I, for one, was grateful that Ed Miliband didn’t read the whole speech that the office intern mistakenly loaded on the Labour party’s website. (It was the intern, and it was a mistake, right?)
The reason? This passage:
‘One Nation Labour has changed from New Labour – businesses have a responsibility to pay their taxes, respect their customers and treat their workers fairly.’
What nonsense. What toxic, divisive nonsense.
The implications – no, to be fair, the actual words – are clear. Under New Labour – apparently – businesses were allowed to evade taxes, cheat their customers and oppress their workers.
To be honest, that is not a government I would have worked for, nor one the country would have ever voted for.
To be clear, that is not a government that ever actually existed.
It is a malicious, ultra-left, quasi-Trot smearing of the best British government of my lifetime.
That is, supposedly, a description of the government that introduced the national minimum wage, extended workers’ rights every year until the global financial crisis and increased employment every year too – with the Equalities Act, the Human Rights Act and the creation of the supreme court.
A government that believed businesses were not the enemy but partners in economic growth and in social progress.
We saw in Scotland the toxic consequences of a Scottish Labour party unwilling, at first, and eventually unable to defend the record of 13 years of a Labour government. It meant that Alex Salmond was free to say that we were exactly the same as the Tories.
I’m so glad Ed didn’t say those words.
Otherwise I’d have had to say what I really feel.
—–
In praise of conference
It may have been a flat conference hall, but it was an immensely vibrant fringe. There were debates everywhere about the pressing questions: How to handle UKIP? How to rebalance power in England in favour of cities and regions? How to tackle poverty in a climate of austerity? How to win and keep the centre?
We have become a party of ideas and of pragmatism, of practice and idealism. That’s more than a little achievement.
Take a bow, conference.
—–
In praise of Progress
Just a couple of weeks ago a dogged band of MPs defended liberal intervention. Pat McFadden, Liz Kendall, John Woodcock and Phil Wilson. Progressives, or should I say Progress-ives? The fruit of their labour – the long persistent raising of the principle – was in today’s debate in which the government finally decided to ask the Commons for backing for military action against Isis. The struggle takes many forms and the parliamentary one is often overlooked by journalists but our colleagues changed the debate and succeeded in getting the government to do the right thing. Congratulations all round.
—–
In praise of Gordon Brown
The Labour party were unable to timetable a standing ovation for GB – the man who saved the union.
So, can all readers of this column now stand up and cheer Gordon to the rafters?
It’s the least we can do.
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John McTernan is former political secretary at 10 Downing Street and was director of communications for former prime minister of Australia Julia Gillard. He writes The Last Word column on Progress and tweets @johnmcternan
Here’s my nagging doubt, or if you are of that mindset, conspiracy theory.
The bits that were in the released speech were deliberately left out of the delivered speech. Team Ed saw what happened when Ed Balls said unpalatable things and worried that he would have got a similar reception.
The audience got their crowd pleaser with none of those difficult home truths; the media got their speech with all the grown up stuff.
Everyone was happy and no one would notice the sleight of hand.
On reflection this is a ridiculous scenario, no one would be that stupid – would they?
I totally agree with John McTernans’ assertion regarding New Labour. I am absolutely appalled that the leader of the Labour Party would contemplate saying such a thing. In 1997, when Tony Blair became PM the country was on its knees. He had to develop new labour to give the public confidence that he would not make the mistakes of previous labour leaders when in office. Schools, hospitals, communities were suffering. The new Labour Government tackled all these issues, pouring money into deprived public services. I can remember some of my unqualified staff who earned a pittance receiving tax credits. The difference it made to their lives was wonderful. Education improved dramatically as did the buildings where it took place. The NHS had spending more equal to that spent in the rest of Europe. The UK stood tall in the world and in the EU. Of course there were errors – typical of any government. I can recall hem all.
I should add that I supported the Iraq war and I have not backtracked on that like many labour people. Appalled at Peter Hain’s comments in the House today that he voted for the war on a lie. Shame on him – failed intelligence by all western democracies more like. How pathetic can one get.
I loathe this anti new labour stance. I loathe the fact that so many people who served in the new labour government have lurched to the left. I am not at all happy and I will not vote for the party at any forthcoming election. EM has insulted my intelligence. Further, he has denigrated a government who ruled for many years under an excellent PM and who improved the working and living conditions of the population.
All very nasty. His comments may appeal to some but they most certainly do not appeal to me nor indeed many people whose votes he may need.
The Scots expat New Labour patsy is deluded…
I wouldn’t vote for them, but, blame Labour, Tories and Lib Dems for UKIP’s phenomenal appeal just as we blame the West for IS, ISIS, ISAL, et al.
If that Ed was going to say perhaps best he had his memory lapse. The party and country did expect to hear him talk about the important missing two issues, and he has done himself immense harm by sidestepping and opening himself up to criticism between now and polling day. Also he clearly needs to get someone close to him like Alistair Campbell who is experienced and prepared to tell him sometimes things he does not want to hear. I suspect those close to him don’t do that, and quite frankly on recent showing appear to be not very experienced. For God’s sake get the act together as the country needs change and a lead from Labour, and at the moment Farage must be rubbing his hands. The conference is a bubble and all happy clappy but most people live outside that bubble.
Many a slip ‘twixt cup & lip – there is 8 months’ till May 7 2015. John Mc T and other scribes and advisers, Gordon Brown & Ed Miliband should say what they ‘really think’ before the likes of Farage, Salmond and Cameron say it for them. But watch what you all say to your freebie interns over unsafe comm’s and cyber-space laptops and i.phones, nothing is safe from hackers – that is scary. Little old nobodies like me know there are professional 16 year-old hackers out there who revel in malicious gossip and reading others’ private e.mail to stir up trouble purely from a devilish delight in seeing the ‘establishment’ [define please] crumble. If we can’t speak our ‘minds’ about being against civil unrest [civil war in uk again] then its time to re-define Democracy.
It was a great and business-like conference and I’m sure that the
motives of members of the last Labour administration were truly noble.
The problem with this article is, however, that things did go wrong and
many people, most of whom are not Trots have been left with the
impression that companies did not pay their taxes, respect their
customers and treat workers fairly. This impression is grossly
unfair to 99% of business but if we ignore it, treat it as a
communications issue or offer phoney solutions the problem of trust in
politicians and business gets worse not better. If we acknowledge
problems, address them and move on we will do a service to business as
well as politics. You might call it progress.
New Labour did make many mistakes in accepting the Thatcher view of the economy and the world. I supported and voted for them but they (Blair and Brown) should have known what was happening in the Banking Industry as we had barely come out of the chaos caused by the Pensions Industry when they took over in 1997. I also accept that we (the West) still thought we could intervene abroad and create a better world (as in Iraq and Afghanistan). Look how much we have learned since then. If Miliband becomes PM next May he will have a hell of a job to just start getting the economy working in the interests of the majority of the population. Something Blair and Cameron have managed to ignore.
There’s no doubt Labour fluffed it spectacularly at conference 2014. And Labour knows it. Labour just couldn’t cut the mustard when it mattered in galvanising socialist hearts and minds particularly amongst older lost Labour souls like me who has been passionate Labour all my/our working lives – only to see with the ‘conservativisation of Labour’ a devaluing of socialist principles year-on-year-out. Labour may now have missed the boat in recapturing lost comrades who, out of sheer frustration and sorrow, flail around for another answer. And, what do they see? The ridiculous, if persuasive, bonhomie visage of Nigel Farage. For me, I’ll not be renewing my Lab membership before the general election. I’ll not be campaigning for Labour either as I have done with the enthusiasm I have, hitherto, given. How, so many of us suffer a sad socialist heart.
The Green Party is the closest to a true socialist Party, so my labour party card torn up a couple of years ago is now a GP card…
it’s the progressives who have ruined this party.ignored the northern heartlands,and treated them
in a disgraceful manner.but they are fine being parachuted into ‘safe’ labour seats.but instead of finding out why these people,our people.decades voting labour,decent,hardworking people have switched to ukip.no they throw out insults.racist bigots,ill educated,can’t use the internet.10 ukip cllrs in rotherham,ukip vote higher than labour in doncaster.they have suffered austertity.not our mp’s.and what do they do? will carry on with austerity.while they will get a 10% rise in april.enough attacking our voters with austerity.then throw in rotherham,rochdale.who knows what will happen at heywood by-election,or even may 2015.
Well said Ed. Or well-written anyway. The last Government, in which he was closely involved, did not bring about the wealth redistribution any of us would have liked. As Harold Wilson said, the Labour Party is a campaign or it is nothing.
Yes, “the national minimum wage, extended workers’ rights every year until the global financial crisis, the Equalities Act, the Human Rights Act and the creation of the supreme court” were good, but they do not rank alongside the creation of the NHS.
Britain is a horribly unfair society. Government can help change this. We look to Labour to bring about this change. A very small part of this change is to ensure that governments ensure that businesses ‘pay their taxes, respect their customers and treat their workers fairly.’
I totally agree that New Labour had a good record, but the down side is they kept all the Thatcher policies. The Tory’s and the liberal’s are still slagging our party for crashing the economy, None of our leaders are challenging them for all the miss information they are giving the voters. I do with John Prescott article in the Mirror the other day, we are not saying what we have archived when we were in power.