian, so people have the real power to shape the outcomes they seek, alongside others.

A Society of Equals recommends:

* Scraping the ‘non-dom’ status so people who live and work in the UK pay tax here.

* Reforming remuneration committees to ensure employees have a voice in setting top pay.

* Promoting a diversity of company ownership models, starting with the re-mutualisation of Northern Rock.

* Ending selection by house price by widening parental choice and allocating places at oversubscribed schools by ballot.

* Limiting individual donations to political parties to protect democracy from being bought.

* Replacing Inheritance Tax with a Gift Tax, to encourage the wider spreading of wealth.

Next Monday, James Purnell will give a speech building on the report called “Renewing the Ideology of the Centre-Left”. The speech will take place at 6.30pm at the London School of Economics and is open to all.

Last summer, LabourList hosted an exclusive LiveChat with James Purnell on what it means to be on the left. James has also written on LabourList that an assessment of what it means to be on the left today will require “going back to first principles.”

For more information and to attend the speech, please click here.

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