The Labour party has our fair share of sibling rivalry. There is Ed and David Miliband, of course. There is Douglas and Wendy Alexander. Yet the most intriguing is not a rivalry at all. It is more a supportive working partnership, friendship and political alliance all rolled into one.
In a way that is a shame, because the lack of sibling warfare might just be obscuring the talents of one of Labour’s more effective shadow ministers.
Your insider is thinking of the Eagles, Angela and Maria, and particularly the younger twin, Maria, once dubbed the ‘lesser of two Eagles’ by the lobby, mostly because she arrived in parliament the election after her sister. Westminster can be shallow like that.
That ‘sister act’ focus is a shame, because Maria’s political life story is much more than just being a twin. Born in a working-class family to parents whose talents were limited by their backgrounds, Maria was shaped by the sort of experiences that too few politicians know.
Her father’s talents as a painter were held back by a need to earn a living, while her mother passed the 11-plus but was not able to stay at grammar school because of the cost of the uniform.
Her family history might explain why a determination to prove yourself, to show how capable, competent and strong you are, runs pretty deep in the Eagle family. Maria’s mother made it to university in the end, despite everything thrown in her way, while her father introduced his children to chess, with both daughters ending up playing for England.
Her background might be one reason why Maria is not a showy, flash and sizzle, sort of politician. Nor is she a briefer, schemer and plotter. Politics is not a game to her. To adapt another Liverpudlian motto, it is far more important than that.
Instead Maria specialises in a quietly loyal determination that wins regard from colleagues, not applause from the peanut gallery. It is why she was a particularly effective minister, given tricky, complicated and politically sensitive briefs, like work and pensions and education and equalities in Northern Ireland, which she managed to skilfully navigate.
Now she has responsibility for one of the less glamorous but more essential policy areas facing both Labour and Britain. After all, if the wonks and gurus say Labour’s policy agenda is to be defined around ‘work and home’, then the cars, buses, trains and planes that get us from one to the other should have a special place in our governing agenda.
Transport might not be sexy. It is not a ministerial brief that gets fought over. But it matters. Whether looking at who owns rail franchises, where High Speed Two will go, or whether bus fares are rip-offs, the decisions made in transport change lives and communities.
Politically, there is space to be radical on subjects like who should own the rail operators, where Maria has sensibly proposed keeping the East Coast mainline as a public sector comparator (oh, and while your insider feels our airports policy is a cop-out, that is a problem for all of politics, not just Labour). But, whatever your views on issues big and small, in transport getting the detail right really counts. Just ask the government, still redfaced over the Virgin franchise farce.
It matters, then, that alongside the big symbolic political questions, Labour’s transport team is coming up with a bunch of real policies that might actually be popular, workable, affordable and deliverable: letting councils set bus fares; stopping station car park charges being used as a proxy for rail ticket increases; mandating travel discounts for teenagers in education or training – the sorts of priorities that make a real difference to how far a family budget goes.
Maria Eagle is much more than a political twin. She is a politician worth seeing on her own considerable merit, one with a powerful personal story who has managed to construct a credible left-of-centre political agenda despite the constraints of budget cuts and policy reviews.
Still, perhaps it is fitting that, in creating a policy agenda that is affordable, practical and doable, Maria might just be making her sister’s job as chair of the National Policy Forum a hell of a lot easier.
Falkirk follies …
‘A permanent embarrassment and an occasional disgrace’ – that is how one Scottish sportswriter described a famous Scottish football club in the 1970s. Now the same principle seems to be being applied to parliamentary selections, with Falkirk’s selection being suspended by the National Executive Committee after weeks of allegations about recruitment, manipulation and machinations, candidates withdrawing and re-entering the race and general shenanigans.
Now the whole process is being frozen while a review is carried out. Yet it could get worse. The current MP, Eric Joyce, has warned that he would consider triggering a by-election if Labour does not act to sort out the mess. That is some incentive to get our house in order.
… but national improvements
Still, it is nice to be nice, and one ray of good news is that the NEC’s ‘org sub’ has decided to shorten the selection timetable back down to a rather more manageable two months. That should make it a bit easier for people who have ordinary day-to-day jobs to make it into parliament.
Congratulations in order
Your insider sends warmest congratulations to former NEC member and Labour First chieftain Luke Akehurst, who has just got married to long-time partner Linda Smith. Akehurst, who is standing down from Hackney council after 12 years, is also moving out of London, where he will be sorely missed in the capital’s politics. Mind you, his new CLP will be gaining a strong campaigner, a dedicated servant of the party, and a top-flight organiser.
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Cartoon: Adrian Teal