The Blair-Brown era is over. The battles over personality and policy nuance will likely continue in a Labour leadership election contended by key figures from both camps, but there is no doubt we are now entering a new period of politics. The uncertain national election outcome unsurprisingly dominated the news agenda during the few days following the general election. The lesser told, yet crucially important story from 6 May is the local election results, which produced a much more decisive outcome, and a very promising one for Labour.

Local Labour has gained control of 17 councils – including Camden, Islington and Liverpool – and nearly 400 council seats overall. The Conservatives lost a net seven councils and the Liberal Democrats one. From our local success, in the context of national ambiguity, I would draw the following conclusions.

First, the results show that many of Labour’s local councillors are more in touch with their communities than MPs, having been able to deliver a political agenda far more in keeping with the electorate. By providing localised solutions to the issues raised by voters, local Labour offers a far more relevant agenda than do the distant Whitehall bureaucrats and operatives within the Westminster bubble.

Second, local Labour is in a strong position to provide a foundation for a new revised and radicalised Labour party that is better focused on the real needs of individuals in our communities. Clearly, managerial centralism routed in Whitehall is doomed as an electoral force. People are totally switched off by politicians reciting a centrally-rehearsed litany of jargonised soundbites. Local councillors, on the other hand, know that when a constituent asks a question they want a straight answer.

Third, our councillors have formed the cadre of campaigners in both general and local elections. It is evidently now important that their tireless contribution must be rewarded by giving local Labour a much greater say in future campaigns and better representation within the party’s democratic structures.

The Labour party has to be a radical progressive force making practical progress towards social justice. Unfortunately, we have become a boring, establishment-oriented set-up that is failing to ignite the imagination of future generations. Young people in particular are looking to other parties and organisations to channel their energies, which appear more exciting and radical than we do. This trend must be reversed, or our activist base will fade over time and we will become increasingly irrelevant to our communities.

Finally, I would argue that the future of socialism lies in localism. At this critical juncture, we must recognise that we need to begin again and focus on becoming a fighting, campaigning, radical progressive organisation, in keeping with the history and traditions of Labour movements. Our strength comes from our shared past, which anchors us in our communities and represents the views, needs and desires of the many. We should not ignore our history and nor should we live in the past. We must build on our enduring Labour values and traditions – localist, reciprocal, solidaristic, activist and optimistic – and, in so doing, build new coalitions of support and energy to make a difference everywhere we can.

For there is a real risk that, with the 21st-century only a decade old, we are imprisoned in a bureaucratic, centralised state-oriented approach of the mid-20th century, with less imagination than we had in the 19th century. We need to rebuild the Labour party from our grassroots communities up, creating a dynamic force for change that draws in the energies of the progressive majority we know exists in our country, and which needs a strong party to give voice to our ambitions and practical application to our values.

Labour now has additional control of the following councils:
Brent, Camden, Coventry, Doncaster, Ealing, Enfield, Harrow, Hartlepool, Hastings, Hounslow, Islington, Liverpool, Lewisham, Oxford, Southwark, St Helens and Waltham Forest.

Labour now controls a majority of councils in the capital: 17 out of the 32 London boroughs.

Photo: stevecadman 2009