Why Labour needs Robin Hood now more than ever

He’s a lovable bandit, the front for Labour’s financial transactions tax, and a figure of hope in these austere times. No, I’m not talking about Ed Balls, but about Robin Hood.

Nearly 800 years after they first appeared in the historical record, Robin Hood and his band of merry men are still relevant to modern-day politics.  Just this summer, county councillors in Nottingham (home to Sherwood Forest) backed a campaign to ‘bring Robin home’ and implement a financial transaction tax on European bankers.

Robin Hood obviously strikes a chord in 2013, a time when ordinary working people are struggling financially. In the legend, Robin Hood takes from the rich and gives to the poor. The Coalition government have done the exact opposite. After raising VAT to 20% and slashing the top rate of tax, ONS statistics this summer revealed the poor pay more tax than the rich. But as a legend and as an historical symbol, Robin Hood resonates with modern left-wing concerns beyond the economic.

In the earliest accounts of the myth, Robin Hood was a member of the lower class. The 15th century Gests (stories) of ‘Robyn Hode’ refer to him as a ‘gode yeman’ and a ‘prude outlaw’, who wouldn’t touch a hair on the head of vulnerable members of society– women, husbandmen, squires – but who was perfectly willing to attack nobles and bishops, accompanied by his band of ‘merry men’ (who echo today’s protestors or – dare I say it – union members).

This all changed in the 16^th century, when Robin got bumped up to a nobilis exlex, a ‘noble outlaw’. By 1601, Robin had demonstrated some serious social mobility and was being identified in Anthony Munday’s plays as the Earl of Huntingdon. This elevation – cooption? – of the common man into the nobility rings true in modern politics. Like Robin, Labour’s journey through history began with a party set up to represent the trades union and led to a party of politicians who are weakening their links to the unions and share centre ground with the Conservatives.

Some Labour MPs might also see similarities with Robin Hood’s story, having moved from ordinary life in their constituencies to the glamour and media attention of Westminster. Some Labour MPs might also see similarities with Robin Hood’s story – they too have changed from being the ordinary do-gooder in their constituency to becoming of national importance in parliament. This conflict between status and morality is a key feature of my own story of Robin of Locksley, The Arrow of Sherwood (Pen & Sword Fiction, 2013), where Robin struggles to reconcile his desire to be a good man with his duty to be a good lord.

Labour could learn a thing or two from Robin’s example. Robin Hood has historically been a symbol against oppressive social norms. He appears a lot on May Day, a date now primarily known for bank holidays and the Labour movement. From at least the fifteenth century, Robin is recorded as being part of the May Day celebrations, alongside cross-dressers, morris dancers, capering fools wielding bladders on sticks and commoners wielding power – no doubt with equal enthusiasm – as ‘king’ and ‘queen’ for the day. Henry VIII himself met ‘Robin Hood’ and shot a bow, surrounded by 200 green-clad revellers, at the 1515 May Day celebrations in Blackheath.

Robin overturned the social order, and this version of the bandit was reinforced by the many self-titled Robin Hoods who crop up in history in connection with the freeing of prisoners. In 1498, records describe a riotous assembly of men in armour, led by Robert Marshall ‘calling himself Robyn Hood’, who gathered in Willenhall to free by force some prisoners from the local gaol.

This aspect of Robin, as a threat to conventions beyond the simply economic, is one that rarely appears today. We do not use  the legend of Robin Hood to oppose oppressive social norms like racism or misogyny.. Robin’s nature has been condensed. It would be interesting to see Labour MPs and activists don tights and invoke Robin’s spirit beyond the financial transaction tax, in support of all those who seek to overturn the oppressive social order.