Constitutional reform and devolution will be crucial to restoring faith in both our democracy and our economy, writes Joe Jervis. This article is part of The Labour Interest series.
‘You’ve got to unpack … what bits of the so-called liberal agenda have failed and what bits haven’t’. When Tony Blair, usually so staunch in defence of his record, hints at the limitations of an ideology he embodied for a decade then it might be time for fellow liberals to ask similar questions. In fact, if the Brexit vote had a silver lining it was surely the wake-up call that, in a fast-changing world, security, stability and belonging are as equally important to people as liberty and opportunity.
We have now witnessed a decade-long backlash against elements of both economic and social liberalism. Consecutive Labour leaders have regularly identified bankers’ bonuses, tax avoidance and London’s dominance as evidence of market failure, but they have failed to engage in more challenging debates around identity and belonging. A laissez-faire approach to immigration and integration was always unlikely to produce thriving, cohesive communities without tensions and the consecutive failures of Labour leaders to acknowledge this logical flaw has negatively impacted support for the party, for diversity and for multiculturalism. Unfortunately for Labour, the public have tended to place more blame on free movement than free markets.
As Jonathan Rutherford’s essay on Labour and Brexit indicates, Labour’s absence from the debate on identity and belonging has handed a free pass to Nigel Farage to create a narrow and hostile brand of rightwing populism. Meanwhile Labour’s wider failure of refusing to talk about issues of public priority (those issues that people vote upon) has meant voters now are turning not only to the United Kingdom Independence party, but also to a Conservative party who have ‘detoxified’ relatively successfully.
Promisingly Rutherford’s essay identifies the important steps Labour can take towards building ‘a new coalition’ of support in the face of Brexit. By focusing on those ‘majority concerns’ that people from all backgrounds care about such as family, work and place – underpinned by a commitment to valuing contribution, responsibility, patriotism, widened opportunity and a level playing field – Labour can begin to build bridges with the electorate. That is not to say Labour should not support minority issues, but to borrow Progress director Richard Angell’s recent example, Labour’s 1997 manifesto did not mention LGBT rights because the public knew the party would act in this area.
Another important point Rutherford makes is that Britain’s future must be federal. Constitutional reform – along with devolution deals – will be crucial to restoring faith in both our democracy and our economy, albeit as a longer term project rather than a quick political win. More people associate primarily with a national or local identity than with Britishness, so it is crucial that Labour strengthens in Scotland and Wales but particularly – as Rutherford suggests – in England where an English socialism feels almost non-existent.
When it comes to forging a much-needed progressive patriotism, Labour – and Rutherford – should consider two key factors. Firstly, Labour must continue to be a unionist party, and therefore the party’s key messages must speak to Britain as a whole. Fortunately, the key concerns of the mainstream majority – as alluded to above – span across borders. Equally fortunately, the quickest route to displaying our patriotism will be to speak to these concerns, using the language and values common to mainstream Britain.
Secondly, we cannot allow our patriotism to be nostalgic. We must demonstrate our patriotism by focusing our message on the key issues ahead: how we can build a resilient economy in a globalised world; minimising risks and maximising opportunities of new technology; supporting an ageing population; and, of course, cohesive immigration and integration.
If we get all this right, Labour can rise again in the face of Brexit.
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Joe Jervis is a communications specialist, political writer and former journalist. He tweets at @joejervis89
The essay this article is in response to, ‘Brexit is Labour’s future’ by Jonathan Rutherford, is available here. You can see all The Labour Interest articles here.
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