Blue Labour – no more looking backwards

By Helen Goodman MP

Blue Labour’s thesis as set out in ‘The Politics of Paradox’ (POP) is that we should return to the ideas of our Founding Fathers – solidarity, community, reciprocity and mutualism in order to renew ourselves.

I am somewhat sceptical that this is enough (not least because the world has changed a lot in the past 120 years). But rather than simply dismiss this out of hand I decided to examine the thesis from the perspective of communities and people I know.

First the hill farmers of Teesdale. They have had common grazing rights for 600 years and the fact that everyone relies on a reciprocal understanding not to overgraze means that the way of life has been sustained, but also that the biodiversity is excellent. And across the UK half the commons are sites of special scientific interest.

POP are right that we did not do well by these communities and The Rural Payments Agency made farmers’ lives impossible. But agriculture is an international trade and the economics of hill farming is marginal so government is needed to support and negotiate on farmers’ behalf.

The second community I looked at were the miners. The Durham Gala is a wonderful festival of trade union solidarity and it is threatened by the Health and Safety culture, which puts expensive restrictions on such community events. Again POP are right to criticise our insensitivity to problems like these. On the other hand economic development – which is essential for the former coalfields to flourish again, needs government action. An educated workforce, high quality research and development, attracting inward investment depends on government agencies looking ahead, co-ordinating partnerships and investing in the future. We can encourage more co-ops and stronger industrial democracy as POP suggest, but government also plays a central role in ensuring full employment and providing the infrastructure needed for success.

I then looked at two other stories – the situation of a single mum with three jobs struggling to bring up three teenage sons and a priest frustrated at being roped into Cameron’s Big Society, because of the spending cuts. Both stories illustrate the importance of the welfare state for providing security and opportunity. The problems of impersonal delivery and unnecessary bureaucracy must be addressed, but the general criticism that POP make of the 1945 settlement is very alarming, as a quick glance back to the 1930’s makes clear. For example, in the 1930’s my grandmother collected subs for a voluntary ambulance scheme – after the NHS arrived this wasn’t necessary and most people prefer to dial 999. Charities can’t replace public services.

One of the most shocking things is that POP criticise women’s independence as a cause of social problems. This – as the Archbishop of Canterbury has pointed out – is usually the politics of the Neanderthal Right. They also seem nostalgic for The British Empire with talk of white peoples’ “entitlements” and “destiny”. I believe we should be appealing to people not their prejudices. Only last month President Obama came to Britain and said “The longing for freedom and dignity is not English or American, it is universal”. Quite.
So as we develop our policies – community should be one value we promote – alongside equality, liberty and democracy.