Servants of the people?

We must show we're on the side of ordinary people if Labour is to win again

In conversation with colleagues last week we were agreed that despite current political difficulties in reality we have been rather a good government. If only the electorate understood all would be well!

It is a great irony that the party which revolutionised political communication has failed so dismally to persuade people that new Labour’s values, policies, and investment have led to the major advances which are so evident in every community in public services and living standards.

However, any suggestion that a developing sense of disillusionment and angst amongst the electorate is simply a failure of communication would be the surest route to opposition. Instead, we must face up to the reality that the New Labour coalition which has delivered our unprecedented three terms is now under severe strain. Contrary to the debate between the ultra Blairites and the anti-New Labour left it is both the permanent Labour voter and those who signed up to New Labour who want reassurance that we are still on their side.

New Labour’s success has been based upon a coalition that rallied around fairness, individual aspiration and the need for national renewal and a new generation of political leadership. After the wilderness years of CND badges and loony councils, New Labour spoke for the mainstream majority who work hard and play by the rules. We were on people’s side because we focused on the issues which affected people’s standard of living, quality of life and hopes for the future. We looked and spoke like people who understood what it is like to bring up a family, struggle to pay the bills and cope with the stresses of a rapidly changing world. We wanted to change Britain but loved Britain too. With a record number of women MPs we looked like Britain. We were the refreshing, energetic antithesis to the arrogant, smug and out-of-touch Tories.

In the teeth of fierce Tory opposition, we introduced a minimum wage and tax credits to support low paid workers. Our investment in nurseries, schools and the NHS connected with the priorities of all families.

Eleven years on new Labour is now the party of the establishment; the party in government when the electorate’s respect for Westminster politicians is at an all-time low; the party which frequently has to justify decisions which emerge from the unavoidable and constant struggle in government between idealism and realism; the party which will always live with the stigma of an unpopular war; the party which is telling people that the global credit crunch means things are going to be tough for hardworking families in the period ahead.

So the challenge now is: can we be both the party of the people and the party of government? People know that, like life, government is not easy. Headlines come and go, but at a time of growing insecurity their anger is ignited when they feel the government is losing touch with what fairness means to the mainstream majority who work hard, play by the rules and are feeling squeezed by rising utility bills, the cost of petrol and rising council tax. We cannot afford to be reticent or selective about what fair means in today’s Britain. Being treated with respect by central and local government and their agencies and your fellow citizens also matters but not as a Whitehall unit or smart branding exercise but the manifestation of our country’s values and character.

Fairness means everyone paying an appropriate level of tax. It is true there is nothing wrong with being ‘stinking rich’ providing you pay a significantly higher proportion in tax than your fellow citizen with a modest disposable income and accept your moral obligation to make a significant contribution to the elimination of child poverty. Fairness means a Labour government not remaining silent when any company rips the consumer off or directors of poorly performing organisations in the public or private sector receive extortionate bonuses. Fairness means if you go out onto the streets with a gun or a knife and get caught you should serve a minimum of ten years in prison. Fairness means if you are a foreign national who is breaking the law by being here illegally you will be deported with immediate effect. Fairness means our first assumption should be that parents are responsible for the behaviour and wellbeing of their children. Off-licenses or adults allowing children inappropriate access to alcohol should face automatic prosecution. Fairness means equal treatment and opportunities for women and ethnic minorities in the workplace, not skilled white men denied career opportunities in the name of equality. Fairness means a dialogue about the responsibilities of British citizenship with the powerful as well as the unemployed, disabled people and ethnic minorities. Fairness is young people who work hard having the chance to own their own home.

Respect means public services which offering a personal service, organised around the lives of the citizen not the bureaucracy and enable you to exercise maximum control and meaningful choice. Frontline public service workers feeling valued and inspired by managers and leaders of real calibre. Respect means older people being treated with dignity on NHS Wards, in care homes and in our neighbourhoods.

Respect is recognising that an active state is essential in the pursuit of fairness and security but that empowered citizens and communities make the most difference. In the context of recent controversies, respect is also accepting that people of faith have the same right to their convictions and principles as assertive atheists.

It is right we focus on the great challenges of climate change, globalisation, security and poverty at home and abroad and the nature of public service reform. However, we are too often silent on the daily realities facing hardworking families.

In his historic address to the first Parliamentary Labour Party meeting following our 1997 landslide victory Tony Blair cited the famous quote ‘we are the servants of the people not their masters’ – and said the day we forget that, we are finished.

Gordon Brown’s challenge now is to persuade people that we truly are the servants of the people. The coalition of permanent and potential Labour voters demand fairness and respect as fixed points of security in an uncertain world.

‘On your side’ is no longer a slick political slogan; it will be the key factor which will determine whether we can persuade the electorate to reject David Cameron’s seductive, ‘time for a change’ Conservatives.

Ivan Lewis MP is MP Bury South and minister for care services

Comments

Posted by yvonne goodwin. on 07 October 2009, 8:50:20 PM
shalom to Ivan couldnt resist reading this speech.I enjoyed reading every word and accept your ideas.pity your not a minister on the israeli government.o.k. over and out.B good B happy B safe luv aunty yvonne Israel.