THE ROAD AHEAD KEIR STARMER MP - Fabian Society
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THE
ROAD
AHEAD
KEIR STARMER MP
FABIAN IDEAS NO.657
1Fabian Society
61 Petty France
London SW1H 9EU
www.fabians.org.uk
Fabian Ideas 657
First published September 2021
ISBN 978-0-7163-0657-3
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Assistant editor: Vanesha Singh
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without express permission of the Fabian Society.
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2FABIAN IDEAS NO. 657 THE ROAD AHEAD KEIR STARMER MP FOREWORD2 1. REFLECTIONS 3 2. PAST 6 “Here you are! Don’t lose it again!” 6 The ideology that failed 7 Held back 9 3. PRESENT 11 Pulling back the cur tain 11 The contribution societ y 12 Climate delay 13 Fixing the fundamentals 15 Oppor tunit y and securit y 16 Identit y and belonging 17 4. FUTURE 19 A nation remade 19 A new deal for business and working people 20 Real power in your hands 22 Healthy bodies and healthy minds 23 The best star t in life for ever y child 24 Streets that are safe again 25 5. THE ROAD AHEAD 27 A countr y at a crossroads 27 ENDNOTES29
FOREWORD
The pandemic has shown that the opportunities of the future. One where
British people are still just as resilient the epic challenge of our generation
and compassionate as we ever were. - climate change - is tackled head on
It has also shown us what matters and where the jobs created come to our
most - our health, the places around us shores.
and the people we love. The next Labour People in this country are crying out
government will place all these things for change. The Labour path would give
at the heart of our ambitious plans to them real control over their lives and
remake Britain. their local area. It would give power to
But Covid-19 has also exposed the make decisions to local communities
many fragilities in the ways we live, rather than people in Westminster.
work and are governed. Inequality of The Tories have been in power for
opportunity and a lack of security are more than a decade. They have failed
not inevitable - they are a result of a to match their talk with action. Labour
decade of Tory government that stripped would make ourselves accountable
back the state and left our country’s to the British people. To achieve this,
foundations weakened when the virus I propose 10 simple key principles to
struck. form a new agreement between Labour
Our country is now at a crossroads. and the British people. My message to
Down one path is the same old insecu- anyone who agrees with those principles
rity and lack of opportunity. But down is come with us. Let us take the road to
the Labour one is something better: a a better, brighter, more secure future
society built on everyone’s contribution. together.
It is a future where a modern, efficient
government works in partnership with Keir Starmer MP
a brilliant, innovative private sector September 2021
to create good jobs and harness the
potential of technology. One where
workers can expect more flexibility and
fair pay for a fair day’s work. One where
we update our public services, education
and health for the challenges and
4THE ROAD AHEAD
1. REFLECTIONS
When I became leader of the Labour facing us all. It is a vision of a better,
party in April 2020, Britain had been in fairer, more secure and prosperous
lockdown for 12 days. We are only now Britain. My personal thanks go to our
– 17 months later - beginning to see our friends and colleagues at the Fabian
liberty restored and our lives tentatively Society for giving me the opportunity to
return to normality. We have lived write this and for publishing it.
through a period of upheaval so great Over the summer, people have been
that it will take us all – as individuals, cautiously but enthusiastically returning
as a country, as a people – many more to the things they love. Pubs, cafes and
years to fully understand it. restaurants have filled up. Families and
The pandemic has been a time of friends have met without restriction.
great loss. Families were kept apart from The roar of the crowd at sporting events
one another. The formative experiences has returned. For my own part, I was
that shape young lives were cruelly finally able to do what I always wanted
missed. Hundreds of thousands of our to do as leader of the Labour party: take
fellow citizens lost their lives: each one a our ideas for the future to people.
friend, a neighbour, a relative. I have travelled the length and
But modern Britain has always breadth of the country, hearing people’s
emerged from the most difficult periods hopes and concerns, their plans to make
in our history with a hunger to seize up for lost time, their ambitions for the
the moment and create a better country. future. I have spoken with people of
We are, once again, at such a juncture. all ages, backgrounds and experiences.
This pamphlet is about how we got here, Some vote Labour, some vote for other
where the country is now and what parties, some do not vote at all. But
should come next. everyone has a story to tell and a desire
It explains how we can capture the to be heard.
spirit that got us through the pandemic I have been struck by the complicat-
as we go forward. It also sets out the ed, sometimes contradictory way people
path we will take to meet our ambitions, are feeling. It is not rare to encounter
the scale of change demanded by the optimism, worry, joy and reflection all
British people and the huge challenges during one chat. But I am also struck
5by how little this country reflects the we work and the way we live, but we
stereotypes that have been created for must not allow it to atomise society
it. I do not believe we are a hopelessly further. People coming together is not
polarised, divided, adrift nation as some just about what we can achieve: it is also
say. People might not always agree on about how we can live more fulfilled
every subject, but they are generally lives.
reasonable, decent and understanding Spending so long in isolation has
of one another. Grandparents express reinforced the importance of the places
heartfelt concern for the prospects of around us. Working from home was
grandchildren; people empathise with easier if you had a sizeable house and
perfect strangers. Similarly, when I a garden – less so if you lived in a flat
listen to the hopes and dreams and share with no outside space. Only being
determination of the younger genera- able to go out for one walk a day was
tion, I find it hard to agree with those more tolerable if your surroundings
who think our best days are behind us. were safe and attractive.
The truth is that the pandemic has In some sense, this is an old story
reminded us of what matters most. We about the importance of fairness and
are social creatures, driven by a love of equality of opportunity. Lockdown was
friends, family and the places around a more difficult, damaging experience
us. The sound of laughter and the fizz for those whose kids’ schools were not
of ideas are more potent when shared equipped for home learning, whose
with others. Houses are made homes employment did not qualify them for
and streets are made neighbourhoods by sick pay, or who had existing health
the people and the things we treasure. conditions. The burden fell on those
It is striking how much of that which who couldn’t work from home and
has made us proud or given us cause for those who were already struggling.
hope since last March was built on the While the pandemic has been a shared
power of people working together. traumatic experience, one we have got
From the neighbourhood-level efforts through together, some were destined to
of communities to look after one anoth- experience that trauma more profoundly
er, to the way businesses, scientists and because of circumstances beyond their
the NHS drove the vaccine effort, we control.
have seen how much more we achieve Some of the challenges facing our
collectively. On the other hand, the country are new. Technology, climate
moments that were most damaging and change, an ageing population and
detrimental to our national effort – such shifting geopolitics will change our
as when senior Conservatives decided world. People are no longer prepared
that the rules did not apply to them or to sit back while politicians shrug their
enriched their friends with taxpayer shoulders. The future will belong to
money – were characterised by selfish- those who do not just mitigate against
ness and arrogance. change but grasp the opportunities it
The pandemic will change the way provides.
6THE ROAD AHEAD
The next Labour government had secure jobs and a home: a strong
will be focused on creating jobs platform on which to start a family.
people are proud of, reimagining our They could never have afforded private
public services for those who use them, education or private healthcare – but
creating a new and better relationship we never felt we needed it. That made it
with business and delivering world-class possible for me to follow my ambitions
health and education. And we will build and have a family of my own.
this on solid foundations, with security Does a working-class child in Britain
at home, in the workplace, on the streets today have the same opportunities
and from those who would do us harm. my generation did? It is hard to think
These ambitions are personal to they do. It is still the case that your life
me. My parents worked with their chances are decided by the circumstanc-
hands – my dad on the factory floor, my es of your birth. That must change.
mum as a nurse. As well as working and We can only do that if we provide
raising children, my mum battled severe the security and opportunities that
illness for most of her life. I spent large will allow us to unlock our country’s
parts of my school years with her in high potential. It is a tragedy that we have
dependency units. a prime minister and a government
But despite these challenges, I was so utterly unserious and completely
fortunate enough to be the first in my unprepared for the great challenges
family to go to university, after which I of our time. That is why Labour must
was able to pursue a rewarding career. win and give the British people the
From defending ordinary people against government they deserve.
the might of vested interests, campaign- I want Labour to once again be
ing against the death penalty, defending Britain’s bricks and mortar – a symbol
workers and their trade unions, and of solidity, reliability, shelter and the
helping bring Stephen Lawrence’s prospect of building something new and
murderers to justice, I focused on causes better. To do that, our party must have
I was passionate about. In 2008, when a relentless focus on the challenges and
I accepted the role of Director of Public opportunities of the future and how
Prosecutions, it was because I wanted to they can be shaped to the interest of
serve my country and make it a better, working people. If we do that, we can
safer place. My team and I worked once again forge the better country and
closely with the police and security better future we all want to see.
services to disrupt terrorists, to drive
up convictions for rape and to defend
rights. When I was given a knighthood
for this work in 2014 my parents said it
was the proudest day of their lives.
I am under no illusions that I did
those things on my own. My parents
may not have had much, but they
72. PAST
My life was transformed by the families living under one roof. This has
Labour government of 1945. It been harmful and alienating. It has
was transformative for millions not progressed the cause of achieving
of people like me, you know - a Labour government and has been
education, the health service. It damaging to our country.
was proof that politics can make The strength of the Tory party is in
life better for people; that a social no small part due to its ability to shed
dream can become a social reality its skin. Just 12 years separated the
by the power of government. moral panic of ‘Back to Basics’ from
- Glenda Jackson the leadership of the libertarians David
Cameron and George Osborne. More
My assessment now is that we recently, the same politicians who were
probably didn’t cut enough. cheerleaders of austerity have been
- David Cameron banned from even uttering the word.
The Conservatives are not an easy
opponent to pin down – and even less
“HERE YOU ARE! DON’T LOSE IT so when Labour has tied its own arms
AGAIN!” behind its back.
In order to plan for the future we must The standard version of Labour
learn from the past. We must take history is well-known. Out of the
lessons from the last four terms of rubble of the second world war and the
Conservative rule and take pride in economic depression of the 1930s, the
Labour’s own record. Attlee government rebuilt Britain, with
The last 75 years of Labour history millions of homes for the heroes of the
have been characterised by towering conflict and the creation of the NHS.
achievement in government followed Perhaps its greatest achievement was
by long periods of self-doubt and that the Tory governments that followed
navel-gazing. In recent decades, the had no choice but to try and build upon
legacy of the 1997 Labour government this legacy rather than dismantle it.
has become contested to the extent that The Blair and Brown governments were
the party has at times felt like separate similarly ambitious for Britain: from
8THE ROAD AHEAD
introducing the minimum wage and they overwhelmingly voted for Labour.
reducing child and pensioner poverty, to In 1964, Harold Wilson began the
the hospitals and schools that were built modernisation of Britain, expanding
and the nurses and teachers that were educational opportunity, helping culture
trained. flourish and promoting science and
I could list many hundreds more technology. In 1997, Labour understood
things that Labour has done in power, that a more liberal, tolerant country was
a great shopping list of social, economic being born alongside the old one and
and national advancement. I could that the structure of society had not kept
explain why each one mattered and pace with the huge social changes of
the ripple effects it had on future the 1970s and 1980s. It set about again
generations. I could contrast them to the modernising our country, fixing the
paucity of the Conservative record. gaping holes left by Thatcherism, with
At Labour conference a few years proper public services, constitutional
ago, a video was shown before the reform and leadership in Europe.
leader’s speech. It showcased Labour’s The Labour party at its best does not
leaders, all the way back to Keir Hardie. wait around for the public to decide we
It was set to a moving soundtrack of are right. Instead, it adapts and updates.
testimony and archive footage. But as It does not look backwards – it marches
well as making me feel proud, it also forwards. It does not endlessly litigate
made me frustrated. Because I realised the war effort – it wins the peace. It uses
that somewhere along the line, we had its history as a guide, not a parable.
stopped talking in the present tense
and consigned our achievements to
the past. We had moved from being THE IDEOLOGY THAT FAILED
the party of ‘white heat’ to the party of It is impossible to live in this moment
sepia-tinged nostalgia. We had become and not feel the winds of change
a party squabbling over its own past, blowing, just as they did in 1945 and
rather than one focused on the future of 1997. After the global financial crash,
the country. the Conservatives’ reckless economic
When we win, it is not because the approach failed to deliver growth or
country has come round to our way of repair the public finances. We cannot
thinking but because we have seized allow the same mistakes to be repeated
the future and moulded it. The Attlee this time around.
government owed less to Marxist The forces pushing apart our country
textbooks than it did to the famous and tearing at the social fabric – nation-
Daily Mirror cartoon showing an Allied alism, extremism and misinformation –
soldier holding out a sign reading need to be tackled, but have either been
“Victory and Peace in Europe” and embraced or ignored by Conservative
the caption “Here you are! Don’t lose and Scottish Nationalist governments.
it again!” The soldiers returning from The desire of people across the
around the world wanted change – and country to have real power and
9FABIAN IDEAS NO. 657
control – expressed most forcibly in the While David Cameron’s two successors
Brexit vote - remains unmet. On every as prime minister have tried to distance
single one of these great challenges, the themselves from this period, neither has
Labour party has an enormous oppor- found a similarly clear and concise way
tunity to make the progressive case. The of talking about the economy or been
next Labour government must deliver prepared to fully confront austerity’s
sustainable growth, repair the public failure. The lack of a clear economic
finances and give people the means to message was hidden from view by years
take back control. of debate over Brexit. But as that period
But the arc of history will not bend came to an end, the curtain was drawn
towards us unless we force it to. We back on a government left without a
cannot go back into our comfort zones. defining mission or purpose.
We must embrace this new world and It is hardly any wonder that the
deal head on with the fundamental current government is desperate to
question of how Labour would remake avoid discussing its economic record.
Britain for the 2030s and beyond. Everywhere you look in Britain today its
In the decade since Labour has been effects can be seen. The government’s
in government, right-wing governments own Social Mobility Commission
both here and around the world have reported this year that almost 700,000
been busy. The projects of the Conserv- more children are living in poverty
ative government in Westminster can be than in 2012.1 Across the same period,
broken up into three distinct but related the number of children having to use
periods. food banks has risen dramatically.2
First, using the global financial crisis Anti-social behaviour has soared, due
as a smokescreen for rolling back the in no small part to the fact there were
state. Second, a lazy, complacent veer 20,000 fewer police officers on the
from patriotism to nationalism, resulting streets in 2019 than in 2010.3 A £6bn gap
in a botched exit from the European has opened in adult social care through
Union, the erosion of our defence and the salami-slicing of council budgets.4
military capabilities and an unfolding Across the country, a decade of Tory
foreign policy disaster in Afghanistan. slash and burn economics has resulted
And third, the ongoing attempts to in everything from fewer bin collections
import American-style divisions on and increased fly-tipping to the closure
social, cultural and sometimes national of children’s centres and lengthening
lines. We cannot understand where waits for mental health treatment. The
we find ourselves as a country today plan to strip back the state has come at
without an exploration of how these immense cost to the social fabric of our
three projects have affected us. neighbourhoods, our communities and
Cuts to services and provision were our country.
the defining project of the Conservative David Cameron once famously
government from 2010 to 2015, aided declared: “We’re all in this together.”
and abetted by the Liberal Democrats. But the Tories’ economic approach has
10THE ROAD AHEAD
meant that some people found them- course because of internal squabbles,
selves more ‘in’ than others. The Centre their ambitions for the economy have
for Cities has shown that seven of the become less and less clear. We have had
10 cities that have faced the largest cuts plenty of slogans - ‘Burning Injustices’,
are in the North East, North West or ‘Just About Managing’, ‘Global Britain’,
Yorkshire.5 Many of the poorest regions ‘Levelling Up’ - but precious little
in Western Europe can now be found in purpose or action. In the absence of a
this country.6 defining economic project or plan, the
A failure to actively shape and Tories have instead plunged headfirst
strengthen the economy means that into the murky depths of the so-called
vast potential is being wasted. We have ‘culture wars’.
a generation of young people struggling
to find secure work, hampered by debt,
priced out of housing and struggling to HELD BACK
see the opportunities that my generation Britain has achieved so much – and yet
were afforded. They are the opposite it still has so much to offer. We have
of the tired old stereotypes of the lazy brilliant talent everywhere you look.
and entitled teenager or 20-something. There are innumerable success stories
Indeed, many of them are too young to in business, education, industry, arts,
ever remember economic good times sport, entrepreneurship and science. We
or a government that offered them are world leaders in creative industries,
anything more than crumbs from the medical research and financial services.
table. They have been forced to be wise There are vast resources of untapped
beyond their years and have had their potential in our people, our businesses,
expectations checked. our towns and our cities. For too long
Just before the Conservatives took we have been held back by a Tory
power in 2010, Professor Sir Michael government lacking in ambition and
Marmot published a report on the state vision. The 2010s were a lost decade
of England’s health. In February 2020 for Britain. One in which, instead of
he updated it, laying bare the sheer actively strengthening, rebuilding and
scale of decline. Among its shocking reimagining our economy fit for the
findings were that that life expectancy future, faith was put in the power of
had stalled for the first time in a century a free market model that valued the
and that for some of the poorest women contribution of capital but not labour.
in the country it had declined.7 It is A failure to properly plan has seen jobs
an appalling legacy after a decade of disappear to automation and towns
government. flooded as weather patterns changed;
Recently, a curious thing has people plunged into debt and unable
happened: the Conservatives have to afford their own homes; businesses
decided they no longer want to talk treated as an afterthought and intricate
about the libertarian economics they supply chains put at risk. As this
once preached. Unable to fully change happened the government offered warm
11FABIAN IDEAS NO. 657
words but blanched at action.
Entering the 2020s, Britain faced
stagnant wages, vast inequality and the
slowest growth in living standards since
the second world war. Regardless of
what came next, we would all have lived
with the hangover from this decade
of Tory failure. But what came was far
more damaging.
12THE ROAD AHEAD
3. PRESENT
England’s comparatively poor PULLING BACK THE CURTAIN
management of the pandemic Monumental events often pull back
was of a piece with England’s the curtain on the state of society. The
health improvement falling woeful condition of British recruits in
behind that of other rich countries the Boer War led to concerted attempts
in the decade since 2010. We to tackle poverty-related illnesses. The
offered four likely reasons why: 1918 flu pandemic led to the rise of
the quality of governance and socialised medicine and public health.8
political culture which did not The horrors and sacrifices of war
give priority to the conditions for changed almost every aspect of life.
good health; continuing increases The coronavirus crisis has put rocket
in inequalities in economic and boosters under the urgency of change in
social conditions, including a rise our country.
in poverty among families with At the time of writing, we have
children; a policy of austerity already suffered the worst death toll
and consequent cuts to funding and the worst economic hit of any major
of public services; and a poor European economy.9 That was not
state of the nation’s health that inevitable. Instead, it was a direct result
would increase the lethality of of government action and inaction. Much
COVID-19. Addressing all of these attention has been paid to the decisions
needs to be at the heart of what taken by the prime minister at the start of
needs to change if we are to build the pandemic and the repeated mistakes
a fairer, healthier society as we that cost this country so dearly. His lack
emerge from the pandemic. of seriousness and grip led to a crippling
- Professor Sir Michael Marmot, inertia in the vital early weeks.
Build Back Fairer report The breaching of lockdown by senior
members of the government undermined
England is still a place where a public faith at a crucial time. The
naughty boy who comes from enrichment of Tory donors and ministers’
nothing can live his dream. friends with taxpayer money deserves an
- Raheem Sterling, It Was All A investigation of its own. But this analysis
Dream obscures the wider, systemic, structural
13FABIAN IDEAS NO. 657
problems: the seeds of disaster that had provision meant some pupils in state
been sown over a decade of underfunding schools were at a disadvantage compared
and broken promises. to their private school contemporaries –
When Covid-19 reached these shores, shamefully, many went months with no
it was hard to find a part of Britain that access to laptops and online learning.15
had not had its foundations weakened Across the public sector, understaffing
disastrously by decisions taken over the was the norm rather than the exception.
previous decade. One of the defining traits of Covid-19
It was the NHS that stepped up most has been its ability to get into the
spectacularly during the crisis. But it fissures of society and exploit weakness.
was forced to do so from a position of When it reached Britain’s borders, it
weakness. We had 10 per cent fewer found a perfect host. The resilience of
hospital beds at the start of 2020 than we the state and its institutions had been
did in 2010/2011. During the same period, systematically eroded over a decade. It
the rate of occupied beds increased.10 was apparent early in the crisis that those
Waiting times were at a record level members of society already struggling
before the pandemic, with 4.5 million or working on the frontlines were
people waiting for treatment, compared disproportionately affected.
to 2.5 million when the Tories came to In some ways, this should not have
power.11 GPs and hospitals were missing been a surprise: from our fragmented
almost all routine targets. The NHS had care system to the way that minority
nearly 100,000 staff vacancies, including communities are disproportionally
50,000 nurses.12 PPE supplies were impacted by issues as varied as housing,
disastrously low and supply chains were benefits and health inequalities, Covid-19
feeble. merely shone the stage lights into corners
National plans for adult social care that had been kept in the shadows for too
barely existed and the poor pay of long.
Britain’s carers, about a third of whom
were on zero-hours contracts, meant
staffing turnover was high.13 THE CONTRIBUTION SOCIETY
These problems went far beyond As the government lurched between
just health and care. The independent inertia and chaos, it was the British
Institute for Government’s report into the people who kept our country going.
fitness of public services for coronavirus Many nurses and doctors will tell you,
describes how the government’s use of as the nurses who cared for my own
capital budgets to plug gaps in day-to-day mum when she was gravely ill told
spending across Whitehall had resulted me, that this is simply their vocation:
in crumbling prisons and courthouses, “We’re just doing our job.” But it was
making adaptation to Covid-19 not just the NHS: van drivers made
regulations and social distancing more crucial deliveries, teachers made online
difficult.14 Inequalities in access to lesson plans, the police maintained
devices for home learning and internet order. Supermarket workers, who
14never expected their jobs to be at the more fair and more just. A programme
frontline of a health crisis, ensured the that offers proper opportunities to people
nation’s fridges and cupboards were full across the country, regardless of where
throughout the pandemic. they live or their background; one that
The staff at a care home I visited harnesses the resources of the state and
in Letchworth refused to leave their the innovative brilliance of the private
residents behind, no matter what the sector to work together rather than
personal risk. These were the heroes of against each other. The Conservatives
the pandemic – ordinary people rolling have paid lip service to this in the past,
up their sleeves and doing their bit. with half-hearted and quickly abandoned
It was this spirit that inspired millions ideas like the ‘Big Society’.
of acts of selflessness across the country We would do things differently. In
every day. Neighbours checking on order to put contribution and community
neighbours, young people picking up at the centre of our efforts, we would
food for the elderly, people signing up for build an effective partnership of state
community efforts. The totems of laissez- and private sector to prioritise the things
faire politics - hyper-individualism and that we have seen really matter: health,
the disdain for the very idea of society living conditions, working conditions
- vanished when we were tested most. and the environment. And together
In these moments, we could see the we would flesh out those things that
glimmers of what our country is at heart are less immediately tangible but still
and what it can be again. This isn’t about vital - community, wellbeing, security
being Pollyannish or sentimental. It and opportunity.
is about the idea of a society based on
contribution: being part of something
bigger, playing your part, valuing others CLIMATE DELAY
not just because of what they can offer These ideas and this urgency can be
you. I make no apology for believing applied to any of the great challenges
that these kinds of traditional ideas must facing us today. But nowhere is it more
be a crucial part of our future. They are important than climate change. In
what inspire people to become nurses or recent years we have seen devastating
carers and businesses to prioritise their wildfires in America, Australia,
employees’ happiness and wellbeing. India, China and southern Europe.
Their re-emergence has led to a re- 20 million people a year are forced
evaluation of both what is important to us to leave their homes due to climate
and what is possible. change – leading inevitably to increased
I believe we are living through a time migration pressures.16 The UK is getting
when the individualism that prioritises wetter, with devastating floods now an
personal entitlement, moral superiority annual occurrence. At the same time,
and self-interest is receding in society’s we are also one of the most vulnerable
rear-view mirror. In its place, we have the countries in the world to heatwaves.17
chance to build something more secure, While climate change denial has been
15FABIAN IDEAS NO. 657
utterly discredited, we still face an equally project is part of a bigger ambition to
pernicious obstacle – climate delay. This design the world’s first zero-emission
government now accepts that something aircraft. The possibilities are huge. It is
needs to be done but lacks the vision, exactly the sort of thing Britain used to
the ambition and the political courage to build when we were the workshop of the
make it happen. While inaction in other world.
policy areas holds back our country, But where is our government in this?
inaction on climate change will mean life Crippled by short-termism, unable to see
or death for many people. the wood for the trees. Its erratic approach
The 2020s will be decisive. Future to how government can help shape the
generations will judge this generation economy to the UK’s advantage means
by the action we take now. But the we are missing the opportunities for the
world is currently not on track to meet long-term, strategic investment we need
its goals and the UN has suggested that now.
current climate pledges will only achieve This is where Labour’s vision of
emissions reductions of one per cent by government working with the private
the end of the decade – nowhere near sector will make the difference. We
what is required. Our government has are in a global race for these jobs of the
been talking the talk but it has not walked future but the government is still on
the walk. Not only is the UK currently the starting blocks. At Whitelee Wind
way off track to meet our legally binding Farm, just south of Glasgow, one can
net-zero target, but we are not even on see first-hand the immense potential
track to meet the less ambitious one that of wind power as its turbines generate
preceded it.18 As the world warms, we enough clean electricity to power 350,000
need so much more than warm words. homes. As an island nation, we have a
We are not just failing in our geographical advantage when it comes
obligations when it comes to climate to generating wind power. But the
change. We are also – once again - failing government has failed to invest in the
to seize the opportunities it presents. industry to manufacture wind turbines
Other countries have grasped that climate here. As a result, we find ourselves in the
change is about jobs. farcical situation of having to ship in wind
The private sector is racing ahead turbines from Denmark and Indonesia.
of our government, waiting for it to This failure to take a strategic view
catch up. Airbus in Gloucestershire is or put together a proper plan is not just
currently developing the world’s first about our climate commitments. It is not
hydrogen wing for commercial aircraft. just a few sectors or parts of the country.
This is world-leading research and Instead, it is at the very heart of the
design, combined with cutting-edge problems bedevilling Britain’s economy
manufacturing. It is creating hundreds and the prospects of too many in this
of good quality jobs, potentially massive country. A decade of Tory government
export opportunities and a real sense has seen short-termism prioritised
of purpose and pride for workers. This instead of what was really needed: a
16THE ROAD AHEAD
proper plan to ensure that we are able down roots, perhaps having a family, feels
unlock Britain’s potential in the decades unrealistic.
to come. In the meantime, their school friend
found an apprenticeship. It was not easy:
the numbers have plummeted and there
FIXING THE FUNDAMENTALS are few available. Friends in a similar
The same theme applies much more position had to settle for less money and
widely. There are two fundamental less job security. Having started work,
things we need to fix in this country: they stay living at home for a bit longer
insecurity and inequality of opportunity. than they might have hoped – but local
Wherever you look, from the housing property prices are not too bad and
market to jobs, from young people to they soon have enough to buy a smart,
old, these are the primary colours that new-build home. At work, prospects are
make up the palette of challenges facing not obvious. Wages are not as good as
us. they used to be. Periodically, there are
Imagine two young people leaving a rumours that the company might up and
decent state school in a town anywhere leave for somewhere else.
in the country. One is interested in If those two friends were to meet
academia. Perhaps they have their heart up, what would they say about their
set on living in a city. The other student experiences? They have taken very
is just as bright, just as talented, but has different paths and face different
different plans: they want to stay living challenges. But the similarities are broad.
near family and want to work with their They would both be proud of their
hands or find a vocation. Both have the achievements, their hard work and their
enthusiasm, the brains and the work ethic successes. But at the same time they
to contribute in whatever they choose to might also feel frustrated, worried, even
do. Given the opportunity, both will get pessimistic. Because hanging over them
on in life. like a cloud is the sense that this is all too
The first student gets the grades they fragile: that the opportunities that once
need and heads off to university. After existed no longer do and that the link
three years, they graduate and find an between hard work, fair play and reward
entry-level job – work opportunities are has been broken. They might feel that if
pretty good. But every month, half their they had been born into money or in a
income is handed to a buy-to-let landlord different part of the country, things would
in the private rental market. They have be better for them. They both have so
no idea when the price might be hiked. much to contribute – but are being held
They can never really settle because they back from doing so.
could be priced out. A promotion comes This experience isn’t unique to one
at work and that offers some breathing part of society. Chronic insecurity
space. But the idea of saving for a deposit and lack of opportunity pockmark the
on a place of their own is not so much country. People aged 35 to 44 years were
slim as laughable. The prospect of putting almost three and a half times more likely
17FABIAN IDEAS NO. 657
to be renting in 2017 than they were in state of decline.”22 We cannot say we have
1993, as people struggle for longer and not been warned: if we do not change
longer to get on the housing ladder.19 course, we will all suffer the long-term
London created one in four of all new consequences.
private sector jobs in Britain after the
global financial crisis, suggesting much
more needs to be done to grow the private OPPORTUNITY AND SECURITY
sector in other parts of the country.20 A This all tallies up to no less than the
few months into the pandemic there were erosion of a fundamental idea, central to
12 unemployed workers for every job our democracy and our way of life – the
in some of our post-industrial towns – promise that the next generation will
meaning that the areas that were already have the opportunity to do better than
struggling had seen their prospects the last. When people are forced to
further dimmed.21 move halfway across the country to
This lack of opportunity and security find decent job opportunities or cannot
is pernicious. It creates a vicious cycle afford to buy a modest home, or fear
that is hard to escape from and which has they will not have a retirement to enjoy
far-reaching consequences. If we do not or the ability to access basic care when
help people put down deep roots, they they get old, something is badly wrong.
never get the chance to feel like a part of That is why we must turn our attention
their community. If our work force is not to opportunity and security. They are the
as productive or as skilled as it should sunlight that help liberty, democracy and
be, workers and businesses suffer. If citizenship grow: in their absence, each
we do not spread opportunity around one is stunted. To complement them, we
the country, parts of our economy lie also need a renewed focus on the ties
dormant. Tory governments have stood that bind us all together. Where Tory
back, enamoured by the fallacy of ‘trickle- individualism decrees there is ‘no such
down’ economics, while parts of our thing as society’, we believe the opposite.
country that built and produced things On the back of the membership card
have seen good, skilled jobs disappear. given to every single Labour member it
Make no mistake about it: Britain’s says: “By the strength of our common
rivals on the global stage are not making endeavour we achieve more than we do
the same mistakes. Just before lockdown, alone.” Our party is built on the belief
the interim CEO of City and Guilds that it is by bringing people together we
sounded a warning to the government make our country a better place.
that “low productivity and growing skills In recent years that has been tested
gaps are plaguing businesses and the to breaking point. The decline of trade
wider economy”, that “compared with our union membership, the diminution of our
G7 counterparts, the UK’s low levels of social housing stock and the institutional
productivity see us lagging well behind” erosion of the places where we come
and that “social mobility is in a worrying together – from pubs to places of worship
18THE ROAD AHEAD
– have all left people increasingly isolated. IDENTITY AND BELONGING
Chronic loneliness affects millions of Most immediately damaging to our
adults across Britain. Faith in many of the country has been the rise of the
institutions of our country has declined. multi-headed hydra of nationalism.
The idea that the immigration and The Conservatives and the Scottish
social security systems are a free-for-all National Party may define themselves
has been fertile territory for populist against each other, but their politics
politicians, who have sowed mistrust. is symbiotic, requiring one another to
The years of Brexit gridlock put enormous sustain and grow. Their failures are
stress on our country. similar as well: A&E targets in Scotland
This has all come at a time when have been missed for years, and life
personal technology and social media expectancy gaps between deprived and
have changed the way we live. The affluent areas are rising. In education,
democratisation of information provided progress in closing the poverty-related
by the internet means that the entire attainment gap is minimal and inter-
sum of human learning is available at the national league tables show standards
touch of a button – but so are conspiracy have fallen. Most shockingly of all, since
theories, crankery, misinformation and the SNP cut funding for alcohol and
hatred. Building bonds between fellow drugs services, deaths have soared and
citizens has never been more crucial. Scotland has the highest drugs death
But rather than take on these rate in Europe.23
challenges, the Conservatives have Both the SNP and the Conservatives
tried to exploit divisions, leading to an use culture to distract and deflect,
increasingly bizarre obsession with what creating division between people of
happens on university campuses, a crime these islands. The business of effective
bill that offers statues of slavers more governance and improving people’s
protection than women walking down lives comes second to ideology. Both use
the street, and McCarthyite accusations nationalism freely to whip up fear of the
of Marxist plots against everyone from other.
teachers to those protesting racism. The Nationalists like to portray themselves
limits on its effectiveness were exposed as patriots. But patriotism and
by the tawdry sight of the prime minister nationalism are not the same. In fact, they
and Home Secretary refusing to criticise are opposites. Nationalism represents
those who booed the England football an attempt to divide people from one
team in the build-up to Euro 2020. another; patriotism is an attempt to
Despite these farcical examples, we unite people of different backgrounds.
should never be complacent – our political Nationalism is about the casting out of
rivals sow the seeds of division and the other; patriotism is about finding
rancour liberally and effectively. common ground. Nationalism is the
flag as a threat. Patriotism is the flag as a
celebration.
19FABIAN IDEAS NO. 657
Nationalism is just one arm of the rise Britain. A Britain built on the bedrock of
of identity-based politics in the Western our traditions but one that evolves, grows
world that has done immense damage to and embraces change. A Britain that
the progressive cause. By dividing people judges its people not by race, nationality
into smaller and smaller groups and or the way they live their lives – but on
diminishing the experiences of others, how they contribute to the greater good.
we atomise our society ever more and The challenges of the future will
keep potential allies and friends at arm’s require us to build broad coalitions. In
length. Community, family and country the pursuit of creating a better country
are not conservative or backwards ideas and a better future we may sometimes
– they are the building blocks of strong disagree and have differences. It is our job
societies. to strengthen the union and reassert the
When we celebrate families, we bonds between the people of our country.
celebrate them in all their different Over the last year of Covid-19 we have
shapes and sizes. When we celebrate our seen the prospect of a better society, built
country, it is a love of place and people, on people coming together for something
not jingoism. We don’t seek to create in- bigger than themselves. As we face
groups and out-groups - instead, we want the future, we must be the party that
to create a forward-looking, inclusive represents that spirit and those ideas.
20THE ROAD AHEAD
4. FUTURE
Now is not the time for half where we are as a country and where
measures. we need to go next. People are crying
– Mark Carney, Venice out for real change and Labour will be
International Climate Conference, at the vanguard of that. The scale of the
July 2021 challenge is vast. The erosion of our
economic base, the underfunding of
The future is unwritten. the services we rely on, the curtailing
– Joe Strummer, The Clash of ambition, the tearing of the social
fabric, the mistrust that has been sown
in our institutions and the constitutional
A NATION REMADE damage done to our country have all
Britain is at a fork in its history. Down combined to weaken our country’s
one path lies the same old economic and foundations.
societal weaknesses, with predictable If we are to come back better than be-
consequences and squandered oppor- fore we need to fundamentally rethink
tunities. Down the other is a better, how our country works. We must take
bolder, brighter future, one in which we inspiration from 1945 – but that cannot
learn the lessons of the pandemic and mean dwelling on the past. Instead, we
build a new society and economy that must face the future. That means a new
harnesses the strength of people coming settlement between the government,
together. A future in which we ensure business and working people. It means
everyone who wants to contribute can completely rethinking where power
fulfil their potential. Where we reverse lies in our country – driving it out of
the tearing apart of our country, creating the sclerotic and wasteful parts of a
a more united kingdom and tackling the centralized system and into the hands
injustices that blight too many lives. of people and communities across the
I want our country to take that land. It means banishing the culture
second path. But that will only happen if that unthinkingly accepts public
Labour wins again. services not keeping up with the sort of
As I speak with people, I am struck advances we have come to expect in the
by just how much agreement there is on private sector. We will no longer allow
21corruption, waste, anachronism and between the government and business
falling standards to be met with a shrug, to create an economy that works. That
as if there is something inevitable about will require a new, commonsense,
each of them. practical approach: one in which we
People want to emerge from don’t treat the economy as a battle for
lockdown into something better. They supremacy between public sector and
want to see a contribution society: one private sector, but a joint effort. We need
where people who work hard and play to drive innovation and change and
by the rules can expect to get something drive up standards for employers and
back, where you can expect fair pay for employees.
fair work, where we capture the spirit The state must become an investor
that saw us through the worst ravages and a leader. British businesses large
of the pandemic and celebrate the and small must know the government
idea of community and society; where has their back. Workers must see their
we understand that we are stronger pay, skills and conditions improve.
together. Business is a force for good in society,
Britain under the next Labour providing jobs, prosperity and wealth.
government will no longer be trampled But business has been let down by a
by the tyranny of low expectations. If Tory government that has failed to
we are to reimagine what is possible, plan for the long term and provide the
we will need to demand high standards. conditions in which long-term decisions
If we are to unlock the vast reserves can be made. When I speak to business
of potential and productivity in this leaders they are deeply frustrated by
country, we will need to be restless. If this. They feel we are giving our rivals in
we are to overcome cynicism, we will other parts of the world a head start.
need to be the party of practical action. We have seen from the government’s
Labour in government has always failure to properly manage our
been about rebuilding and reconstruc- departure from the European Union
tion. This time there is a nation to be what happens when the expertise
remade. and concerns of business are ignored.
The sight of empty shelves in our
supermarkets should be embarrassing to
A NEW DEAL FOR BUSINESS AND ministers who failed to understand the
WORKING PEOPLE complex supply chains and streamlined
Building that better country is not going logistics that British businesses rely
to happen with the erratic approach to upon. By creating unnecessary red tape
the economy of the Conservatives. But and bureaucracy, the government has
nor will it be created by a throwback cost both businesses and consumers.
to the planned economies of the 20th We would fix the holes in the shoddy
century. Brexit deal – but we also need to think
The first task in remaking the nation more broadly about how government
will be resetting the relationship and business interact. My vision for
22THE ROAD AHEAD
Britain is to make it the best place to do law a New Deal for Working People. It
business because it has a government will provide security and opportunities
that works in partnership with the for people across the country, with
private sector. Businesses would be improved conditions, quality jobs,
expected to play by the rules, respect training and better pay. It will increase
their workforce, and contribute to the minimum wage, ensuring proper
their communities. In return, a Labour wages that people can raise a family
government would provide a level on. It will ensure rights for all workers
playing field, a skilled workforce and a from day one, such as sick pay, parental
modern infrastructure, from transport leave, and the right to flexible working,
to public services. reflecting the realities of the post-Covid
There are huge opportunities here. world. It would ban dubious practices
We would start with a promise to ensure such as fire and rehire and stop firms
we buy, make and sell in Britain. Our exploiting loopholes to get out of giving
national economy must be actively employment rights to their workers.
built, nurtured and developed to deliver We would give people stronger rights
widespread prosperity. The shambolic to be represented at work by their trade
experience of public procurement, both unions to help raise standards and
before and during Covid-19, must end. protect workers. And, crucially, it would
Why when government departments guarantee work or training for young
are funded by taxpayer money are we so people.
lax about ensuring that money is spent We would replace universal
appropriately? credit and reimagine our social security
Labour would set high standards, system to ensure that work pays. We
ensuring public bodies give more want low-paid people to keep more of
contracts to British firms both large and the money they earn, so that having
small and design contracts to ensure we enough money to raise a family isn’t the
spend more in this country. We would preserve of the better-off.
report on this annually, with public bod- All this would make a difference to
ies required to explain how much they hard-working people. It would put far
are buying from British businesses. All more emphasis on balancing work with
major infrastructure projects currently family, rather than choosing between
in the pipeline would be reviewed to the two. It would create happier, more
ensure we maximise the use of British productive employees. It would benefit
materials and firms. business.
I believe the single most important We would also use the challenge of
part of improving lives is to ensure tackling emissions as an opportunity
good, secure jobs are spread across for British industry and jobs. We would
the country and that people have real start that with a huge investment in a
flexibility and choice at work. green recovery from the pandemic. We
In the first 100 days of the next would boost the car industry to ensure
Labour government, I will sign into that Britain leads in the production
23FABIAN IDEAS NO. 657
of electric cars. We would get more were able to make a huge difference
offshore wind turbines built, powering to their local area. But it also exposed
our homes with clean energy. We would how piecemeal regional power is. Too
increase the manufacturing of clean many places do not have those strong
steel to build our schools, railways and local voices. And even where they do,
hospitals. the powers they possess are not enough
All of these actions would create jobs to match the power of their arguments.
– hundreds of thousands, located across That is why if the people of Britain put
the country; jobs that give people real their trust in us and return Labour to
pride as they help in the effort to remake power, we will return power to the
our nation. This is only the beginning people of Britain.
of our ambition: we would set ambitious It should go without saying that the
targets to eliminate the substantial best person to make decisions about
majority of carbon emissions by 2030, what a community needs is someone
to ensure Britain is an absolute leader who is part of and understands that
and an example to the world. The scale community – but too often that does not
of our ambition will only increase from happen. Britain today is one of the most
here: if the Tory government continues centralised countries in Europe. Crucial
to dither and delay over the coming decisions are too often made in offices in
years, I promise that Labour will take Westminster with little consideration of
the decisions necessary to deliver on the the lives they impact hundreds of miles
environment and the economy. away. That must change.
Labour in government would show
that we take seriously people’s demands
REAL POWER IN YOUR HANDS for more control. We will deliver social
For too long, it has been accepted that justice, stronger communities and
many people in this country will not unlock potential by unlocking power,
achieve their potential simply because wealth and opportunity across the
of the circumstances of their birth. But United Kingdom. But we will not do
there is nothing inevitable about this. that by decree – we will put power
We must aggressively strike down the and control in the hands of the people,
pre-existing inequalities that mean whether at work, in accessing public
too many children still have their services, or over the decisions that affect
life chances influenced more by their their lives.
background and where they live. You Where the current Tory government
cannot unlock a nation’s prospects and has muddied the waters of transparency
potential while allowing vast swathes of on the money it spends or the things
its citizens to be held back. it does, I want to make it easier to hold
I believe that where and how government to account. That means
decisions are made is crucial. During everything from ending the outrageous
the pandemic, we saw how Labour way government departments refuse
politicians in power across the country freedom of information requests to
24THE ROAD AHEAD
ensuring the next Labour government has been committed, it is too late for
gives updates on our progress delivering both the victims and for the prospect of
on our key promises. changing outcomes.
We would also act on tackling racism, In recent years we could have used
drawing a line under the way important technology to revolutionise services.
reports are allowed to pile up and Instead, we have seen a scaling back
gather dust in Whitehall. When people of capability and ambition. The next
across the world come together to say Labour government will not make
that black lives matter, when England the same mistakes. Across our public
footballers take the knee before the services we need to focus on preventing
biggest games of their lives and when the ills that plague society, not just
black people chant ‘we can’t breathe’, patching them up. The pandemic has
they aren’t asking for more nice words brutally exposed the challenges to our
or inquiries – they are demanding real nation and we will act to address them.
progress. We would introduce a new Nowhere is this more keenly felt
Race Equality Act in the UK, aimed at that in our health. We must now be
tackling the complex structural racism ambitious. If we are to remake our
that holds back people from every nation then we should set ourselves the
community. challenge of making this the healthiest
The changes to our economy and country in the world.
where power lies will create an exciting, A successful country depends on
dynamic country. From the high streets being a healthy country: the NHS
of our towns and cities, to the global matters to our health and it matters
markets, Britain would be back on its for our productivity. Inspired by the
feet, ready to take on the future. But my ambition of Wales and New Zealand,
vision for this country is about more and the experiences of the pandemic
than that: it is also about rethinking the that kept our minds and bodies healthy,
parts of society we all rely on, ready for Labour would put wellbeing at the heart
the 2030s and beyond. of government decision-making.
The opening-up of discussion about
mental health over the last decade or so
HEALTHY BODIES AND HEALTHY has been important – but what is needed
MINDS now is action. The 1997 Labour govern-
One of my burning desires is to rethink ment set ambitious targets for waiting
and improve our public services. As lists in the NHS and they worked:
Director of Public Prosecutions, there the next Labour government will set
was rarely a case that came across my ourselves the same challenge on mental
desk that didn’t involve people who health. The mental health charity Mind
had fallen through the cracks of public suggest that just one in eight adults with
provision or where there had been a mental health problem are currently
missed opportunities to intervene getting treatment 24 and waiting lists are
earlier. Frankly, by the time a crime soaring. We must be ambitious about
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