What sort of Labour Party do we want?

We have all talked a lot over the last few weeks about what kind of Leader we want and in many ways that also speaks to what kind of Party we want. Maybe that’s why we’re all so divided. Because I am not sure we share a common vision of what the Labour Party is for, can be for and should be for.

It’s no secret that I was an Ed “fan” in 2010. I worked hard to get him selected as leader and was delighted when he was. But that grew pretty thin pretty soon. Not because I thought any less of him, or of my choice. I stand by that. But I do think less of myself investing for all my hopes in one person. One frail human being who will inevitably let me down. Just as whoever is elected as Leader this time will inevitably do to their supporters sooner or later or from time to time. In many ways, not being elected leader of the Labour Party is better for an individual. You get to retain your supporters’ hopes and dreams. And you never get called a virus or have your flaws so magnified that the mere eating of a sandwich becomes all you are known for.

The movement I believe in isn’t about individuals, yet as long as I can remember it has been caught up in hero worship and betrayal narratives. For people who believe in collectivism, we are remarkably unwilling to believe in collective responsibility. We wash our hands of tainted successes and disavow failures as not US enough.

Most of the Corbyn/Anti-Corbyn debate has centred on notions of electability and power. One side will lead with “what is the point of purity without electability?” while the other will parry with “what point electability with no principles”.

To be frank I struggle with this myself at times. I believe that the Labour Party’s ultimate aim should be to make people’s lives better. For me that means having your hands on the levers of power and then using them in a way that is both strong and principled but also makes an argument and takes the country with you.

We should always strive for national success. But this should not be laid at the feet of one super-human, but be the responsibility of us all. We need to win vote by vote, person by person, council by council and  seat by seat. Our national vision is vital and has been proved severely lacking. But it is in the translation of that national vision that true politics comes alive.

Few people are excited by a national strategy for rail provision. Few will jump for joy at the announcement of a new housing target (though I am one of those few). Few will be moved by the latest dry employment statistics. But give them a job, a home and accessible, comfortable means to travel between them – that’s a vision for people’s lives. Policies announced nationally have to be lived and understood locally.

I want a Labour Party that is not looking to elect either a messiah or a manager, but a facilitator. A person who leads when it is needed, but understand that their role is to embolden others and allow them to lead. I don’t want a Labour Party that does things for the poor. I want a Labour Party who works with all our citizens to abolish poverty. Not for a generation. Not by tinkering with taxes and incomes, but by fundamentally changing the structure of our society and the economy that serves it.

And I want a Labour Party that is ambitious enough to do this and realistic enough to know that it doesn’t happen overnight or from opposition. We need to prove ourselves worthy of the task. We need to recognise that where we do have power, that empowering others is our job.

The story of the future of the Labour Party should not be written by our leaders alone. It needs to be written by all of us. Power must be shared not hoarded. Good ideas must triumph not because of the faction of the deliverer but the strength of their value. We should be a party that embraces a mass membership but appeals to a wide enough spectrum of people to actually achieve such a thing. And we must be a party that knows and understand the power it has, the  power it wants and the power it can and must give away.

That’s the party I want.