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Why Miliband was right

Published 31 July 2008

Denis MacShane attacks the unnamed briefers and those in the media who would knife Gordon Brown. It's time to set out Labour's vision and to take the fight to David Cameron, argues the Labour MP

It is shortly after sun-rise on Wednesday morning in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada in Andalucia. I am in despair at the behaviour of ministers and MPs who were briefing against Gordon Brown once the Glasgow by-election result came in. Then the phone rings. It is the Today programme. Would I like to comment on David Miliband’s article in the Guardian? What article? They send it over on my Blackberry.

It is like a breath of fresh air after the stale self-indulgent solipsism from Warwick. It attacks the Tories. Hooray! It sets out Labour’s mistakes – not under Brown’s brief premiership but strategic wrong turns or failures to get out of first gear since 1997. At last! It suggests that Labour needs to do. On the record. Signed by a senior cabinet minister. About time!

So I tell Today I would like to comment and invite other ministers and MPs top attack the Tories and to discuss ideas and ideology and not personality. Big mistake. The phone goes silent as all the BBC wants from me as a Labour MP is to join in the get-Gordon dance.

I have written on the record in the Yorkshire Post and elsewhere that Brown has taken big decisions in the long-term national interest. But after 11 years of the same government, it is now hard pounding. The Guardian comment pages are now full of hate and loathing for a Labour government. Having buried Blair the paper’s columnists want to knife Brown.

So to read in the Guardian a sustained attack on eternal lightness of Cameron and the non-policy of the bunch of millionaires who now occupy the Tory front bench was a treat. I said we should follow ‘Miliband’s leadership and turn our fire on a Tory Party not yet fit for purpose and power.’ Within minutes the invitation to attack the Tories was subbed out and the sentence deformed to imply support for a non-existent leadership claim by David Miliband.

Such is today’s press but it has been made far worse by all the attacks on Miliband by unnamed briefers. Instead of welcoming his rallying call to attack the Tories and to support the Government and prime minister the briefers are back running Labour into the ground. I hope Miliband continues to make his case and the maggots briefing against him are squashed.

In 1997, Labour had its personality problems. Just read John Prescott’s comments on Robin Cook or Harriet Harman in his memoirs for a reminder. But there was a serious project for power, hammered out over years of hard work and deep, deep reflection. Once again ideology and ideas and a story that connects to voters needs to be fashioned.

First, Labour needs to understand the deep convulsions of global capitalism following the end of 20th century socialism, in the sense of state control of the economy. In China, the fusion between capitalist economics and communist politics is tilting the world away from democracy and any sense of environmental accountability.

Neo-liberalism too has failed. India, the USA and Europe block the world reforms needed to achieve a trade deal that would lift billions from poverty.

We need more world governance at global and regional level and Labour should be thinking about the new world institutions needed to promote progressive politics. Tory isolationism on Europe is now extremely dangerous to the national interest and should be exposed by ministers and MPs.

Second, have we got the balance right between state, community and individual in Britain? Is the state too big and the citizen too small? My working class constituents feel they pay too many taxes, nationally and locally and do not get an adequate return despite ministeries and town halls patting themselves on the back and awarding nearly £200 million in bonuses to civil servants or giving county council bosses higher salaries than the prime minister.

Labour sees itself as the state. It is the default position of all administrations. But can we re-think the state and see if more autonomy in terms of purchasing power can be left with citizens rather than determined by state bureaucracy?

Third, have we got the nature of work right? We have copied the earned income tax credit, a kind of negative income tax first introduced in the United States in 1978. It has worked but at a price. Employers have not been obliged to upskill workers and unions have not been obliged to rethink organisation so that they control more of the labour market by setting fair wages for all as in Nordic countries.

Fourth, the gaping hole in Labour’s record is housing. Harold Macmillan as Tory housing minister in the 1950s built 300,000 new homes a year, many council houses. Labour has never had a full cabinet rank housing minister. Councils are keen to build new homes. Let them.

Fifth, Labour needs a policy for England. Devolution was right and necessary. The cocky swagger of a nationalist populist Alex Salmond will not last. But Scotland is now moving to being the Catalonia or Quebec of the United Kingdon.

This does not mean the end of Britain any more than Canada or Spain do not exist because of nations within the nation. But it does require Labour to become the party of England – its cities and towns and move from a one-size-fits-all politics and policy as if Tudor-style centralised administration was appropriate for the 21st century.

To achieve that Labour must embrace English culture which today is as much Salman Rushdie as it is Shakespeare. There is plenty in the English canon of culture and political science to be inspired by without importing modish American theories about nudging or the latest Heritage Foundation paper regurgitated by Cameron’s millionaire frontbench.

Ministers are trapped administrating – that is where the word comes from. But they are politicians and must do politics again. Not the disastrous politics of briefing against Brown nor the disastrous politics of attacking Miliband because he manages to sneak an anti-Tory article into the Guardian. Of course personality counts. But none of our great prime ministers – from Gladstone, to Attlee to Thatcher – had smoothie-chops Old Etonian charm, rather the opposite. They had ideas and vision and worked in a team of like-minded visionaries and believers in policy. Labour needs to do likewise.

Denis MacShane is MP for Rotherham and a former Minister for Europe

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22 comments from readers

redharry
31 July 2008 at 12:02

'I hope Miliband continues to make his case and the maggots briefing against him are squashed.'

Nice to see the language of fascism used by a Labour MP

'But none of our great prime ministers – from Gladstone, to Attlee to Thatcher..'

Thatcher great? Now I understand where MacShane is coming from.

Jenny Webb
31 July 2008 at 12:11

I think we all understand where he's coming from.

Anthony Z
31 July 2008 at 12:58

redharry, are you seriously suggesting that this article is in some way pro-Tory or fascist? Or is it just pointless name-calling and gotchas about single words and sentences?

Jonny Mac
31 July 2008 at 14:09

"We need more world governance at global and regional level and Labour should be thinking about the new world institutions needed to promote progressive politics...Second, have we got the balance right between state, community and individual in Britain? Is the state too big and the citizen too small?" Can MacShane not see the tension between these two ideas for goodness' sake? The EU, which MacShane adores and wants to have more power, has done more to grow the state and alienate the citizen from politicians than anything else in this country over the past 5 years. And for once I agree with red harry, at least re his comments on MacShane's sinister use of "maggots" to describe his political opponents. This may sound an extrapolation too far, and perhaps it is, but after the Rwandan genocide which followed radio broadcasts in which Tutsis/Hutus were called "cockcroaches", it seems to me you have to have a tin ear to describe people as "maggots".

cat osb
31 July 2008 at 14:49

This positioning is all very amusing for those of us still stuck at our desks but what exactly does this article achieve? Fine words indeed, but you have had over ten years and a healthy majority to get all these things thought through and acted upon. Rightly or wrongly most people seem fed up with this labour government and just want to see the back of it as soon as possible (even if that means embracing those wicked smooth-talking tories). And every time yet another article from some labour appartchik appears that antipathy hardens. Like a loud and boring drunk at a party, you just can't see how embarrassing you (that's 'you' plural) have become, can you? Next time put the Blackberry in the swimming pool.

cat osb
31 July 2008 at 15:02

Oh yes knew there was something else. My rant part II. Your sideswipe at 'modish American theories' (& we all know that nothing good ever comes from that side of the pond, don't we children?). 'Nudge' is actually an original well-written and interesting book, with some intriguing insights. Unlike Mr Prescott's memoirs. Still each to his own.

GlassPlanet
31 July 2008 at 16:41

As I see it, politicians behaviour is very similar to that which you can observe in the monkey enclosure at your local zoo (though not quite as entertaining). They are all aware of the need to show deference to the current alpha male, but they also sense his weakness. Miliband is just putting on a bit of a display for the other chimps, while running back from time to time to pick the insects out of Gordon's fur. All perfectly natural. He kind of reminds me of Tony, so he'll probably do well.

redharry
31 July 2008 at 17:27

Describing people as 'maggots' to be 'squashed' is the vocabulary of fascism. MacShane's use of it is very revealing.

ps the title, 'Why Miliband was right' should have read, 'Why Miliband is very, very right-wing' Poor sub-editing folks.

phantom
31 July 2008 at 18:37

"bunch of millionaires who now occupy the Tory front bench"

what?! McShane refers to millionaires in the tory party TWICE in this piece of drivel. So Blair et al were all paupers eh? does being poor infer superior morality and honesty then? Hasn't McShane learned anything from Crewe? Just shows how really out of touch he is - he really can't see why country HATES NuLab-rats!

Nostromo
31 July 2008 at 20:55

Well done Denis, how gratifying and unfortunately how unusual to see the Labour party standing up and starting to proclaim what has been done. The comments about the selective interest of the media show just how difficult it is to get any positive message across.

john frost
31 July 2008 at 21:35

Voting and speech record on "they work for you dot com" suggests this free thinking and loyalty to working people is reserved only for newspaper articles .

gnuneo
31 July 2008 at 23:18

"you have had over ten years and a healthy majority to get all these things thought through and acted upon."

"Voting and speech record on "they work for you dot com" suggests this free thinking and loyalty to working people is reserved only for newspaper articles ."

'you can fool all of the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time.'

yes, it is deeply dismaying to see camoron's smarmy rich boys looking to take power over us (and i don't think many people have really thought through what that will entail, they will certainly be as unpopular, and rightly so, far before the end of their first term), but the fact is is that new-labour only start pulling out the "we are for democracy and the working class" when either their fortunes are going down the pan, or else they can bamboozle the public with long words whilst doing the very opposite.

where are these fine words when the EU constitution is up for debate? Where are these fine words when communities reject nuclear power? Where are these fine words when the British public march in their millions against wars in the ME? Where are these fine words when hospitals are being closed, and services cut, to save money? Where are these fine words when the millions slaving for temp agencies get denied the basic employment rights of other workers? Where are these fine words when environmental and animal-rights campaigners are labelled "terrorists"? Where are these fine words when our schools, the Post Office, the few remaining bits of the NHS and even the BBC are put down to be privatised?

where are these fine words when you feel comfortable in power?

you have ignored the needs of the the British People, instead listening only to what the Murdocracy tells you 'Dagenham Man' wants, listening to the uber-wealthy who line your coffers, listening only to your own greed and short-term desires instead of your moral conscience.

and now you are worried you will lose the power you have abused so much, NOW all of a sudden you start talking about empowerment and democracy, NOW suddenly you care so much about the opinions of the People you have blatantly ignored in your time in Govt?

you will excuse the British Public, i hope, when they reject this sudden out-bursting of democratic and compassionate fervour, perhaps if new-labour had been just a tad more "inclusive" in its style of Govt, just a tad or so less High Modernist and contemptuous of the Public, if it had spent more money on REAL public consultation and a damned sight less on spin doctors, then perhaps, call it a wee guess, but just perhaps we would be slightly more open to the notion that the new-labour project gave a damn about us, democracy, and all those other wonderful things you are suddenly discovering.

will the tories be worse? Yes, probably, in fact almost certainly, but there is the small possibility that with labour kicked out of office, all you technocrats and neo-thatcherites that currently control the labour party will get kicked out on your ear from the Party itself.

perhaps, just perhaps, getting rid of you lot will once again open up a two party system, instead of a one party, technocratic neo-liberal High Modernist anti-democratic Thatcherite nightmare from which we simply cannot escape - except perhaps by voting Green. Which is in fact what i hope the majority now do.

so spare us your brave rearguard action, although in truth i do not know your *own* stance in all this, perhaps you are one of the few Good Guys in Labour left from all these so-called 'modernisers', because frankly - it doesn't wash.

in fact, as you can see from the other comments here - it stinks to high heaven.

knave
01 August 2008 at 08:10

I actually believe that Brownie will be the last Labour PM.

Tensions between Scotland and England will result in a split.

As Steve Richards points out England is a very conservative country and has voted Tory even when they were on their knees.

England will either have a permanant conservative administration or the right will split into neo conservative, libertarian and paleo conservative parties.

Either way the left is dead in England and the country belongs to the likes of Jonny and cat orb (nice name).

I would not be surprised in 3 years time this author is part of a neo conservative coalition party.

john frost
01 August 2008 at 19:51

Actually has rebelled 5 times since 1997 in trivial debates according to they work for you.com. Rated extremely loyal. Editor please note please restrain the amount of space given to controversial commentators. Except me of course.

gnuneo
01 August 2008 at 20:53

knave: i see where you're coming from, but i disagree. I don't think England is a "conservative" country, i think the English are just far more cynical about the motivations and desires of politicians to a greater degree than Scotland or Wales - to put it bluntly, we don't trust the "Nanny-State Knows Best" attitude. Its definitely worth bearing in mind that Thatcher did not ride her wave to power on the back of "lets sell off all our assets to unaccountable foreign (and British) multi-nationals" (although that was what it amounted to in reality), instead she argued for "rolling back the State".

the terrible, horrible fact that her policies had exactly the opposite reaction, with a large increase in Govt Spending (whilst cunningly sold as "tax-reductions" - which for the *rich* it was, but not the majority who actually saw their tax burden increase! - not that the Murdocracy ever bothered to tell the British People that little fact), whilst the State took ever more control over the smallest details of our lives.

her Govt made the spin of the B'liar years look like children playing in the daisy fields, it would be hard to find even ONE policy that was not the exact opposite of what she (and the tame media) claimed it was!

anyway, back to the point: so its not that the English are 'Conservative' (and CERTAINLY not in the revolutionary neo-liberal sense), it is more they don't appreciate smug professional politicians interfering in their lives, i believe most English actually support having a decent social safety net, having a decent Health Service, having decent State education, and owning their own homes and companies. Is this "left-wing"? Actually, most of it was part and parcel of the Heathite brand of Conservatism, what REAL Conservatism stood for, not this corporate-stoogeish neo-liberal "sell it all off" crap that has become the staple of the Tories and new-Labour since Thatcher-the-Snatcher wormed her evil way into power.

so, i'm afraid i have to disagree with you - were there to be a new party built upon the consensus politics of home ownership, decent social services, local company ownership (NOT corporate), strong public participation, and environmental consciousness - and not racist, nationalist, homophobic, religious or sexist drivel - i do believe the English (and probably the Scots, Welsh and Irish as well) would jump for it.

in short, what we need is a Scandinavian style Social Democracy party.

niceguy
01 August 2008 at 21:13

I have to say, that the British people are conservative (with a small c) in nature, and the senseless popularity of the Royal Family across all social spectrums is just one example of it. The virtues of the inheritance tax fiasco is just another glaring example of Britain's traditional kindred attitudes to social structures. However, the passion of the people towards the NHS and schooling does retain a socialist aspect to the British mentality, both demanding and expecting a universal health care system.

I agree, Scandinavian Socialism is the best path for the Labour Party to follow, and its combination of social justice and libertarianism is uniquely fitted towards the British psyche. But it seems almost impossible that this will follow, with Blairites rejection of Keynesian economic theory with is essential for the establishment of a fair and just society.

Interesting points though gnuneo and knave.

knave
02 August 2008 at 06:58

I actualy agree with both G and niceguy but the cynic in me says that the chances of a scandanavian social democratic party becoming a viable political force is negligible.

Remember you have in the Uk something called the English journalist.

This creature is usually , not always, a thatcherite and the new party would be labelled as EU inspired and statist.

Andrew Constantine, FEP
02 August 2008 at 13:23

The alleged poor behaviours of Gordon Brown - the sulking, the four letter words used to staff, the bullying - would not be tolerated in commerce. He would be facing disciplinary action very quickly if he behaved like this, and assuming the case was made, would be dismissed without hesitation.

The fact that Mr Brown's poor behaviours are seen as acceptable by the British professional political class, shows why they are held in such contempt by the public.

However, I agree with the thesis that Labour should look to Engalnd and re-connect with the English people. I doubt they have the right people or appetite to do so, but if they wish for a future in England, it's what they have to do - and fast.

knave
03 August 2008 at 08:23

Andrew

I don't know what profession you belong to but in my experience I have met many bosses who sulk, bully and swear.

Never get a job in Aussie mate

BegbiesEvilTwin
03 August 2008 at 14:19

MacShane: Surely it would be wiser for Labour to establish some clear blue water between themselves and the Conservatives before it attacks them?

You say that neo-liberalism has failed. Should we take that to mean you now dissociating yourself from New Labour?

BegbiesEvilTwin
03 August 2008 at 14:36

Andrew Constantine, FEP: Clearly you're either taking the piss or have lived an exceptionally sheltered existence. Or should we take this as another example of how the current Conservative media positioning as paragons of corporate social responsibility?

gnuneo
08 August 2008 at 02:49

a little comment on the "maggots" stuff - umm, actually that is an own-goal by mcshane, as maggots only eat *dead* flesh, and leave the healthy living flesh untouched...

mind you the nazis used this metaphor equally badly as well! LOL