Tony Crosland, a former chair of the Fabian Society and Oxford don, wrote The Future of Socialism after he lost his Gloucestershire seat in the 1955 election. He argued that traditional socialism needed to adapt to modern circumstances – a context from which the term ‘revisionism’ originates. It was a seminal work: challenging received wisdom and conventional thinking on key areas of the left’s political philosophy, and setting the terms for new debate on the role of the state, economic power, equality, education and liberty.
Crosland’s work, as Roy Hattersley points out in the autumn Fabian Review, was designed to stimulate the Labour party into redefining its purpose in Britain during the 1950s and into the 1960s. It broke new ground, building on debates already under way at the time to begin to define a new narrative. Crosland was a contributor to the New Fabian Essays of 1952, a key publication which saw an emerging generation of Labour thinkers and politicians attempt to set out a new programme for the party following the decline of Attlee’s government.
The boldness of Crosland at that time is enormously relevant for Labour thinkers today, as the party pushes forward on a new process of renewal. The government’s first decade has delivered key reforms which have changed our political and economic landscape – the minimum wage and independence of the Bank of England are but two examples; decisions that will help ensure a fair and stable economic future. The challenge now is our story for the next decade.
The current process of renewal also breaks new ground. Labour has not undertaken the challenge of renewal so starkly whilst still in government – arguably a greater challenge than renewing whilst in opposition. Labour in government, delivering on the 2005 manifesto, and the party’s renewal are the two key priorities for the third term. And we will not succeed without new ideas, fresh thinking and the engagement of all sections of the Labour movement.
The Fabians’ conference this Saturday in Grimsby, a unique day of debate entitled The next Future of Socialism; Crosland’s legacy, Labour’s Future, marks the 50th anniversary and the re-publication of The Future of Socialism. The conference comes at an important moment with the party increasingly engaged in a debate on Labour beliefs, values and direction. The location too is symbolic. Grimsby was Crosland’s parliamentary seat from 1959 until his untimely death in 1977 and is now held by Austin Mitchell, a member of the Fabian executive.
Crosland was indeed one of the greats of recent Labour history. His influence remains clear, and his concern with how Labour pursues its goal of tackling inequalities remains as critical to our future as it was to our past. The Fabian Society was then, and remains, central to these debates.
Crosland’s revisionism paved the way for the creation of New Labour and the modernisation of the Labour party. The conference this Saturday, with leading speakers including Ed Miliband, Susan Crosland, Roy Hattersley, Richard Brooks, John Denham, Tim Horton, Martin Bright, Louise Bamfield, Patrick Diamond, Jean Seaton, Sunder Katwala and Austin Mitchell, will address the key question of what happens next.
Tickets are available for £10 online from the Fabian Society website. Email [email protected] for more information