There are few magic bullets in politics. Anyone who thinks that there is a single new policy or reform that the government could implement between now and the next election that will win back the support we need to carry the day is living in ‘Cloud Cuckoo Land’. Victory is there to be won, but it will be a process of hard work and a range of initiatives.
And there are also lots of things we could to do that could make the current situation even worse! The ‘New Labour’ coalition, love it or hate it, has won us the last three general elections and policies that alienate any part of it make the mountain we have to climb even steeper. The 50% high rate of tax may have been popular with our core voters and may be necessary in the short term but it sends out a very negative signal to the ‘aspiring middle class.’ A signal that we will reduce it, even if only to 45%, as soon as we can afford to would be a positive move especially if we balance the ‘equation’ by boosting the minimum wage and tax credits at the other end of the earning spectrum.
I hear calls for Lords reform, fixed term parliaments, votes at sixteen and proportional representation to be pushed through on the basis that these will ‘reconnect parliament with the people’. None of these things seem to be on the tongues of my constituents when they are discussing the pressing issues of the day.
What they do want is a sweeping reform of the expenses regime in Westminster and those who are guilty of abusing the existing system to be punished. Indeed, attempts to press forward with constitutional reform too hastily are more likely to raise more controversy and be seen as an attempt to sweep the real issues under the carpet than they are to be a vote winner.
More choice in public services, more power to be exerted in local communities, decentralisation of power away from Whitehall are all vital reforms but none of these are a magic bullet either.
If there are magic policy bullets they will address the issues that ordinary people are really worried about. One is the shortage of social and affordable housing and the need to make sure that our children will have somewhere to live and raise their families when they leave home.
But, let’s face it, everything pales into significance in comparison to demonstrating that we are on top of the economic situation. It is jobs and paying the bills that are the key issues for most people.
So if I have to home in on just one policy that I’d like to hear announced it would be to bring in a statutory package of support for people who lose their jobs. It should include an approved package of redundancy pay, a guaranteed mortgage or rent holiday and a statutory right to retraining. Most of all it should apply to everyone in that New Labour coalition, high income or low income, who have been in work and paying their ‘stamps’ for two years. It would be a statement that for working people there is a genuine safety net and that Labour is on their side.