The debate about the role of government is once again the main dividing line in British politics. After two massive election defeats, the Tories are rediscovering their ideological drive. They are determined to exploit the current anti-politics mood to erode faith in the power of government and to push an agenda of cuts.
That is why we hear so much from the Tories about the ‘nanny state’, ‘interference’, ‘waste’ and ‘bureaucracy’. First they claim people are better off if government leaves them alone, then they move on to cutting services. But Labour’s vision was never about forcing people to make different choices. It is about enabling them and supporting the choices they make. Labour believes in the transformative power of government. The Tories don’t.
This makes it all the more important that we on the left can articulate our own sense of purpose. While the Tories trace a path towards laissez-faire small government, blind to the problems that ordinary people face, we must offer our own vision of government as a force for good. That is the task for our general election manifesto. And the Queen’s speech and pre-budget report set the stage.
Together, the Queen’s speech and pre-budget report demonstrate Labour’s commitment to extending security and opportunity for all. Opportunity embodies Labour’s belief in the transformative power of government. We believe it is the duty of government to create opportunity for those who would otherwise be denied it. That is what it means to build a fairer society. And that is what we sought to do in the pre-budget report.
But we also recognise that security is an essential prerequisite for opportunity. This view is not entirely popular among the chattering classes. But anyone visiting communities up and down the country knows that it is about changing people’s lives for the better. That is why the security agenda was so central to the Queen’s speech.
Take our measures to make people more secure in their communities. The clean neighbourhoods and environment bill builds on the tough action we have already taken to tackle antisocial behaviour. The bill creates new powers to deal with a range of problems that blight people’s lives, from abandoned cards, fly-tipping and litter to graffiti and nuisance noise.
These are problems that can drag whole communities down, creating an atmosphere of neglect that breeds more serious crime and disorder. Furthermore, those who benefit most from such action are ordinary working- class people whose estates are blighted by antisocial behaviour. They depend on a Labour government to change their lives for the better and these are the priorities that matter to them. The new powers in the bill will help create communities people can feel proud of.
Likewise, the drugs bill will help tackle the drugs menace that feeds crime and fractures communities. Targeting the most dangerous Class A drugs, the bill includes new powers to test drug offenders on arrest, to get more people into treatment and to crack down on drug dealers. If we are to extend opportunity, it is essential that people feel safe in their own neighbourhoods.
Labour also understands the need for people to feel secure in the workplace. In our last manifesto, we promised to update the law on corporate manslaughter to ensure a more effective sanction against companies and other corporate bodies that pay insufficient regard to the lives of their workers or members of the public. The draft corporate manslaughter bill, to be introduced for pre-legislative scrutiny in 2005, marks major progress towards fulfilling that commitment.
The Queen’s speech included measures to tackle the gravest security challenges we face – a serious organised crime and policing bill to tackle organised crime, and a draft bill proposing new counter-terrorism measures. The new Serious Organised Crime Agency will ensure a swifter and more effective response to increasingly sophisticated criminal activities. And the draft counter-terrorism bill will examine ways of ensuring that our security services have the powers they need to protect us against the new threats we face. These bills are not about stoking fears. They are about responding to very real threats that affect us all.
We have also introduced the identity cards bill, which is supported by 80 per cent of the electorate. Identity cards will play a crucial role in making Britain more secure. The 21st century has brought difficult new challenges – the threat of global terrorism, more sophisticated criminal practices, illegal immigration. These challenges impact on all of us, whether through heightened security checks when we travel, new forms of identity fraud, or increased pressure on public services when people make claims to which they are not entitled.
Many involved in law enforcement have long believed that identity cards could play a role in addressing these challenges. New biometric identification technology has strengthened this case immeasurably. The new ID cards will be virtually impossible to forge, and will enable us to close the net around those who pose a threat or are abusing the system.
Some, including the Liberal Democrats, claim that these security measures create a climate of fear and are about ‘big government’. But the truth is that we face big threats. If the state can help us deal with those threats, it must do so.
Labour’s commitment to secure communities lays the foundation for greater opportunity for all. Creating opportunity is Labour’s core purpose and embodies our belief in the transformative power of government. Our legislative programme continues to push towards that goal.
Take the education bill, which underlines our commitment to raising standards in all schools. The bill will establish a new relationship with schools, giving more autonomy to the front line of delivery, while reforming school inspection, finance and bureaucracy. Importantly, the bill will establish three-year ringfenced budgets for schools, enabling them to plan ahead effectively by giving them greater financial stability.
The child benefit bill will also extend opportunity, building on the success of Education Maintenance Allowances. At the moment, 16 to 19 year-olds are only eligible for child benefit if they are still in full-time education – not if they are in work-based learning. This bill will correct that injustice and will provide a financial boost to young people who are eager to learn, but not in an academic setting.
These bills show that by creating opportunities, government is giving people choices, not taking them away. Some people may think that is nannying. I don’t.
Our new legislative programme will also further advance our equality agenda. The equality bill, establishing a powerful new Commission for Equality and Human Rights, will for the first time outlaw discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation, religion or belief, and age. In addition, the disability discrimination bill fulfils Labour’s commitment to extend full civil rights to disabled people by extending protection in respect of transport and housing, and creating a new obligation on the public sector to promote equality for disabled people.
If anyone thinks that equality means big government, perhaps they should explain that to the tens of thousands of people who will be helped by these two bills.
All of these measures build on progress we have made transforming people’s lives during our first two terms. Our third-term agenda will continue to showcase the positive role that government can play. Labour believes that government can change things for the better, and that is what we will do in our next term if we can secure that historic third election victory.