The Sunnyfesto

Yesterday, the Sun Newspaper set out its ‘Sunifesto’ for Britain; today here’s my response – a ‘Sunnyfesto’. (Note: because this is based on the Sun’s version, some of the lines and headings have been taken from there.)

FIVE years ago Britain was in dire straits, having barely escaped the deepest recession in living memory after an unprecedented credit crunch and collapsing financial institutions.

We needed change and in May 2010 we were unfortunately lumped with the Tory/Lib-Dem coalition.

The Conservatives, who had earlier wanted to weaken regulation of financial services and had backed Labour’s spending plans until 2009, immediately claimed they alone had been irresponsible. The Libdems, who had warned of “Greek style unrest” if the Tories were allowed to make austerity cuts, immediately signed up to them once given a whiff of power.

Five years later, May 2015 may look like another boring election to many, but we stand at a critical juncture in British history.

The Conservatives have outlined the most savage cuts to spending this country has ever seen. Even the neutral, centrist, establishment economists at the IFS think they aren’t possible. But that is besides the point, returning to power will give them the mandate to gut vital social security benefits, push privatisation of the NHS to irreversible levels, continue the cruel Bedroom tax, and keep cutting local services for the needy.

The Tories want a feeble state that is unable to provide basic services to the point that a wholesale shift to private services becomes inevitable and irreversible.

So where does Labour stand in opposition? For the first time in a generation, Ed Miliband is leading his party to reject neo-liberalism, despite continuing opposition from the Blairites. On one hand the party has to win back voters who think it over-spent during the good years, on the other it has to win back those who think it veered too much to the right.

Whatever choices that Mr Miliband makes, two things are certain: Labour cannot win back power unless it convinces voters it can be bold enough to improve their lives; Labour’s break from neo-liberalism cannot be temporary, it has to be deep-rooted and fundamentally change its political economy.

ECONOMY

Living standards and investment

Offer something big to voters, not just short term wheezes like the energy bills price freeze. Reform the energy industry: let people have a ‘public option’ from a mutual that puts the interests of customers first and radically reform Ofgem. Nationalise the railways – this is not an issue that will or should go away for the party. The current offering is a mild, technical fudge.

Like the LibDems, Labour must admit it will have to borrow to invest in infrastructure. It’s futile to pretend otherwise. A housing target of “up to” 200,000 homes a year by 2020 is incredibly timid; it must be raised to a million new homes by 2020.

TAXES

Introduce a Robinhood tax, to limit speculation of financial assets and raise much needed new revenue (around £30bn at a conservative estimate).

EUROPE / IMMIGRATION

End exploitation but don’t pretend to be ‘tough’

Claims that ‘Labour will be tough on immigration’ aren’t just hollow, they mislead people and anger others. Act on exploitation from immigration, as Labour has pledged, but tough rhetoric backfires with metropolitan voters and disillusions others.

NHS

Social care and the end of privatisation

There is little that can be faulted with Andy Burnham’s plans to bring back the NHS from privatisation and integrate it with social care. But Labour has conspicuously neglected to mention three words: P.F.I.. Will the party admit it made mistakes in the past and resolve to do things differently? It must.

BRITISHNESS

Don’t shy from progressive patriotism

Ed Miliband is still scared of articulating a sense of Britishness or even Englishness, a debate needed after the debacle of the Scottish referendum. How can we persuade the Scots of the value of the Union if we can’t even articulate its value ourselves.

POLITICS

End FPTP and the House of Lords

FPTP is dead and there is little point in pretending otherwise. The current system makes Labour hollow, forcing us to put our faith in tactical voting rather than making a positive case for Labour. Like most modern democracies, we have to accept the shift towards a multi-party system and the need for coalitions.

DIGITAL RIGHTS

Take privacy seriously

Ed Miliband’s credentials on civil liberties are already in tatters after the farce of the DRIP bill, which has turned away ex-LibDem voters. Win them back by showing Labour understands the need for digital rights and privacy, without giving into every demand by the intelligence services or police like the New Labour years. Protect free speech online and make Britain a hub for digital companies that want a government to take their rights seriously.