We’re punching below our weight until we acknowledge Tony Blair’s successes for our party

Under Tony Blair, the Labour Party became the most successful post-war election winning machine in recent British history. A decade later it is reduced to denouncing its greatest successes and demonising the only Labour leader alive to move the party from opposition to government. To be called a supporter of ‘Tony’ by the far left fringe of the party is maybe worse than their labelling someone a ‘Tory’. Something has gone terribly wrong.

It is a twisted view of socialism that claims building record numbers of schools and hospitals, launching a minimum wage and equality legislation, and building economic prosperity are insufficiently ‘true’ Labour to be worth our celebrating. Supporters of those voting against the Welfare Reform and Work Bill were quick to demonise their opponents as not really socialists and therefore both heartless and unprincipled. They fail to realise there is still another vote after a likely bruising committee stage review—so it ain’t over yet and far too early to say all is doom and gloom. It has also gone unnoticed that rejecting the Bill meant opposing raising the minimum wage and increasing apprenticeships to improve opportunities for well-paid work for young people—policies that deserve our measured support. I’m still surprised no one has called this #abstaingate yet, if it’s not too late.

Principles are not the sole preserve of the left. As I’ve said before, I believe the Labour Party could learn a lesson from, yes, from the American President the left loves to hate, Ronald Reagan. The Republicans were deeply divided in the 1960s and suffered a major defeat when Barry Goldwater lost to Lyndon Johnson. Reagan urged his party to honour an 11th Commandment: ‘Thou shall not speak ill of any Republican’. It focused minds and brought unity: that for all their differences, they shared a common opponent. And the rest is history. This principle says that the more we bitterly and publicly oppose each other than the bigger and more difficult winning over voters will be. We have strength in unity, and need all the strength we can find to wade through another likely five years in opposition.

The same advice about unity should be heeded today by the Labour Party—and we can all start by giving our blessing once more to Tony Blair, who should be the patron saint of Labour election victories. Honouring Blair’s achievements in office does not mean supporting every policy. But it does mean getting serious—once again—about winning elections.

Blair’s speech to Progress on Wednesday was chock full of advice, a The Gospel of Tony, on why Labour need not choose between their principles and election victories because they can have both. Blair was absolutely right to point out that the public’s voting for a Tory majority is not a call for Labour to lurch more to the left. The SNP are not progressives, but nationalists. And mobilising ‘lazy’ Labour voters would still not deliver a Labour majority. Those who think Labour should be more lime the SNP should remember a fear of the SNP propping up a Miliband led minority government help push support for the Conservatives. To win, we must convince voters who chose the Tories in 2015 to back us in 2020. This will only get more difficult if planned constituency boundary changes happen, and this would yield fewer seats in Scotland for either Labour or the SNP to win.

Our road to recovery starts with a crucial acceptance that is painful to acknowledge. Labour must accept it lost the election because it lost the argument. It can be an electoral force again, but not if it does the Tories’ work for them in denouncing its past achievements in power and the Labour leaders that did something they so desperately need: win votes.

The 11th Commandment may not be as fun for party activists struggling to win the party for their favoured candidate, but failing to do so will get Labour nowhere and a sin to be avoided. And we can start by ending the Blair bashing.

The most disappointing remark I’ve received over the last few days was from a fellow party member who said it was more important for Labour to be more ideological pure than win elections because winning is what Tories do. But if Blair taught us anything at all, it is we can win elections, too. You don’t need to be a Blairite to recognise we’re punching far below our weight until we acknowledge Blair’s successes for our party and, more importantly, for our country.

Thom Brooks is Professor of Law and Government, a columnist for regional newspaper The Journal and Communications Lead for Sedgefield MP Phil Wilson