John McDonnell, The Guardian:
After so many avoidable mistakes, of course people are angry. But with the far right looming, we need action not despair
The Labour party is facing one of the most dangerous moments in its history, possibly an existential threat. Not only is it adrift in the polls, losing one council byelection after another, and with a leader whose popularity has plummeted; but the main threat comes from the xenophobic hard right in the shape of Reform UK.
Labour has to wake up to this threat and seize the moment. It must take five basic steps to recovery:
-Stop digging
Most of Labour’s woes are of its own making. The winter fuel allowance debacle, the disability benefits cuts rebellion, the refusal to scrap the two-child limit on benefits and, of course, Gaza. Continuing to send arms to Israel that are used to murder children, refusing to break the aid blockade and deploying a contorted logic to delay recognition of the Palestinian state, merely compound things.
Then to cap it all the proscription of Palestine Action resulted in the bizarre sight of an 83-year-old priest being arrested alongside hundreds of others – with more to come.
So step one is to stop making ludicrous political decisions that are systematically alienating section after section of our core support, and masking much of the good work being undertaken by ministers in their departments.
-Listen
Step two is to simply listen to your supporters, party members, councillors and MPs.
MPs are coming back from their constituencies with honest warnings of the anger at some of Labour’s policies and the behaviour of senior politicians, including the acceptance of tacky gifts and freebies. They have not only been ignored but have been met with threats of disciplinary action and even loss of the whip.
The forcing of Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana out of the Labour party could have immense electoral consequences, which my colleague Richard Burgon has described as Labour losing votes to the left but, as a result, losing seats to the right.
The complacent response from party strategists that Labour voters have nowhere else to go is no longer accurate as our supporters stay at home, vote Green or vote independent – or now could vote for the new leftwing party.
This can be avoided by remaking our party as a truly representative broad church, where differences of view are not just allowed but welcomed for strengthening the process in which our decisions are made.
Stop mimicking Farage
Step three has to be: stop dancing to Farage’s tune, stop aping his policies. Public understanding of asylum is largely shaped by the media coverage of the dinghies landing on our shores and the xenophobic rantings of Farage.
Those images can be erased by swift decision-making and by establishing safe routes and returns, re-engaging with our European partners to create a Europe-wide strategy.
Hotels would become unnecessary if asylum decisions are made swiftly and people are allowed to work, settle and contribute to our economy and society. After Brexit – and with an ageing population – our economy needs a wide range of skills to achieve the government’s growth objectives.
To immediately reduce the numbers of those trapped in hotels waiting for a decision at present, the Refugee Council has proposed that we introduce a temporary amnesty for refugees from places such as Sudan, Syria and Eritrea, which are the countries from which asylum seekers are almost automatically given status at the moment.
Go big this autumn
Although the asylum issue has risen in prevalence in the polls, I doubt if many people have had much direct engagement with asylum seekers. But they do have a daily engagement with the cost of living, balancing their income with their outgoings, dealing with ever-rising food and energy bills, their rent and mortgages, and frequently accessing local public services. The forthcoming budget could be a turning point on the issues that really shape people’s lives.
We need a big budget.
So step four is introducing a huge agenda-setting budget in which we begin to transform people’s lives by tackling the cost of living. A cost-of-living budget would use fair taxation of wealth and excess profits to address the grotesque levels of inequality in our society and the 14.3 million now living in poverty, including 4.3 million children.
That could mean redistributing wealth by equalising capital gains tax with income tax and levying a windfall tax on the recent massive profits of the banking and finance sector. Likewise bringing forward a financial transaction tax to correct the anomalies of stamp duty on share sales, introducing a wealth tax on multimillionaires and developing a land value tax.
Alongside measures to reduce costs such as rent controls, a fair taxation system would provide the resources to boost the rebuilding of our public services after 14 years of austerity cuts, and to overcome the years of public sector pay cuts and benefit freezes.
The very best way of securing the growth the government is crying out for is to put money in people’s pockets, especially the people on low and average incomes who will spend, not hoard like the rich. But all of this will be to no avail without step five.
The spirit of Labour
We desperately need a Labour government that behaves like Labour. That lives up to its traditions. That truly reflects the best of our country’s culture.
It must be a Labour party that advocates for a caring society, where we aim to manage the economy and society in the interests of the many, and where we always live up to our international and humanitarian responsibilities and values.
These are core requirements. If the current leadership are not capable of playing this role, then the question has to be asked about whether there is an alternative.
For some, this will mean chancing support for the new leftwing party. For others, fearful of splitting the vote and opening the door for Reform, the alternative is a change of Labour leadership and a reclaiming of the party as what it should and must be: a truly democratic broad church of socialist and progressive opinion.
