A pebble-dash to victory

The Labour Party Annual Conference 2023 has just closed in Liverpool with a rousing rendition of The Red Flag anthem,  perhaps the only recognisable element in an otherwise totally transformed 'Socialist' gathering.

There can be no doubting now Keir Starmer's iron control over his Party after three years as its Leader. It has been a rough ride and the doubters are still there, of course, but it seems that outright opposition has either been trounced or has been put on hold now that a general election is in sight and Labour's prospects of winning it look good. There seems to be a consensus that scepticism should be put to one side while the focus of efforts needs to be on defeating a tired and discredited Tory government.

After Starmer's Conference address yesterday, that outcome looks a lot more likely, not harmed either by Rishi Sunak's car crash of a Tory Conference in Manchester last week. His speech had not even begun when Starmer was accosted at the podium by a young protester who poured glitter over him. It may as well have been stardust as he removed his jacket, rolled up his shirt sleeves and began, seemingly totally unperturbed. It could hardly have made for a more compelling image of resolute determination had it been co-ordinated by Labour Party Head Office.

The speech itself was workmanlike rather than barnstorming but such was the eagerness of the audience for inspirational leadership that it received around a dozen standing ovations over the course of an hour. It was relatively light on specifics but that had more-or-less been anticipated. What it did quite effectively, however, was to set the tone for the forthcoming election campaign and establish the direction of travel under Starmer's leadership.

He spoke, as he has before, about his own working class origins and even indulged in a joke at his own expense at once again mentioning the modest pebble-dashed house in which he grew up. This raised an indulgent chuckle from the audience and helped establish the authenticity of his Labour roots after being rather encumbered by his lawyerly, technocratic manner. He spoke about harnessing working class aspiration but refused to apologise for that including going to university.

He spoke of his plans for 'mission government', a decade of renewal (obviously envisaging at least two terms in power) and getting Britain building again, including on what he termed 'Grey Belt' land, that is land designated as Green Belt but actually consisting of semi-derelict car parks, petrol stations and the like. This immediately resonated with me as there was just such an area adjacent to my own ward when I was a councillor, an abandoned car wash which couldn't be redeveloped for much-needed housing due to the land's protected designation. 

Starmer's talk of taking a 'bulldozer' to planning regulations will raise some hackles, as will his mention of new towns, but something drastic clearly needs to be done to create more housing and Starmer's bullishness on the subject seems to suggest that he knows he's on the right side of history. No doubt it's been thoroughly focus-grouped.

He set out what he called his Four Steps:

Step 1: A National Wealth Fund.
Step 2: Long-term stability.
Step 3: A new direction on skills
Step 4: A new mindset

He spoke of needing to 'speed ahead' if elected, suggesting that he knows Labour will have to hit the ground running if it is to take the British people with it. He also made his commitment to the Union clear, no doubt bolstered by Labour's recent by-election victory over the SNP in Rutherglen, by promising to base his new GB Energy in Scotland. He did, though, warn of the need for expectation management - the truth is there won't be the euphoria of 1997 if Labour wins power because of the parlous state of the economy. 

There simply won't be the cash available for Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves to splash that there was for Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. Starmer acknowledged the scale of the challenge by alluding to the achievements of the Labour governments of Clement Attlee in 1945, Harold Wilson in 1964 and Tony Blair in 1997. He would have to replicate all their successes in one or two terms he said. In other words (although he didn't employ the obvious contemporary reference - maybe there's a copyright restriction) Labour would need to do everything, everywhere, all at once.

It's an enormous undertaking but he made it clear he's up for the challege.


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