Ed Miliband’s leadership has been marked by an openness to thoughts from the whole spectrum of the party. Each one has tried to grapple with Labour’s answer to the new economic reality.
Yesterday, Ed set out Labour’s answer to this question and his response was very much black Labour. Moving Labour away from spending its way out of social issues, from an era where that was possible, to an inheritance from an economically irresponsible Conservative government, he recognised there will be less money to revolutionise our nation’s assets when Labour return to power.
While black Labour may have come too early, prophesying a day of balanced budgets and low economic output, its core message is one that the Labour leader was able to touch upon yesterday.
Let us not pretend that, thus far, Labour is winning the economic argument. It lost six months after the 2010 election, allowing Osbornomics to fill the vacuum in the general consciousness as the only plausible economic path. Yet this does not mean that Labour must agree with Osborne’s unfair and economically unsound policies, nor with the inequalities and divisions they are creating in this country.
While this government’s departments’ agenda is to cut first and think second, when Labour left office, we had a sensible plan that combined temporary tax rises with a measured deficit reduction plan. The Darling plan was lauded by the CBI and the Federation of Small Businesses, among others, who saw the budget as ‘modest but helpful’. In a recession, this is the medicine a patient needs to recover: taking away the drugs as this government has done has been shown not to work.
For the moment, black Labour may be a false prophet. It is not set in our own time, when savage cuts are aggravating our ailing economy and the Five Point Plan for Jobs and Growth would work to put us back on course. Yet black Labour aptly notes the need for progressive values with less money – as Ed said yesterday.
Labour recognises the need for cuts but these must be prudent not political. Ed is right that we need to choose where to invest, not simply salami slice our services, and our economy as a result. He was right today to say that it will have to be Labour that picks up the pieces of this economically redundant government and will have to mould fairness in deficit reduction. He was right to re-establish Labour’s core values in these tight times.
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Alex Glasner is a member of Progress
How can Labour, black, blue or otherwise be critical of the Governments responsible action to make essential cuts following the huge debt that was left. Its got to be better than spending and wasting money we dont have.
Ed is very weak leader; he couldn’t sort out the mess in Tower Hamlets yet he wants to tackle national problems, any good leader would sort out the political problem before they visit the angry territory. I am quite surprise he visited the Academy with Labour group leader and local MP whom doesn’t know what they are doing, they forgot their group positions on this, they forgot that the chair of Tower Hamlets Labour Party resigned because of the pressure from the community, really shame! The white working class people, Bangladeshi and Somali communities are very angry because of the injustice and Islam phobic action during Mayoral selection, it is pretty sure that Labour will loose two seats in next general election. I am sure it would have been a different scenario if the leader was his brother. Ed had so much support from those who are currently very angry with him. I totally agree that activists are losing faith in him; it is about the time he wakes up starts leading and fixing the political problems.
of money wot we do ‘ave……… now HS2 full steam ahead then no Crossrail at Kensal then K&C will now have 40million spare to spend at Wornington Green and make us all proud with a group of social housing all Europe will admire ,ooooh a garden city thingumybob bejapers god willing Allah be praised . Dear old NottingHill,showcase the new brave decent world …you know you’re worth it !
buttttttt as Ardmore are the chosen contractors ‘spose that’s it ; high rise ; obliterate an existing community to what ? help the construction industry and developers ( bleuachght -spit ) rather than a local authority look after its people as it should , K&C can certainly afford to do that but oooooh no the poorer areas (for which read until recently Labour) of the
borough must now be exploited after years of neglect. ‘Spose they’ll get the high rise at Latimer Road too ,which the neighbourhood does NOT want.
Ha…now the Tory leader of K&C writing a bizarre Holywood Gossip Column of NottingHill (don’t get carried away mate, there are still plenty of real people here !!) Turns into a Speilbergesque we must CAAAARE for our poor and deprived (yeah right like all of a sudden after years of neglect whilst this was the Labour ward )
no no no what you want is to do favours for the landowners/developers me old matey me old chum and
investors ….. ooooh oooh oooh high rents in the pipeline (“it may be a waiting game ” already mooted by
estate agents ) Then ,see they can flog these “investments” ANYWHERE in the world .Why the big business mentality in a borough with 1/2billion in capital reserve fund,huh ?? is it like,a power trip ? or wot ?
Ha…now the Tory leader of K&C writing a bizarre Holywood Gossip Column of NottingHill (don’t get carried away mate, there are still plenty of real people here !!) Turns into a Speilbergesque we must CAAAARE for our poor and deprived (yeah right like all of a sudden after years of neglect whilst this was the Labour ward )
no no no what you want is to do favours for the landowners/developers me old matey me old chum and
investors ….. ooooh oooh oooh high rents in the pipeline (“it may be a waiting game ” already mooted by
estate agents ) Then ,see they can flog these “investments” ANYWHERE in the world .Why the big business mentality in a borough with 1/2billion in capital reserve fund,huh ?? is it like,a power trip ? or wot ?
yes yes beg pardon was in Labour Constituency ,boundaries now re-drawn (still a Labour ward but they are trying to change that natch ! wonder how ? )
who said WE have to help Sean Mulryan get his empire back anyway huh ,who?