After Brent East —
Rebuild
the Party on Labour policies
By John McDonnell MP, Chair Socialist Campaign Group
of MPs
NEC
report
23 September NEC Report
Top-up
fees will reduce access
By Ian Gibson MP
US
sells off Iraq
By Jeremy Corbyn MP
Lesson
of Brent East
By Diane Abbott MP
Dungavel
— Scotland's shame
By Elaine Smith MSP
The
Change of direction Labour needs
Foundation hospitals will weaken
NHS accountability
By Lynne Jones
MP
Government
must reverse policy of pensions failure
By Rodney Bickerstaffe, President, National Pensioners Convention
The
wall must come down
By Richard Burden MP
How
to defend manufacturing jobs
By Derek Simpson, General Secretary Amicus
The programme Labour needs by Kelvin Hopkins MP
The
significance of Hutton
By Tony Benn
Brent
East should be a turning point in the history
of the Labour Party and Labour government, but on all the evidence so
far, the Labour leadership is trying to avoid the obvious message of the
by-election. Increasingly isolated, Tony Blair’s response has been
to go into denial, insisting there is no alternative to policies being
forced through against the wishes of the vast majority of party members
and, as we now know, without the support of the electorate.
Unless there is a fundamental re-appraisal of the government’s political
direction, Labour puts at risk the next election, will have wasted the
best opportunity to implement a radical progressive policy programme in
the party’s history and could leave an inheritance of distrust which
excludes Labour from office for a generation.
The question to be asked is how is it that a Labour government with the
largest parliamentary majority in history, with the immense good will
of the electorate and with fortuitous economic circumstances can potentially
squander the opportunity to commence the transformation of our society?
T he answer is
straightforward. Where the
government is pursuing Labour policies of direct social investment in
education, health, the environment, benefit upratings and progressive
policies on training and the economy, employment rights, global debt relief
and trade justice, it is being applauded — not just by our traditional
supporters but by the electorate at large. On this policy programme we
have maintained the electoral coalition of support which rejected the
Tories so adamantly in 1997.
By contrast
the pursuit by New Labour of policies of privatisation, foundation hospitals,
tuition fees, means testing, the denial of employment rights, attacks
on asylum seekers and an international alliance with George W Bush, of
undermining the UN and war, has created a climate of disillusionment,
distrust and even anger. If Thatcherism failed under Thatcher it is hardly
likely to succeed under New Labour.
Far from denying that there is an alternative, our task at this year’s
Labour Party conference is to demonstrate that there is a socialist alternative.
An alliance is needed of party members and trade union affiliates at this
conference to demand the restoration of democracy within the party and
to enable the development of a policy programme which reflects the aspirations
of our members.
There is an
increasing consensus over the core
foundations of a Labour policy programme. This includes investment in
public services rather than privatisation, free and grant aided education
rather than charges and loan debts, the strengthening of employment rights
rather than increasing employment exploitation and decent pensions as
of right rather than increased means tests. Above all it means a Labour
government leading the search for international peace rather than the
pursuit of war.
This year’s Labour party conference could be the starting point
of our campaign to win back for the Labour party the confidence and support
which has been lost for us by New Labour.