Reasons to be cheerful

By Jim Sweetman / @jimbo9848

Number one, we are not waking up to a majority Conservative government, swingeing ill-considered cutbacks in public services and the slippery slope which leads to what we saw this week in Athens.

Number two, in the past two weeks we have seen a powerful renewal of the Labour mission based on social justice and respect. That clearly won a number of seats which would otherwise have been lost.

Number three, there is a clear public mandate for political reform and a system which reflects the votes cast by individuals.

Number four, there is a possibility of continuing with a government that reflects the values of society not those of oligarchy, which is pluralistic rather than meritocratic and inclusive rather than hierarchical.

So, where do we go from here?

The first thing is that Labour has a moral imperative to maintain stable government and to deliver recovery. That is an important point. There is a lot of waffle about how Cameron has the moral ascendancy because he has more seats.

He hasn’t and the current government would be failing if it did not pursue the possibility of a managed course through difficult waters.

Hung parliaments are neither new, inherently unstable nor a threat to security. Coalitions can add value and they have their uses. In 1974, the political situation was similar to this weekend’s and a popular government emerged. The media wants an instant fix but people, including politicians, should take their time and explore the options.

One of these is a social democratic coalition designed around loose affiliation, common purpose and areas of agreement with the Liberal Democrats. This coalition is signed up to steady recovery, the protection of education, health and welfare and electoral change. There is absolutely no reason why it cannot prepare a popular budget involving unpopular choices and maintain public services.

What else is clever about it? The coalition distributes accountability and allows some difficult choices to surface. In my specialist area, education, the coalition can do things which would electorally be bad for Labour on its own. It can get rid of Ofsted, the school inspection service and SAT testing, rein back the big quangos and national strategy interventions and support local authorities while giving schools more autonomy. It can have a thinking, principled approach without the right-wing media branding any party as the party of falling standards.

What else can it do? It puts Trident on the backburner, it allows a joined up approach to immigration, it allows a principled consideration of the voting system, it can take a hard look at foreign policy, tax credits and pensions because in all these difficult areas it is the coalition which takes the rap and that makes it difficult for the right-wing to oppose without appearing increasingly maverick.

It also brings some new talent into the government and encourages radical perspectives and change. It has the capacity to shift the discourse of politics even further in the direction of consensus. It looks strong internationally and by its very nature has to take considered decisions.

Most of the broadcast media and the right-wing press is scaremongering against a coalition of this type. Labour is beginning to talk it up but it has to be foregrounded this weekend because the Conservatives and their allies will do all they can to undermine it. Why? Because they fear its potential for success.