Oh how we progressives rejoiced at the removal of the corrupt, racist and incompetent Conservative government last year. Yes, Labour under Starmer looked a bit pedestrian and faced a mountain of neglected infrastructure and failing public services with an inexperienced team but it could only be better, surely. Labour even had some principles to guide their policies: sound finances, economic growth, net zero. Voters knew that nothing could be achieved without power, so Labour was given that power to pursue these.
It was never going to be easy. It has often been said of both Labour and Conservative parties that they comprise “a broad church”, making party unity challenging. How much harder to run a country divided already along both party and Brexit lines. This surely demanded uniting the nation rather than piece-meal policies, each open to attack by one wing or other of parliament, the media or the electorate.
What we have had is a set of mis-steps without a vision. And before we say “Ah yes, but Ukraine…”, what about UK? What about the future of public services, the cost of living, import and export, health and asylum backlogs – the things that we the people need?
Hopes of growth in green technologies and European trade dashed
A growth policy demands products to sell and markets which want them. Past governments have allowed manufacturing to become ever less significant, relied increasingly on imports and divorced our businesses from our formerly largest market. Goods made in this country now represent under 9% of income.
With the exception of defence, which is a concern for NATO anyway, Labour has obdurately refused, with little public explanation, to re-engage with the EU in any way which would allow restoration of some of the trade lost, despite openings to do so.
Climate change presents an existential threat to our way of life and Labour reasonably pinned much growth hope to green technologies. How then does it make sense for it even to consider support for a huge increase in airport capacity and a massive new oilfield, while the new precedence for defence spending is to be partly fed from the funds formerly earmarked for green investment?
One principle already compromised.
Lost values of protecting the vulnerable
It is all very well for Starmer to win credit for international leadership in regard to Ukraine but this assertiveness should not be one-eyed. People from other nations seeking safe refuge from tyranny were criminalised under the Conservatives.
But not only has no redress come, withholding of citizenship rights has been added by Labour. International aid to millions abroad is to be diverted to fund military spending, its very antithesis.
Labour watches without demur as in Gaza tens of thousands of its indigenous people have been slaughtered in plain sight of millions of fellow Muslims in this country, engendering lack of trust resulting in rumours concerning cuts to resources monitoring islamophobia.
The most vulnerable citizens of this country, already facing worsening costs of living and public services are now possibly to be deliberately deprived of welfare payments while the wealthy gain unearned and untaxed increases in wealth. How can these examples reflect Labour voters’ values?
Poor communication and inability to promote positive messages
Labour has an uphill struggle against the dominance of the right-wing in the UK’s media, but their inept messaging has been notably damaging to confidence in Labour. This includes:
- Red lines governing tax but not spend
- failure even to consider restoring freedom of movement for workers with the EU
- announcing increasing employment costs
- slashing welfare budgets
- protecting unearned asset growth
- not prioritising improvements to daily life
- focus on antisemitism but silence on islamophobia
- sustaining the Right’s demonisation of the most desperate of immigrants
- standing up to one bully whilst succumbing to others
All these and more have occurred with little effort to balance bad news with good or to “sell” policies to the electorate who put Starmer in power. Good, important policies have been announced, on devolution, housing, NHS, schools and more but the impression of not caring about voters obscures their value.
We have a Labour government, supposedly the greenest ever, apparently favouring corporate dividends over saving the planet, refusing to countenance the growth on offer from our neighbours, attacking welfare for the most vulnerable without daring to touch the richest, pinning its colours to capitalism.
Of course, it must deal with events as they occur but what is the greater existential threat to this country – the risk of Russian territorial expansion or the fact of uncontrollable climate change?
We see Starmer on the global stage attending to the former, but we also see him back-tracking on the latter and thus on growth. What is his vision for this country and for its most vulnerable people in particular?
We are not all rejoicing now.
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