Let the sunshine in
As the country opens up, now is the time for Labour to offer a 'primary colours' vision of a brighter and better time ahead.
Sorry this is a day late. I spent most of yesterday walking one of the longer sections of the Capital Ring walk (from Grove Park to Crystal Palace). Today is definitely a good day for sitting down and typing as a result!
It was a beautiful day. the sun was pouring down, but there was also enough shade provided by the immense greenery of London to make the conditions perfect. It was the first time I had seen my friends Ian and Penny since my birthday in February 2020 (though we’d done online drinks a few times). It was an afternoon full of optimism and hope. Though we did talk about the mess the Labour Party is in.
So I thought I would write about what the Labour Party should be saying at this moment and how they should be saying it. As the country gets closer to most freedoms (even if delayed from 21st June, it won’t be that long) the party should be talking about what their own vision of ‘building back better’ means.
And while it will be important to know “better than what” they cannot concentrate the majority of this message on how bad things are under the Tories, but how Labour will take what is good about life in the UK and build on it. As we emerge from covid, we must not return to life as it was, but embrace life as it could be. But that message has to be one that builds on pride towards optimism and onwards to delivery.
Here are the three keynotes I want the Labour Party to hit tonally. In every speech. In every interview. In every op-ed. In every utterance. In every tweet.
We ARE all in this together: This has been a moment of social solidarity. While Covid exposed the iniquities of inequality, it also showed how willing we are to sacrifice for one another. There can and should be a new pact between older more vulnerable people and the young who have sacrificed so much to protect them. Both groups need a new world to emerge from this period. One where we have a genuine, lasting and effective settlement for long term care and one where all young people feel that they have the potential for future happiness, fulfilment and security. No matter where they live or who they are.
To achieve this, the left must stop pitting groups against each other and remember that the key to social solidarity is that we accept each other’s differences - our different needs, identities, lifestyles, religions, and a thousand other things that are important to us as individuals. We mustn’t ask each other to deny these differences but live with the fact that we are individuals who need to forge a collective good.
So instead of young people writing off boomers as out of touch and old fashioned, or older people writing off the young as out of touch and woke, find the common ground that kept children out of schools for a year to protect their grandparents. Find the space that found young people delivering groceries and other necessities to their shielding neighbours. Find the place where older people like Captain Tom found their ways to make sure they were giving back and supporting the services we need and the people who provided them. Find the love that we have in common and build on it.
Building on Britain’s Greatness: We are incredibly lucky to live in Britain. We have a wealth of natural resources, a relatively secure position in the world and a history that has scars we are more than aware of, but also times when this country exemplified the very best of what humanity can mean. We are not arguing to either forget the worst elements of our past or erase them because we know this has led to many of our citizens not getting the best out of Britain. As patriots, that is unacceptable to us.
A true patriot does not simply dwell in an uncomplicated, whitewashed nostalgia for a past that only existed for a few. A true patriot works to bring the strengths of that past to go ever further into a brighter future. A country that is honest about its mistakes learns from them and grows stronger. A country that is focused on the future, not dwelling on thee past has a future to look forward to. Finding the balance between these is essential. It’s essential to out patriotism and to the people Labour seek to serve.
We are proud of this country. We are proud of the NHS, the welfare state, the schools and universities and technical colleges. We are proud of the entrepreneurs, the workers and those who are both. We are proud to work every single day to make our citizens safe, secure, happy and fulfilled. We will work tirelessly to build a better, more productive, fairer economy, to ensure the fruits of all our labours are shared with all our people. This can and will be the greatness of Labour Great Britain.
Delivering our promises everywhere. The Labour Party wants to make the life of everyone in the UK better. We want to open up doors for all. We want to make it possible for people to have the same opportunities in Harrowgate, Hartlepool, Harlow and Hackney. We want these too for those in Aberdeen, Aberavon and Antrim.
We know that different places have different needs that aren’t always best served from Whitehall. So we will work with government at all levels to deliver for all people.
But to do this, we need to put delivery - not dreams - at the core of our practice. We are here to service the dreams of our people - not to dream for them. So while we will never stop telling the poetry of your success, we will govern in the simplest of prose. Our priority will not be power - it will be pragmatic. We will get things done, and we will get them done in the way that best serves the people of Great Britain. We will wake up every day with just one question on our lips: What am I going to do today to make things better? We will go to bed every night knowing that we worked tirelessly to do so. Then we will get up and do it again.
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Nothing I have said here should be disagreeable to any faction. There are no Labour policies proposed from any part of the party that cannot be a part of this positive narrative. But when framing the way they talk about policy, Labour hould always have this brighter future in mind.
A Labour Party that stops segmenting voters and instead builds on the sense of social solidarity that has come about through recent adversity could end the sense it is not speaking to many people.
A Labour Party that was proud of the same things the British people are - without falling into jingoistic or nostalgic traps - could be the start of a new national story.
A Labour Party that doesn’t promise the seemingly impossible, but makes the ambitious align with common sense could be a powerful force indeed.
What I’ve been up to
TICKETS FOR NO CURE FOR LOVE ARE NOW ON SALE!
Inspired by the music of Leonard Cohen, this piece examines the truth behind love songs. Can love ever be like that? Would we want it to be? Does love age with us or do we always fall like teenagers?
Join musicians Scott and Rose backstage at the Broadstairs Folk Festival as they try to discover if there is - in fact - a cure for love.
This is a rare show about love, sex and romance between older people. We're jaded, but we still have appetites, hopes, dreams and romantic aspirations. But if we haven't found them yet - are we being realistic about what we want?
As promised, I wrote about the bizarre experience of having a group of strangers choose to buy me a washing machine!
Two podcasts for the delectation of your ears this week.
I recorded an episode of House of Comments with Cllr Matthew Brown, Leader of Preston Council about the ‘Preston model’ of community wealth building. And Steve and I recorded an episode of The Zeitgeist Tapes looking at David Hare’s The Absence of War.
I start my new part time role as Media Consultant for the Fabian Society tomorrow. I started my career in politics as an intern at the Fabians back in 2002 so it’s really lovely to be going back to my roots in this way. I’m really excited about the role and what I can do with it. I am looking forward to being a part of the intellectual work of making everything I have said above a reality.
Reading List
This piece on the fact that no one nominated for best actress at the BAFTAs is over 38 struck a chord. One of the reasons I have written the play I have is because I am pig sick of not seeing enough older women - sexy, vibrant ones at that - on stage. This misogyny tinged ageism is rife throughout society. As a 46 year old woman I have definitely had times where I have blatantly been told I was too old for certain professional opportunities.
I thought this piece, from Stephen Bush, on the pleasures and pitfalls of politicians and journalists having friends across the divide - be that between media and politics or between ideologies - really thought provoking.
Questions, comments and arguments are very welcome. Insults will get you summarily blocked on every platform that no longer hosts Donald Trump. I’m at emmaburnell@gmail.com or on Twitter (far too often) at @EmmaBurnell_.