May’s local elections should be Labour’s priority, argues Martin Phillips
Why did Labour lose the general election in 2010? This is the question that is still being argued over by commentators, politicians and party members. There are many different views, but there seems little agreement. There are even arguments about which particular groups deserted Labour.
But rather than extending that debate even further, I’d like to focus on how we can win the next general election – by looking at how we won in 1997. I also want to explain why all the talk of taking our time to decide our new policies is dangerous.
I’d like to mention three things that I think led to our 1997 victory. There are undoubtedly many more than three reasons, but I think these three things are things that we can control as a party.
First, 1997 was the culmination of a decade of electoral progress. That vast increase in Labour MPs mirrored a similar increase in local elections over the previous decade or more. Many of the seats we won in 1997 had Labour councils or at least had large numbers of Labour councillors. Why is this important? Because all that local election success had trained voters to vote Labour. Even if people were not ready to make that final step in Westminster elections, they were willing to try voting Labour in local elections. Local elections were a foot in the door. And it is also very noticeable that many of the parliamentary seats we lost in 2010 had seen Labour lose control of their councils (in many Labour were in third place).
Local elections (and Scottish, Welsh and London elections) are important ways to get people voting Labour again. That is why we need to stop thinking about the 2015 election as the target and start thinking about the May 2011 elections. Too many people are saying that Labour has to take time out to ponder its position. There isn’t time – the next election we will fight is in less than 4 months time. Labour needs to focus on these council elections, which leads me to my second point.
Labour won in 1997 because people knew what Labour stood for – there was a clear vision of what Labour would do. Apart from the key sound bites (“Education, education, education”, “Tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime”), Labour stood for investment in better public services. Voters had heard for several years what Labour was going to do.
That is why I think that talk of extended policy reviews is self-indulgent and wrong-headed. As party staff keep telling us, elections are won over years, not the last six weeks. Between now and May, our council candidates need to have some answers when people ask, “Ok, so what would you do then?” We can’t have hugely detailed and fully costed plans, but we can have a vision of what we are for. We can show our direction of travel. What is the problems with saying that we think the country needs more council houses (we don’t need to say how many)? Why can’t we say that there needs to be tougher action to make bankers pay for the mess they created?
My final point is that we need to show that we understand the worries and insecurities that most people feel. In the run-up to the 1997 election, the economy was already recovering and people felt better off, so they wanted more and better public services. That is what Labour promised (and delivered, let’s not forget). But the run up to 2015 looks much less rosy – it is more likely to be held with mass unemployment, public services slashed and an atmosphere of deep insecurity or even fear and resentment. Labour needs to understand and express that mood.
We also need to have policies that address the concerns coming out of the big economic issues: the fear of unemployment, the erosion of pay and conditions, rising prices and the high costs of housing and energy. We need to give hope of a better future, not just a negative message about the evils of our opponents.
Winning again in the south (or more accurately in large towns and suburbs across the country), Labour Party members, the PLP and the shadow cabinet need to focus on three things:
• Building our councillor base again in seats we lost – get people voting Labour again
• We don’t have time to have long contemplation of our policies – people want answers now
• The policy vision we express must give hope and address the biggest issues people face – we need to give hope of better jobs with better pay, secure pensions and the care system, and some action to stop the massive increases in energy and housing costs.
We can’t hang about. We have 3 years of elections before the next general election. We have only three chances to persuade people to vote for us and get them used to voting for us, so that we can kick out this terrible Coalition. So let’s get our message sorted out quickly and start shouting it from the rooftops.
Martin Phillips is a member of Labour’s National Policy Forum, representing members from the South East.
But rather than extending that debate even further, I’d like to focus on how we can win the next general election – by looking at how we won in 1997. I also want to explain why all the talk of taking our time to decide our new policies is dangerous.
I’d like to mention three things that I think led to our 1997 victory. There are undoubtedly many more than three reasons, but I think these three things are things that we can control as a party.
First, 1997 was the culmination of a decade of electoral progress. That vast increase in Labour MPs mirrored a similar increase in local elections over the previous decade or more. Many of the seats we won in 1997 had Labour councils or at least had large numbers of Labour councillors. Why is this important? Because all that local election success had trained voters to vote Labour. Even if people were not ready to make that final step in Westminster elections, they were willing to try voting Labour in local elections. Local elections were a foot in the door. And it is also very noticeable that many of the parliamentary seats we lost in 2010 had seen Labour lose control of their councils (in many Labour were in third place).
Local elections (and Scottish, Welsh and London elections) are important ways to get people voting Labour again. That is why we need to stop thinking about the 2015 election as the target and start thinking about the May 2011 elections. Too many people are saying that Labour has to take time out to ponder its position. There isn’t time – the next election we will fight is in less than 4 months time. Labour needs to focus on these council elections, which leads me to my second point.
Labour won in 1997 because people knew what Labour stood for – there was a clear vision of what Labour would do. Apart from the key sound bites (“Education, education, education”, “Tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime”), Labour stood for investment in better public services. Voters had heard for several years what Labour was going to do.
That is why I think that talk of extended policy reviews is self-indulgent and wrong-headed. As party staff keep telling us, elections are won over years, not the last six weeks. Between now and May, our council candidates need to have some answers when people ask, “Ok, so what would you do then?” We can’t have hugely detailed and fully costed plans, but we can have a vision of what we are for. We can show our direction of travel. What is the problems with saying that we think the country needs more council houses (we don’t need to say how many)? Why can’t we say that there needs to be tougher action to make bankers pay for the mess they created?
My final point is that we need to show that we understand the worries and insecurities that most people feel. In the run-up to the 1997 election, the economy was already recovering and people felt better off, so they wanted more and better public services. That is what Labour promised (and delivered, let’s not forget). But the run up to 2015 looks much less rosy – it is more likely to be held with mass unemployment, public services slashed and an atmosphere of deep insecurity or even fear and resentment. Labour needs to understand and express that mood.
We also need to have policies that address the concerns coming out of the big economic issues: the fear of unemployment, the erosion of pay and conditions, rising prices and the high costs of housing and energy. We need to give hope of a better future, not just a negative message about the evils of our opponents.
Winning again in the south (or more accurately in large towns and suburbs across the country), Labour Party members, the PLP and the shadow cabinet need to focus on three things:
• Building our councillor base again in seats we lost – get people voting Labour again
• We don’t have time to have long contemplation of our policies – people want answers now
• The policy vision we express must give hope and address the biggest issues people face – we need to give hope of better jobs with better pay, secure pensions and the care system, and some action to stop the massive increases in energy and housing costs.
We can’t hang about. We have 3 years of elections before the next general election. We have only three chances to persuade people to vote for us and get them used to voting for us, so that we can kick out this terrible Coalition. So let’s get our message sorted out quickly and start shouting it from the rooftops.
Martin Phillips is a member of Labour’s National Policy Forum, representing members from the South East.
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