Uncut « Labour Uncut

Laugh at the Tories, not the Big Society, says Andy Westwood

28/05/2010, 01:39:37 PM

It has been very easy to pour scorn on David Cameron’s big idea. I have done it myself. Launched in the election campaign, it bombed on the doorstep and among the media. Most people had little or no idea what he was talking about and those who did assumed that he was just trying to make something more substantial from his line about society not being the same thing as the state.

Mixed with its rejection of Margaret Thatcher’s anti-society stance and the implication that this was a changed, more compassionate Conservative party, this was the line that team Cameron thought would seal the deal with the electorate. It didn’t and he didn’t either. It is fair to say that the Big Society still has some work to do to bring around the doubters.

And yet, it persists as one of the coalition’s big ideas. Cameron has relaunched it quickly with few changes – but this time from Downing Street and with more attention from the chattering classes than before. It reminded me a little of Cool Britannia, so we’ll forgive the curiosities of those who went along to listen and be photographed. (more…)

Posted in Uncut | 9 Comments »

Labour must learn to oppose, says Benjamin Wegg-Prosser

27/05/2010, 02:22:59 PM

I did something very strange last week: I read a speech by a Secretary of State (Jeremy Hunt’s first – perfectly good if a little predictable).

I did something odder this morning: I watched the Parliament channel on the iPlayer.

Having been lucky enough to have access to the heart of government at various points over the past 13 years, I had fallen out of the habit of actually reading and watching the business of politics. Having an inside track seemed to give me sense of what was going on without having to do so much of the legwork.

Times have changed. And in changing times following the nitty gritty is essential. The Tories and Liberals are without doubt approaching government in a different way: identifying common ground, being honest about their differences and, if they can keep this going, I suspect making quite an impact on the public. (more…)

Posted in Uncut | 6 Comments »

Amanda Ramsay is not impressed by elected police chiefs

26/05/2010, 08:10:03 AM

No one knew what mutated policy offspring the Cameron and Clegg marriage of inconvenience might produce. Their coalition agreement, published last week, revealed a one word amendment to a little publicised Tory manifesto pledge – to introduce elected police chiefs to England and Wales. The Queen’s speech yesterday confirmed it.

Apparently, both Liberal and Conservative coalition negotiating teams chose to ignore the concerns of senior police officers, by pressing ahead with plans for what ended up being termed: “elected individuals” to oversee police forces.

Labour is rightly against tampering with the independence of the police. Shadow Home Secretary Alan Johnson summed it up while still in the Home Office: “The last thing police forces want is politicians telling them how to do their job, which will inevitably happen with elected commissioners.” (more…)

Posted in Uncut | 5 Comments »

Daniel Finkelstein gives a Conservative view on Labour and the cuts

25/05/2010, 07:50:14 AM

Something has struck with me with force watching the Labour leadership debate.

No one wants to talk about the cuts.

Well, Ed Balls threw out some frankly rather silly remark about the new Chancellor enjoying having to cut things, but aside from that, no one wants to talk about the cuts.

Yet, obviously, the cuts are central. (more…)

Posted in Uncategorized, Uncut | 10 Comments »

Kate Williams wonders why the new government’s first thoughts are for those accused of rape

24/05/2010, 02:15:19 PM

The first thrust of the Coalition – their gauntlet on the flagstone – has been to bestow the right of anonymity on those accused of rape. Had I been a skipping, Pollyanna type, with a cheery ‘let’s see what they come up with first before passing judgment’ approach to this government – then this would have been my scales/eyes moment.

My first instinct was to blink rapidly and rifle through both parties’ manifestos for the paragraph I must have missed; then to shake the shoulders of those who Went Over, wailing “Look what you’ve done! They have chosen as their flagship policy one which declares that women lie about rape – and so easily and habitually that men accused of it need structural protection!”

So clunkingly inept is this policy that it’s tempting to imagine it has been pulled, at random, from the big LibCon lucky dip barrel. But to do so would be to underestimate the Clegg-Cameron endeavour. This ain’t no accident – it’s a marker, a line in the sand.

The reasons that rape victims have historically been protected by anonymity are so crashingly obvious that I’m embarrassed to rehearse them here. If you’ve ever given more than a passing thought to gender politics, do feel free to skip this next bit. (more…)

Posted in Uncut | 16 Comments »

Jonathan Todd on the emerging politics of deficit reduction

24/05/2010, 12:01:51 AM

The deficit must not become the elephant in the room of Labour’s leadership election. Labour needs economic credibility to form the next government. Good candidates should – among other things, obviously – demonstrate that they would provide the leadership necessary for this credibility.

The deficit will define much of the politics of this parliament. The temptation will be great for Labour to duck its tougher questions. This won’t just be because ducking is always a tempting response to tough questions, especially questions as tough as those raised by public spending cuts. Temptation will also derive from a Labour reading of the future that is so optimistic that it risks complacency. On this interpretation, the deficit will require the coalition to do deeply unpopular things and a horrified electorate will therefore rush to the comforting embrace of Labour government on the next occasion that they are offered the chance.

This analysis seems to come recommended by Mervyn King. The Governor of the Bank of England is said to believe that the present parties of government will be forced into such extreme austerity measures as will keep them out of power for a generation. But this thinking has a worryingly “one more heave” characteristic to it. It tends towards a view that simply says: “We told you the Tories and Liberal Democrats were horrible and they are now being horrible. Come home to Labour.” (more…)

Posted in Uncut | 3 Comments »

Anthony Painter warns us off the non-existent centre ground

21/05/2010, 08:02:10 AM

Change is everywhere. And what could be better than change? It makes people wealthier, more free, more educated, enhances our status and opens boundless opportunities for all. Time for a change? It’s always time for a change.

The problem is that for a good portion of people ‘change’ is not something to celebrate. It is rather something to be anxious about. It makes you work harder. It means that a family needs two incomes rather than one. It generates insecurity and consumer demands that become increasingly impossible to meet. Not without maxing out on credit anyway. And suddenly not only your work but the entire financial structure of your life is at risk. Global financial crises tend to be local in their impact.

Change or change fatigue? Well, actually this election was a mixture of both. One Britain – change and comfort Britain – largely stuck with Labour. AB support for the party declined by a relatively modest 6% according to Greenberg, Quinlan, Rosner and by 2% amongst C1s. Amongst C2s it fell by 13% and by 11% amongst DEs. The country was divided in two. (more…)

Posted in Uncut | 3 Comments »

Hopi Sen asks the leadership bright boys some hard questions

20/05/2010, 09:52:52 AM

In the leadership election campaign, there will be a lot of talk of telling ourselves “uncomfortable truths”. Quite often, these “uncomfortable truths” will be a rhetorical trick to tell the audience what it wants to hear. Like that it’s all someone else’s fault, or that the party lost its way and got out of touch.

So I thought we should perhaps make a habit of proposing some uncomfortable truths that the Labour party, and even the candidates themselves, really don’t want to hear.

Here are two to start us off.

Don’t throw the machine away. Mend it.

The current crop of leadership contenders are the products of the most ferociously successful political machine in Labour party history. It was a machine that won three general elections, reduced the old left of the Labour party to irrelevance and made the country we live in a fairer, more open and safer place to live.

These are not bad things. (more…)

Posted in Uncut | 14 Comments »

Vernon Coaker on why he is Ed Balls’ campaign manager

19/05/2010, 02:49:45 PM

The Labour leadership contest provides our party with an exciting opportunity to debate the future as well learn from the past and reflect on the 2010 General Election result.

It has also been inspiring to see a party which, while disappointed with the result, is not dispirited or downhearted. A party which will not allow our proud record of 13 years in government to be trashed and one which will hold this new coalition to account for their actions in a responsible but determined way.

So the person that we select for our leader has to be someone who will stand up for our record but also recognise our shortcomings. Someone who sees this election contest as a way of re-energising our thoughts and views about how we tackle the issues that matter: immigration, housing, welfare reform. Someone to stand up for the decent, hard-working majority.

Such a person will need to be strong and willing to face down the Tories and Liberal Democrats as they attack us, but also able to listen and connect with real people in real communities up and down the country. (more…)

Posted in Uncut | 8 Comments »