Not New Labour, not Old Labour - Now Labour

I’ve not read Tony Blair’s account of his time as Prime Minister - I shall read it though, and look forward to it. I listened to his BBC interview with interest. Much of what he says is true - he’s no liar, after all. Working with others, and following on from John Smith, then Neil Kinnock, he brought the party into government and led a government achieving many things to be proud of.

But even Tony Blair is still using old arguments on which to build his way forward. That we must build on New Labour and continue to develop in a New Labour way.

He’s wrong. So are people in the other camp; that we need to return to our old ways.

What we need is to develop a new way forward, considering our strategies and policies afresh and in the light of life in 2010 and beyond.

We must reinvigorate our relationship with traditional labour voters and members; and we must attract like-minded people who are entrepreneurs or in higher-paid jobs. We must look at the cost of Trident. I’ve been into many successful (highly successful) academy schools, LA schools and grammar schools; how can we build and spread upon best practice and rescue education from Gove’s free-market education system? How can we ensure education and training that is appropriate for post 16s? The NHS is transformed, our GPs practices are transformed within this; how can we improve and work with (assuming it happens) the sweeping change that is about to take place? How do we sustain a vigorous and exciting arts policy - importing a system from the US won’t work. And so on . . .

This is not New Labour, nor Old Labour, it’s Now Labour. The leadership debate shows what fine people we have in Parliament - and of course we have many not in Parliament, too.

Let’s live in today and get on with it.

I'm coming out . . . of the Blair closet

Tony Blair has recently been in the news again - and most of the comment unfavourable. Unfavourable because he’s donating his auto-biog royalty to the Royal British Legion. And now I’m about to make myself really unpopular in some sections . . .

Labour Party members and supporters should remember that TB led the Labour Party to an unprecedented number of election Labour victories - three. His leadership was not without controversy - a leader of the energy of Tony Blair will never be without controversy. And there were, indeed, some prats in the government . . . as there will be in any government that runs for thirteen years.

Concerns about these are legitimate; and we should try to learn from them.

But when I hear people say (as I do from time to time) ‘What did the Labour government do for me?’ I wonder what planet they’re living on. Here is a short list . . . Sure Start, minimum wage, vast reduction in waiting times for hospital appointments, Human Rights Act, freedom of information, Civil Partnerships.

For many, the decision to invade Iraq was unforgivable; but we should keep in mind that the ‘againsts’ will all be more vocal than the ‘fors’ - that is how life is. And I doubt if the present enquiry, whatever its result, will silence critics.

However, concerns - specially about lack of post-conflict planning - are legitimate - and we should try to learn from them.

But the constant attacks on Tony Blair remind me of the unrelenting attacks against Bill Clinton from Republican lawyers. Like Clinton, Blair’s success is his weak point.

At this time it appears that the effects of the recession may not be as bad as feared; the Labour administration (latterly, of course, under Gordon Brown) can claim much of the credit - but is unlikely to get it.

Brown built on Blair’s foundations . . . As Blair acknowledges he, himself, did on John Smith’s and JS on Neil Kinnock’s. So, as a kind of unreconstructed Kinnockite, I’m still supporting Blair for what he did - I’m standing up and being counted. And I look forward to the LP new leader . . . and for the chance to work towards a new Labour government sooner rather than later.