Last night I went to two Labour Party meetings. The first was the Progress debate in Parliament: How can Labour Win. The second was Islington North CLP's monthly General Committee.
Progress: How can Labour Win was invigorating and motivating. Speaking were Roger Mortimer from MORI, Chris Leslie from NLGN, Polly Toynbee, Yvette Cooper and personal favourite, James Purnell. The "usual" topics were covered. Mortimer stated that there is a gap between voters' local experiences of public services (very good) and their views of the national picture (less so good). Importantly though he stated that for Labour to win, we need middle class votes. To win in the coming years around two thirds of Labours voters need to be from the middle classes. We can no longer rely on C2DEs. This is why James Purnell is right that the only way Labour can be successful is by staying loyal to New Labour.
The main out-take from this event is that Labour has a good story to tell - and we need to go out there, campaign hard and ensure that everyone knows about it.
Housing repeatedly arose as an issue. Here we have a real opportunity. In the 1980s the Tories were the party of the home owning masses. Today Labour has the chance to seize that territory. More social housing but more shared ownership schemes are needed. I await the Housing Green Paper on Monday with baited breath. This is also something that has been consistently debates at Islington North's GC.
5 comments:
"This is why James Purnell is right that the only way Labour can be successful is by staying loyal to New Labour. "
What's meant by 'successful'?
Successful - win elections. To win elections we have to appeal to the middle classes as without their votes we cannot win. If we don't win we cannot help the poor and working classes. We should be about governing for the whole country without forgetting those who need us most.
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