“Should I stay or should I go?” I doubt if Gordon Brown is listening tonight to the 80’s punk rock band “
Clash”, while making up his mind about whether or not to go to the country. There again, I haven’t heard his “Desert Island Discs” selection, so who knows.
Yesterday, we had the unexpected pleasure of former Housing Minister and PPS to Tony Blair,
Keith Hill MP, (Streatham CLP) giving a Parliamentary report to UNISON Labour Link London regional committee. UNISON has a new Constituency Development Plan with Streatham CLP.
It was a “tour de force”, by a naturally “larger than life” retiring MP (he has announced he is going to stand down at the next election – whenever that may be) who until very recently had been at the very heart of government and was now obviously enjoying his new found freedom after years of purdah.
The topical bit was Keith’s view on whether or not there should be an election at this moment (Thursday AM). That Labour was “poised at the cusp of a possible general election but it was not a foregone conclusion” was no surprise.
Nor was his view that Brown will consider the mixed bag of 3 public opinion polls that were announced this morning (for example “The Guardian” with the Tories on level pegging with Labour) but also that there are influential private Labour Party polling data available to the Party only at the same time.
A good reason to have an election now could be to circumvent the flood of
Ashcroft money that the Tories have planned to pour into marginal seats over the next two years. Keith says that Ashcroft believes that this money alone would make a huge difference to the election result.
Against this is the fear that the public may feel that they have been unfairly manipulated (or Mugagbe-ised as he put it) into an unnecessary Parliamentary contest and the Tories could play on this. Let’s wait and see.
I must admit that being a housing bod, I had been rather unmoved with Keith’s stuff while as a Housing minister. Check out this weeks “
Inside Housing” for a flavour. However, once we moved off the speculation about the election it was a treat to be meet someone who could “walk and talk” at the same time (OK he was sitting down – but you know what I mean).
In response to questions about present day “difficulties” between the Unions and the Labour Government, Keith reminded us that before he was an MP, he had been a Labour Party adviser who had been present at the last NEC meeting that Harold Wilson had attended in 1976. Later he was the parliamentary advisor to the forerunner of the
RMT for 16 years (obviously before Bob). He’s been about.
His view was that despite present day difficulties (more style than substance in his view) that the present day affiliated unions had actually more contact and influence over the Party than the Union barons in the 1970s. In the 1970s the unions were dismissed and ignored, while nowadays with the Warwick agreement there is actually unprecedented involvement and co-operation.
He also suggested that the Labour Party National Policy Forum (which has taken over many not all of the functions of conference) may well not work effectively for grass roots Party members but gives the unions the opportunity to exercise real and unprecedented influence. I agree on the opportunity bit.
I remember asking PM Tony Blair a question at a Labour Party National Policy forum last year about the relationship between the government and the trade unions and he replied that actually it was better than at any time in the history of the movement. Every other Labour Government including Atlee’s had been stricken by bitter and self destructive industrial disputes. I’m not sure that this is totally fair but I can see the argument. No doubt the
CWU will have a different view.
There was a good debate over pensioner incomes. Keith believes that average Pensioner incomes have actually gone up by more that if the earnings link with wages had been introduced in 1997. He was very proud that 1.1 million pensioners had been brought out of poverty with a 73% increase in real income.
This was the first time that I had heard a coherent argument about Labour’s housing policy. OK, Probably my fault for not listening but maybe not. Keith explained that due to the failure by the Tories to invest in maintenance and supply during their 18 years of power, Labour in 1997 faced a massive dilemma that they could not afford to improve homes as well as improve supply at the same time. They decided that the priority was to improve homes to a “decent standard” which took £25 billion to do so and are now on tract to be completed. This is why now, Gordon is going to spend significant amounts on new build to make up supply.
Keith also described “Early Day Motions” (EDM) as a “debased currency”. There used to be only 400 odd per year, now there are over 2500. Instead of asking your MPs to support an EDM congratulating Oldham Athletic, you should ask them to write personally to Ministers on particular issues. Makes sense if they will do it I suppose.
I didn’t agree with everything Keith said but it was a pleasure to engage (lovely New Labour term) with a charming, relaxed, cheerful and enthusiastic real human being.
If there is a general election, and of course there will be a Labour Party victory, I hope that Lord Hill of Streatham (or whatever) is invited back to our committee to give his next parliamentary report.
