There can be no doubting Tony Blair’s historical contribution to radically reforming the Labour party. From his early days as a party member in Hackney, Tony Blair quickly formed a view of what was wrong with the Labour party. On becoming an MP, he worked closely with Gordon Brown on plans and ideas to rectify what he thought were serious weaknesses. These young MPs spent much time and energy on party reform. They held a view that the party at local level was too small, that it did not properly represent the communities where it organised, and was dominated by small groups.
At a national level, the National Executive Committee and the party conference were the main problems. The NEC was dominated by MPs elected by party members on the basis of a popularity contest that, in the years of the Wilson and Callaghan governments, could only be won by attacking those governments. The conference, they believed, had too much power to pass resolutions, was too critical of the party leadership and sought to tie the hands of the Labour government.
Tony Blair was elected as a member of parliament for Sedgefield in 1983 and began to build the kind of party he wanted in that constituency. He used the formidable services of his agent, John Burton, and, along with Phil Wilson, a local party member, persuaded the party at the national level to suspend the national subscription rates in return for Sedgefield party guaranteeing a fixed amount of money to central funds. This left the Sedgefield party free to join members on whatever they could afford. It was a radical move, but it worked, and Blair built the largest party in the country. When he was selected as a candidate, the Sedgefield party had four hundred members; when he was elected leader he had four times as many.
When Blair became party leader in 1994, he wanted to replicate his Sedgefield achievements on a national basis. He soon discovered how difficult this was and that not all members of the Parliamentary Labour Party shared his enthusiasm for this work. So, whilst party membership grew between 1994, when Blair became leader, and the general election in 1997, the aim of having a party in 650 constituencies where each had a membership of over 1,000 never materialised. He must be disappointed that mass membership was never achieved; indeed, since the party came to power in 1997, membership has radically declined.
Undoubtedly, one of Blair’s greatest achievements as party leader was to change Clause 4 of the Labour party constitution. He believed that the party needed a modern constitution that made it clear that the Labour party was not simply the party of public ownership but could also embrace a wider economic perspective.
Blair was determined to change this part of the constitution as a symbol of his leadership and showed great courage in taking it on. He also showed an openness with his party and the trades unions in having a pre-Clause 4 consultation period and holding a ballot of party members.
As we moved through the final years of Opposition towards the May election of 1997, I was charged with the responsibility of what I hoped would be Blair’s final and most successful party reform: Partnership in Power. This was a new system of policy-making that would bring the cabinet, the PLP, the party and the unions together, working all-year round on a rolling programme of policy. The changes would involve the transformation of the party conference from a rhetorical, slogan-chanting talking-shop to a place where there was to be real dialogue between the party and its leaders.
The possibility of high-profile members of parliament such as Tony Benn challenging the Prime Minister on the NEC no longer existed, as the PLP representatives were now elected not by party members but by other MPs. The possibility of the leader being defeated at conference by a whole range of motions agreed the night before debating no longer existed. The conference now deals in the main with reports prepared at policy forums.
Although these reforms have been in operation since 1997, there is still a widely held view that the party and the government are not working together effectively and that the reforms have not had the desired effect. So why has Partnership in Power not been used more effectively to bring the party and the leadership together and to build trust?
The answer is, I think, that Partnership in Power could not resolve the different aims of those who agreed it. My aim as general secretary, and the aim of most NEC members, was to achieve mutuality, governing together, respecting the different roles and responsibilities of all those involved, and engaging in open dialogue.
Tony Blair and those around him at the time certainly subscribed to these inclusive aims but in practice focused on using the process to control the party, excluding those who would dissent and disagree to avoid the damaging divisions of the past. I sense now that many involved with relationships at the top of the party recognise this and there is regret that the opportunities for genuine engagement and inclusivity were not entered into earlier.
The new initiatives on The Big Conversation are to be welcomed. This is the right direction to take for the future. We have to learn the lessons from the past.
Tony Blair’s main initiatives on party reform are possibly drawing to an end. He has laid the foundation for a modern party but further progress needs to be made. Whether he is prepared to return to this agenda remains to be seen, but whoever takes up the challenge must strike a much more inclusive relationship with the party. The revolution remains unfinished.