Three ideas that will change the country

By Bill Dewison

I’ve been reading the LabourList for longer than I have been commenting on it. Since the first day I read the articles and comments here I noticed that there is no shortage of what people think the Labour Party should be doing to improve the country. Some are great ideas, some are insanely demented ideas but at the very least people are expressing what is important to them.

There has been much criticism recently about what the Labour Party is doing. From Trident missiles to ID cards, privatising the Post Office to the Equality Bill, all have come under fire for one reason or another and suggestions have been put forward as to what should be done differently. Usually this involves abandoning the current train of thought and going in a completely different direction – but it did get me to thinking.

If you were in charge of policy right now what three ideas would you put forward to change the country?

The Labour Party manifesto of 1945 put forward 3 things that needed to be prioritised; Food, Work and Homes. It stated “good food in plenty, useful work for all, and comfortable, labour-saving homes” and under the guidance of Clement Attlee the Labour government won that election and delivered. They embarked on an ambitious programme to rebuild post-war Britain and established the National Insurance Act of 1946. They nationalised vital industries and worked hard to ensure Britain was built on industry and gave us a good foundation for the future.

Intelligent and productive minds gave Britain a chance to thrive with a Labour government at the helm. This came out of brave new ideas and then following through, actually making those ideas reality.

The very same can happen right now, here on the LabourList. There are intelligent and productive minds here, some are Labour minded, some are not – but why not save the usual insults, the passive comments in support of who is in government and put forward three ideas that would change this country in the same way that Clement Attlee did in 1945?