An essential element of New Labour’s appeal in 1997 was the constitutional reform agenda, first embraced by John Smith and then taken up by Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.
A lot of these reforms have now been carried through – devolution, freedom of information and the Human Rights Act. Others have been started – reform of the House of Lords, of party funding and of voting systems.
In his first month in power Brown issued a constitutional renewal green paper, followed by a white paper and a draft bill that is currently undergoing pre-legislative scrutiny.
While the green paper is comprehensive, the white paper and bill are much more limited, dealing with serious but minor issues, such as war powers, the status of the civil service and the role of the attorney general.
If New Labour wants to recapture the spirit of that blissful dawn in 1997, then it needs to be far bolder. Have we forgotten that we were elected on a promise to sweep away the sleaze of millionaire funding, to end the hereditary and undemocratic nature of the House of Lords and to put the reform of our voting system to a referendum?
They may not be bread and butter issues for our core vote, but they are emblematic issues for the broader coalition that brought us to power and, because they were promised in our 1997 manifesto, they have become integrity issues. Why vote Labour if it doesn’t fulfil its promises?
They are also an opportunity to draw clear dividing lines. However much the Tories may pose as reformers on other issues, one thing is certain: a Tory government will never reform party funding, the House of Lords or the voting system. They are not so selfless as to give away the secret weapons they use to entrench their party in office.
This should be our task between now and the election. Remove these unfairnesses in our political system before the Tories get their hands on them again. If we lose, it will help us to avoid another 18 years in opposition. If we win, it will be because we fought for what is right.