Today’s NEC decision may have cramped our big moment for renewal

By David Hodges

The radical politics which over the previous century saw Labour heralded as the party of the many became unerringly absent in the final years of government. As Ed Miliband pointed out in his speech to the Fabians on Saturday, we had become “more like technocrats, less like transformers.”

This is not an aspersion cast on thirteen years of government. There were notable policy successes, many early in government, which have transformed peoples lives; the minimum wage, the creation of Sure Start centres and child and pensioner tax credits to name but three – which helped lift many out of poverty.

The common view, accepted by the NEC, for a long leadership campaign, in which we do more than just seek to tweak unpopular policies but to have a root and branch review of where we went wrong, is welcome. Furthermore, the decision to allow new members to vote in the leadership elections has ensured that we can reach out to many more centre-left activists and encourage them to help shape the upcoming debate.

However, the nine days given until PLP nominations are closed has damaged the prospect of a broad range of candidates standing, which subsequently could affect the quality of the debate. The many new members, getting to grips with their new position, will have to make snap judgements, with little consultation, on who to back as their party and parliamentary leader.

A decision of such importance should not be rushed. I hope this decision is reversed and the deadline extended, if possible. If not, I hope it does not become symptomatic of the contest.

If we are to become the radical party we have been at previous times in our history, one that unites the centre-left behind the great social and political causes of our age – lack of social housing, the need for a living wage and electoral/constitutional reform, for example – then we cannot afford a narrow debate. This is particularly concerning with Harriet Harman, Jon Cruddas and Yvette Cooper all ruled out already.

If we’re to embrace a more radical political stance in the coming years, to become more like transformers and less like technocrats, we need a broad debate, and a broad range of candidates. The decision made today dictates that the clock is ticking and it doesn’t have a great deal of time left to run – let’s just hope that enough proverbial hats, of significant political variety, are thrown into the ring in this short period of time.