Renewal: 10 things Labour should do to bring people back

By Mark Tointon

I joined the Labour Party the day Nick Clegg walked through the door of Number 10, and I look forward to being part of its future.

I had previously voted Labour until the Iraq War, after which, because of the Lib Dem/Con battleground where I live and Tony Blair’s contemptible stance on Iraq, I voted Lib Dem; this was primarily to keep out the Tory candidate. If someone asked me “what should we do now?” to renew the Labour Party, I would suggest the following:

1. Ditch the word “progressive”

Until that surreal period of five days after the results, I had never consciously registered the phrases ‘progressive politics’ or ‘progressive alliance’. They are meaningless to me. Politics is, by its very nature, progressive; that is why there are no Whigs in Parliament (even if some act like it). If we have to explain what ‘progressive’ means, it has no value as an adjective. If politics needs an adjective, try ‘principled’ instead.

2. Ditch the word “new”

‘New’ Labour sounded daft in the nineties and sounds plain stupid now. Labour is Labour is Labour, it needs no crutch or qualifier. New is just another adjective, with no value.

3. Remove Mandelson and Campbell from the narrative

The New Labour project was personified by messrs Blair, Brown, Mandelson and Campbell. If Labour is to regroup, reflect and renew itself, none of these can be any part of the picture, policy development or presentation, I’m afraid. If that requires a brutal rebuff, so be it. Do it collectively.

4. Demonstrate statesmanship

Be humble in defeat, united in renewal and statesmanlike in opposition.

5. Apologise for the war

Labour must exorcise the ghost of the Iraq War. It was wrong. Period. Admit it, apologise and move on, otherwise it will haunt Labour for decades.

6. Admit mistakes

The one thing that has always turned me off politics is the near-universal unwillingness of politicians to admit mistakes; it is always assumed to be a sign of weakness. Collective catharsis is a mandatory part of renewal. It will be painful, but it is unavoidable. Start with ID cards.

7. Re-discover a collective moral compass

Groucho Marx said, “those are my principles; if you don’t like them I have others”. Labour needs to be more principled than it has been in recent times. What will Labour’s moral compass be in opposition? Principles are more important than power. From principles come policies and from policies comes power – if the electorate thinks you deserve it.

8. Rebuild trust

Primarily as a result of the Iraq War and the global economic crisis, much of the electorate does not trust Labour. It doesn’t matter if “the global recession wasn’t our fault”, that is what many of the electorate believe, so live with it and move on. Trust needs to be regained.

9. Engage, don’t alienate

Party democracy was eroded by the chief architects of New Labour. Genuine democracy is the core pre-requisite for any subsequent renaissance.

10. Re-discover the core vote

Re-connect with the grassroots support that Labour enjoyed historically. Seek new talent. Don’t make promises that cannot be kept. Look after each other.