Brown warned ‘show direction or lose election’
Gordon Brown has been urged to present a future agenda that can win an election against a newly socially liberal Conservative party.
Commentators and his Conservative rivals have speculated Gordon Brown is lacking in “vision” since his decision not to challenge David Cameron to an early general election, but Labour modernisers have now joined in calls for a more definite statement of what Labour stands for.
The thinktank Progress urges the new Labour leader to set out an agenda which is “post-Blair, not anti-Blair, building on the achievements of the past decade, not running away from them”.
Failure to do so, and a failure to appreciate Mr Cameron has modernised the Conservative party, will leave Labour unlikely to win a fourth term, Progress warns.
Several Cabinet members including James Purnell and Hazel Blears are thought to agree with Progress’ argument, which has been circulated among Labour MPs. Tessa Jowell and Alan Milburn are also said to be sympathetic.
Progress maintains the statement is not designed to undermine Mr Brown, who attempted to launch his own fightback last month, but rather to foster debate on the future of the Labour party.
The departure of Mr Blair in June means the party can do so no longer constrained by the “prism” of Blair and Brown, the authors say.
Progress argues: “We need to provide a stronger narrative about the overall purpose of a Labour government and the direction it wishes to take the country in. In 1997, our pledges – though intentionally small – told a wider story about Labour’s values and intentions.
“Today, the public needs a clearer sense of the concrete priorities to which we are committed and these priorities need to symbolise our ideals and principles.”
The authors believe Mr Brown has to appeal to a public mood which is divided between individual optimism and social pessimism. This may involve addressing new issues such as immigration and globalisation.
Crucially, the statement warns Labour cannot win a fourth election using the same tactics it has employed since 1997.
The Conservatives have now built defenses against these arguments, the authors believe, having moved to the centre ground.
Progress argues the “battle lines” that Labour fought in 1997 will not be repeated, warning “attempting to resurrect them could be as disastrous as the Tory ‘New Labour, New Danger’ strategy of 1996.”
They state: “The public no longer view the Conservatives as the nasty party of the 1990s. We are now engaged in a serious fight for the centre ground with a party which is socially more liberal and constantly engaging in counter-intuitive positioning.”
But the statement maintains a “fundamental divide” exists between Labour and the Conservatives over the role of the state, with Mr Cameron not breaking from the Thatcherite commitment to “roll back the state”.
