Opinion: Proposing an election agenda for a better Britain

Labour Leader WillShakespeare99 writes for the Guardian.

Labour Leader WillShakespeare99 proposes an agenda for the next election.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Guardian.

Assuming that the Prime Minister goes to Brussels on January 5th and his requests for a longer withdrawal period and an amended Brexit deal are rebuffed, the election which we are likely to see in either February or March will be Britain’s first post-Brexit general election. It’s anybody’s guess what happens next should wagbo_ achieve the desirable outcome of an Article 50 extension and renegotiation – with options ranging from a People’s Vote occuring before the election which results in an exit, to Britain not leaving at all being left on the table at that point.



Given the difficulties in predicting the outcome of that meeting at this stage – and as somebody who has always believed in a referendum on the final deal, I wish the Prime Minister every success in this endeavour – it is easier to proceed in all of our future planning on the basis of everything carry on as is, namely Britain leaves without a deal on the date it was always due to. Given the dominance that the issue has had over British politics for about two years now (and the prominence of debates over Britain’s place in Europe long before that), the political and electoral landscape on which the next election will be fought will be one somewhat different from those we have had in recent years.



The Government that comes from the next election will be absolutely critical in forging Britain’s post-Brexit identity, defining our place in the world, and ensuring that the next chapter – whatever it might be, and whether you believe it is the right direction or not – is one which works for those that feel the system has left them behind for so long, since it was that feeling of disconnection that was part of the Brexit vote.



There are three things that any party should focus on in the next election: addressing the inequalities and deprivation that have led so many people to felt like they have no stake in whatever economic prosperity there is; reuniting a nation beaten down after years of visceral and acute division and finding away to bring the two Britains back into one which is comfortable with who and what it is; and, whether we leave or remain, rebuilding Britain’s reputation on the world stage and forging a new place for us in light of the changes in the way the rest of the world sees us after this long and, at times, messy process.



In this article I will be focusing on the challenges Britain faces and that all parties should look to focus on in the campaign, and in any Government that follows. I won’t be proposing specific policies, as I appreciate different parties will see different solutions, and I want this to be something that can provide food for thought to people across the political spectrum as we all go about the policy making process ahead of the General Election.



The first priority comes as a response to one of the key themes in commentary around the referendums, and since. This has been focused around the role that economic inequalities, deprivation, and a feeling in many areas of the country that they have been left behind played on the outcome of the votes. As Labour Leader, this is a particularly poignant issue for me. There were many people who felt that membership of the EU, and all that comes with it, was not making them better off, that the much vaunted “prosperity” that would be lost as a result of Brexit didn’t exist for them, and they needed a radical change in direction to improve their lives.



The sad truth is that, whatever the eventual outcome – leave on no deal, leave on a deal, or remain – this situation is not going to automatically change. Brexit has taken up much of the legislative bandwidth of our Parliament over the last two years, casting a degree of uncertainty and demanding a great deal of attention. When that is over, one way or another, we need to ensure that the message many leave voters sent us – namely that they are hurting and feel that they have no place in our country as it is – is listened to.



In the next General Election, as parties vie to form our first post-EU Government, we should all be focusing on what we can offer these voters – many in the Welsh valleys, in the post-industrial North, on the struggling Eastern cost, and in inner cities. What is clear is that carrying on as is, economically, will not be good enough to address the difficulties created by worsening inequality, poverty, and past austerity.



There are several key economic and social challenges that must be overcomed to rescue our lost communities, to restore hope, and to offer opportunity and prosperity to all in our country. Different parties will, of course, propose different solutions to these issues, but their existence cannot be denied, and nobody can afford to forget them. They risk gnawing at the structure of our economy and society and they prevent many people from having the sort of life they would otherwise seek.



At the heart of it all is the gulf in power between the very wealthy and the very poor, with our economy increasingly dominated by multinational behemoths with no accountability to their workers, poor records of tax paying and workers rights, and unethically sourced, environmentally hazardous products. There is a decreasing number of opportunities for small business and entrepreneurialism, and the corporate monopoly is delivering an economy controlled by a few, for a few. Our high streets are either starting to all look the same, or dying.



Similarly, the gig economy and related phenomena, along with a systemic weakening of union rights (although the situation has improved in more recent years), have badly damaged workers rights and risk creating a generation who accept precarious poorly paid work as the norm. Workers now have less and less say over the massive companies that they are crucial in enriching, and our communities are losing both power and what makes them unique.



This has led to the long term decline of many communities, where homelessness and poverty have become major issues. Our economy has become increasingly top-down and this has led to many being left behind. We are not seizing on the potential of all our people, and many have no stake in their places of work or their communities, where once collective bargaining would have given them a say or ownership of small business would have made them a local alternative.



Other parties may disagree with this analysis, but the problems of these forgotten communities cannot be so easily denied. What our post-Brexit economic policy needs to focus on how we can help those people have a stake in this country and this economy once more, and how that can make them more prosperous, and give them happier and healthier lives, free from poverty and deprivation. It’s not good enough for those in powerful places to blame immigrants for falling living standards – innocent people who, like the rest of us, want better lives – for the policies and actions they have taken that have made our workers worse off and our economy weaker.



What we need to redress this imbalance and to restore power and prosperity to the communities that have been so badly left behind is an approach that prioritises ordinary people at the grassroots level, not just in the policies themselves but also how we make them. Over the next few weeks leading up to the election, I will be travelling the country as part of Labour’s new “citizen’s panels” programme, holding town hall events, with a difference, asking local people in different areas of the country about their lives and their communities and what they need and want from their country and their Government. We will be starting in Hull, in Humberside, on Friday – a Northern, Industrial city that voted for Brexit – and I look forward to taking what we learn and building it into a hopeful vision for something better, for the whole of Britain.



My challenge to all party leaders in the next election is this: develop a vision and a plan that actually promises some hope to those who have forgotten what that feels like through no fault of their own. It’s not good enough to take a laissez-faire approach. That only works in an economy which is fair and balanced, but we live in one where the odds are already stacked against many people. We need policies that can end the concentration of power and put our communities back in control of their destiny, powering our country from the grassroots up once again. For Labour, we will be looking at how a more cooperative and democratic economy and society, support for small businesses and the high street, and extensive reforms to the workers rights can tilt the balance once again and deliver a more local country driven by us all.



The second of the three priorities I’d like to see every party embrace in the coming election may be the most difficult, and that is reuniting our Kingdom. Years of harsh debate over the issue of Britain’s place in Europe – who can forget John Major’s infamous sweary nickname for Tory Brexiteers – followed by a series of rough campaigns and two years of name calling, accusations, and,”told you sos” have made Brexit the most divisive issue of our time. People now define themselves on labels such as “remainer” and “leaver”, and their opponents by insults such as “remoaner” and “racist”. People are now firmly entrenched on their side of the argument, seeing those opposite as somehow lesser or inferior. It is not a healthy place for a democracy to be in.



Both sides have contributed to a situation where we now have two very distinct Britains which do not recognise each other, and which do not want to be associated with each other. We are far from being a “United” Kingdom. And our country itself is straining under this pressure. Indeed, pro-European, pro-independence movements in our devolved nations have been emboldened and strengthened by their respective areas votes to remain in the Single Market. Britain is ill-at-ease with itself and scarcely knows what and who it is anymore. The situation is at a dangerous point, but it is not too late to step back from where we and correct course.



Whether we ultimately leave or remain, the Brexit process will soon be over. And at least one group of people representing around half of the electorate is going to be pretty unhappy with the outcome. But the important fact is that it will be done – at least for now. At that moment, it is incumbent on all our political leaders to adopt a kinder, gentler, unifying tone. We need a situation where our country can heal and come back together, where our politicians promote understanding and unity, and where we focus on what we share in common and on the good our country can do when we work together.



One thing is plainly clear: this level of, not just division, but hatred, cannot carry on. This isn’t something we can correct overnight, it may not even be solvable in one Parliamentary term. What we have seen since the referendum is a political battle comparable to the US’ so-called “culture wars” and it’s going to take a long time to define what one, united Britain once looked like, and can look like again.



This isn’t a task we can accomplish with every politician’s favourite tools of bills and motions. But it is possible. We have to change the level and nature of public discourse in Britain. One must never underestimate the power of words to define a moment in history. What everyone in our country needs now is hope and love. That may sound hippyish coming from a political leader, but I think very few seek election to office because they hate, because they want to divide. We do it because we love those we share our country with, and beyond, and we wish to see their lives improved. What we need is a rhetorical evolution that matches that sense of purpose that brings us into this field.



In the coming election, we should embrace positivity as a means of sharing a hopeful vision for what Britain should be. We do not need to give people more reasons to be divided, nor should we exploit those divisions for political gain. We may have disagreements and we may dislike what we each believe in, but that does not make us enemies. We should focus on what we can work together on, and have reasoned debates over those we cannot. People need to be able to believe in politics, and in one united nation, once more, and we can begin the healing process by changing the way we talk to, and about, each other. I call on all party leaders to campaign clean, and positively, and use rhetoric that promotes unity. Maybe it’s not the best politics, maybe it’s not what advisors would tell you to do, but it’s what is best for Britain.



The third and final priority I’d like to see all parties adopt in this election is about redefining what Britain’s role will be in the world going forward. The way the rest of the world sees Britain has shifted over the last two years, and this is particularly true of our European neighbours. The foreign policy challenge this poses us is significant, and it is one all parties should seek to rise to in their manifestos in the next election. Brexit cannot be the end of global Britain, it must be the start of it. If we just accept that we will either be in or out of the EU, and seek to leave the rest of our foreign policy unchanged, that’s not good enough. It would be to underestimate the paradigm shift that Britain will have undergone on the world stage after this process, for better or worse.



The foreign policy of Britain’s next Government must be one which reflects this new problem, and one which embraces bold solutions. We need to keep Britain relevant, we need to keep up our formidable soft power, and we need to ensure that we are leading the way in fighting global poverty, human rights abuses, and climate change. Any party seriously hoping to form a Government in this new age should be aiming to put forward a radical plan for how Britain can continue to influence the course of the world, in or out of the EU. We should be proud of what our country can achieve, and we should be seeking to carve out a new position and a new identity.



Whilst foreign policy issues rarely swing election campaigns – I’ve heard it said that parties cannot gain votes on foreign policy, but can lose votes on that basis – they are more important in the next election that they have been since Britain joined the European Economic Community in 1973. This will be a key part in deciding what Britain’s future identity will be. We need to be ready to stand proud on the world stage, regardless of what happens, and ensure we retain our mojo. Failure to recognise the need for a new, courageous approach risks our country being forgotten.



For Labour’s part, we are working on a foreign policy platform which focuses on how we can reform the international rules based system, and the institutions that guard it, to work better, on the role of the commonwealth in our nation, and international, life, and on how we can play a leading role on the big issues of our time. With the US seemingly stepping back from its leading role in the world as a result of President Trump’s “America First” doctrine, other powers now have the opportunity to step into that void. Parties in this election ought to set out how they would seek to do just that.



And so this concludes my – rather lengthy – look at the issues that the next election needs to address for the good of our country going forward – it was worth taking time over, however. I hope that those of other political persuasions, even if they disagree with some of my assertions and proposals, can see the wider points I am making and the need for policies – whatever they might be – to start to meet them. I hope you can see it is not healthy for so many people to feel they their country has left them behind, for so many to feel so hostile towards those who adopt different political labels, and for our country to pretend that there is not a need to redefine what is stands for in the world. The decisions you take and policies you propose will decide the course our country takes. No pressure.