The old politics of New Labour

By Andy Burnham / @andyburnhammp

Two days on, and, if anything, I feel more annoyed about the actions of Alan Milburn.

When I heard about his new job, I thought about some of the young people I know in my area who are about to lose theirs. The Future Jobs Fund had given them a bit of hope in tough times but now their prospects for social mobility don’t look so good. I also thought of the committed local teachers I know who had been waiting patiently for new schools so they could raise aspirations and break a culture of low expectations. They are facing up to the prospect of working out of the same inadequate buildings for the next decade.

I wonder how convinced they all are of the commitment from the ConDems and their new recruit to improve social mobility?

Let me clear something up. In some instances and on some issues, it is absolutely right for people to work across party lines. That is precisely what I did as health secretary on the issue of care for older people where a national consensus is needed. It is why I will now work co-operatively with the coalition’s new commission on this issue.

But there are other times when questions of principle arise and this is in that category. By their actions, the ConDem Government are already putting social mobility in reverse. They are unpicking key elements of Labour’s successful record, for instance on schools, with a dangerous plan for a two-tier system.

And it won’t have escaped people’s notice that the official announcement of Alan Milburn’s appointment looks set to coincide with a record number of applicants unable to take up a university place after the ConDems cut back university places.

When such principle differences arise, no card-carrying member of the party that has historically stood for improving the life chances of those who have least, should give political cover to opponents to allow them to strike a fraudulent pose as friends of social mobility.

This whole affair raises much deeper questions about the approach to politics of key figures from the New Labour era, and what this says about how our party has been run for the last 16 years.

It is not new politics. In fact, it is a return to the old politics of New Labour at its worse.

What I mean by that is we have a self-serving elite behaving as they like, without regard to the demoralising effect it will have on the members who put them into parliament in the first place.

So this leadership election needs to bring a clean break with it. Going forward, we just can’t have more of the same.

One of the problems with New Labour was that it was born of a distrust of its own members. It developed a controlling, top-down style with a small elite deciding how things would be. It’s no way to run any modern organisation, least of all a political party.

Over time, it produced a situation where the party’s grassroots became demoralised by a lack of real influence and power to change things. Ordinary members often disagreed with the actions of the party’s elite but felt frustrated at an inability to hold them to account.

People join parties to change things. A party that doesn’t offer that possibility will shed members, lose touch and place itself on a path towards irrelevance.

So, now, I’m fighting for, and seeking your support to build, a different kind of Labour Party. It’s time to rebuild our party from the bottom up.

We must be a party that trusts its members, with a vibrant, mass membership open to all.

So, first things first – the membership fee. In this day and age, £39 is too much to ask people to join. It is not affordable to all and sends entirely the wrong message – not a people’s party but an exclusive club.

Having opened up the party, we need to vest more power in our members – and trust them to make the right decisions, including over the selection of parliamentary candidates. So no more parachutes. It must also mean more power for members to hold elected ambassadors to account so we become once again a party based on loyalty, principle and conviction that commands the public’s respect.

More broadly, we must rethink what being a member of our party means.

Joining Labour must give people instant access to the policy debate. In this day and age, it must be possible for ordinary members to ask the party to rethink a position or adopt a new policy. So, using new technology, we should create a real-time system where party members can put issues on the agenda of the shadow cabinet and cabinet.

This will also lead us to a complete overhaul of annual conference where votes will have real meaning.

We must also change how we work and embrace the new politics – at local and national level.

Locally, we must work differently in the community as an active and visible force, in touch with community groups and volunteers.

This is what I mean by rebuilding the people’s party from the bottom up and these are some of my ideas. And, this week, I am raising the stakes. I will be taking out my fight for my vision of Labour to people all over the country.

But I also want to hear people’s views.

I want to give members everywhere the chance to be part of it. So my invitation today to party members is this – if you bring together 20 members or more and you are close to the route of my Battle Bus, we will stop by and discuss all this with you. Have a look at my website at www.andy4leader.com to check out where my Battle Bus will be visiting.

Mine is a grassroots campaign because Labour now needs a grassroots revolution. This is the way to put power where it should be, back in the hands of members, and the heart and soul back into the people’s party.