As Labour gears up for its annual conference, the focus is, predictably, on the economy – namely, how the party can win back the public’s trust. Growth may be but a distant dream, while unemployment figures offer no comfort, but the coalition’s relentless message that “Labour got us into this mess” seems to have got through to the public.
The most effective line in Nick Clegg’s speech to the Liberal Democrats’ conference last week was when he hit back at Ed Balls’ claim that the coalitions’ cuts were “too far, too fast”, by saying that Labour would have done “too little, too late.”
The latest Guardian/ICM poll shows that only 34 per cent of voters think Labour has the right policies to rescue the economy. Even among definite Labour voters, only 66 per cent back the party’s economic plans. This is despite other polls consistently showing that the public is nervous about the speed and scale of the governments’ austerity measures.
What this shows is that it is not enough to point out that the economy is stalling: Labour must offer a detailed, solid plan about exactly what they would do differently.
This is a point made by Balls himself today. Discussing ways of winning back credibility in today’s Guardian, he writes:
Families are not asking: “Who was right on the pace of deficit reduction?” They are asking: “Who can get Britain back on its feet?” I believe we can only win public trust by making the case for a credible and compelling plan that will revive growth, get unemployment falling, take the tough decisions to tackle the deficit in a balanced way, and transform our economy for the long term.
A new report (£) by the Fabians reiterates this point:
Saying we would cut, but not by quite as much, or that we will cut by some undetermined amount some time in the future, is not sufficient.
Everyone is agreed that Labour must produce an alternative plan to win back credibility. But this is hardly a new issue; the economy has been the dominant issue for the duration of this government and before. There is certainly a strong argument for not rushing such an important policy, but Miliband has now led the party for a full year. Labour should publish specific plans soon, and get the message out to the public. As we face the prospect of a renewed global economic crisis, there is a political opportunity for Labour — but only if it presents a consistent, credible line tied to a concrete policy. If it waits too much longer, it may well be “too little, too late” to win back their credibility.
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