Our Answer to New Labour: The Social Dimension of Liberalism

[Rebecca Flair]

Our Answer to New Labour: The Social Dimension of Liberalism - Hosted by the Beveridge Group

Rebecca Flair spoke to the Beveridge Group on the Liberal answer to New Labour.

Ladies and Gentlemen thank you all for being here and indeed, thank you for doing me the honour of inviting me to address this prestigious group and gathering. The Beveridge Group is responsible for a solid 55% of the MPs of the Liberal Democrats so it is refreshing to see so many of them here to show their support, not only because it is personally touching, but because we can all agree that this is one of the largest questions facing our party right now. The Labour Party have moved decisively into the centre, some might even call it the centre-right, so what do the Liberal Democrats stand for when we oppose the Labour Party of Blair and MacAndrews? Humbly I suggest that we keep doing what we have been for the last few months, focusing on the issues that matter most to people and showing how a modern, liberal state doesn't just mean a Tory state with a slightly sunnier disposition.

A great example of how we answer New Labour can be found in the Lib Dem Shadow Budget. New Labour are grey and unambitious, they are forever terrified that the mask may slip and the radical left will slip into power. They keep taxes high and spending modest to ensure that nobody can accuse them of being anything less than dedicated disciples of Margaret Thatcher, albeit with a slightly more human side. How do we differentiate our economic message? We give the power back to the people. Liberal ideas mean not only the power of the state to act positively for your freedom but the right of the individual to be free from interference which is why we took radical steps to reduce the tax burden on those on lower and middle incomes. Taking everyone who is paid less than £6,000 a year out of tax doesn't seem like a lot to many in Westminster, but to that individual on £6,000 a year that's 20% extra income. The Government poo poo'd the idea, the Conservatives claimed that tax cuts for rich investors and Tory donors were the way forward, but it is clear to the vast majority of the people that this was the most positive tax plan out of the three major parties. Couple that with an inflation levelling cut to VAT, 2.5% on most goods, and you have a state that is not only empowering people but also getting out of their way and letting them use that power, uniting the best traditions of Classical and New Liberalism to create a better society for all.

But we don't just have to cut taxes in answer to New Labour, our answer to the Government must include a fully rounded alternative to both political parties, heralding in the return of genuinely three party politics. Whilst the Conservative Party may have ditched Calamity Croft they have replaced him with his most loyal lieutenant, a Shadow Chancellor who opted to freeze nearly every apparatus of the state except to copy the Government's homework on a couple of building projects. That is not a vision, and that is not an answer to New Labour, just look at the polls and they'll tell you all you need to know on that front. To provide a credible answer to New Labour we must present our priorities to the nation and show the people that they are universal priorities. Public services are, after 18yrs of Conservative misrule and 4yrs of a Labour Government following Conservative Party spending plans, desperately in need of some restorative investment and whether that's Education, Health, Transport, or even something local like Council funding or flood defences we have got to show constituents that our offer is not only the best offer in town but that it is the only fresh thing on the market. Side by side, despite cutting taxes, the Liberal Democrat Shadow Budget was able to present a credible alternative to the Government in a way that Calamity Croft and his lapdog could not. While the Tories were busy sharpening their knives we were pledging an extra £1.5bn to police, law enforcement, and justice promising to deliver 20,000 police officers over the course of the next five years to genuinely increase local connectivity with our constabulary. A bobby on the beat in every street is more than just a saying, it's a national priority, which makes it our priority. Our priorities say a lot about our party. The Conservatives think that a £40bn budget black hole is credible policy for law enforcement, when all around us lose their heads it's up to us to continue forging a credible path to carry out our constitutional duty and hold the Government to account.

But our offer outside of the Budget is what makes this party so exciting, any old knight be they Sir Nicholas or Sir Jack, can talk boringly about numbers and the "need for discipline" or "the need to cut taxes for our mates", we are a vibrant party. Throughout my leadership I have always pledged to work with local government to deliver the best deal possible for the people. The country has seen Phase 1, a major investment in Local Government worth over £2.5bn, but they are yet to see Phase 2 which I am pleased to announce here today regarding our work on Town and Parish Councils.

Over the last six months we have been working closely with the National Association of Town and Parish Councils to create meaningful reforms aimed at reversing the decline of membership and provide these bodies with real power to make their towns and villages better places to live. Now it may not exactly sound sexy, but this area of reform is an area that will affect each and every person living in this country, everyone in England comes under the power of a Town or Parish Council and it is therefore in everyone's interests to ensure that we are getting value for money. I am therefore pleased to announce that the Liberal Democrats will be advocating for Town and Parish Councils to be devolved the General Power of Competence in effect meaning that these bodies will be able to act as if they were legally people. This would give Parish Councils the power to invest in their villages, save the local shop or post office from closure, and it would give Town Councils even greater powers such as the creation of free car parking facilities in their locality providing a far more competitive shopping environment for our gradually fading high street. Obviously such sweeping changes will need the very best that Britain has to offer so on top of devolving this power to Town and Parish Councils a hypothetical Lib Dem Government would lift the ban on remunerating Town and Parish Councillors, paying them an annual stipend of £2,000 a year for a day or two's work a month at a cost of just over £100mn to central government. While New Labour centralise power, either at Westminster, Holyrood, or Cardiff the Liberal Democrats will provide real and meaningful change for local people who care about local issues, giving you the power, the tools, and the ability to make positive change in your community and our society. I am delighted to say that the National Association has fully endorsed this plan and it will form another central part of our plan to revolutionise local government at the next election.

Another way we can answer New Labour is by forming that credible opposition when the Conservative Party drop the ball. The Tory Shadow Budget had precisely nothing to say about police, justice, or our local communities; in their mad post-budget panic rush they presented a plan which would cost us over £40bn to implement at a conservative estimate, this is not responsible opposition and it is not a Conservative Party ready to return to Number 10 at the next attempt. Contrast that with the Liberal Democrats. We invested in countryside and rural regeneration, we invested in anti-flood defences, we invested in bobbies on the beat and rehabilitation. This is a plan that can actually be implemented and it is an effective measuring stick we can use to hold the Government to account. The fact that at the last Budget cycle we were prepared to match our words with funds shows that while the Tories are all talk and no trousers it is the Lib Dems that are capable of actually putting together a coherent, costed, and credible plan that is capable of providing an answer to New Labour.

My friends there is no simple, easy, answer to deal with New Labour. It is true that they have a formidable record, one supermajority and a second somewhat smaller one after four tumultuous years, if there were an easy way to answer their challenge then it would have been found now. Our answer to the New Labour project must be couched in social and economic liberalism. Cutting taxes, investing in communities, and giving power to the people. Our agenda does just that. We have proposed radical tax plans that lift millions out of paying tax altogether, a tax cut so strong that even the Tories baulked at copying it desiring instead to give savings to their investor friends. Our agenda invests in communities, putting bobbies back on the beat, rehabilitating individuals so they can pay back their debts to society, and investing in our local and regional governments and enterprises. And our agenda gives power to the people, working with local stakeholders to develop affordable, realistic plans which ensure that everyone has a stake in society and every level of Government has the chance to make a difference for their constituents and communities. The road ahead of us is a long and difficult one, there has not been a genuine three party system in over 80yrs, but together we can build our party up into a force which can actually deliver meaningful change for the people of our nation so let's get out there and let's be the change. Let's get out there and argue for big, bold ideas, let's get out there and oppose the Government constructively in a way the Tories never have and never will, let's get out there and help people who have grown tired of the same old politics, people who need something different.

[Marty]

The challenge here was clear: send an Orange Booker leader to the heirs of Keynes and Beveridge and see whether she can manage to enthuse them and speak their language as well. I think you're beginning to see a pattern in the challenges we set party leaders, and I'm glad you all took the challenge.

In and of itself, it is a good speech. It's also a typical Rebecca Flair speech, and it tries and succeeds in many places to highlight some unique LibDem selling points in the budget debate and beyond.

However, it's not the right speech to the Beveridge Group. The Beveridge Group was founded as a counterweight to a rightward shift in LibDem thinking, and IRL they've shown themselves quite critical of assuming that the market is always the right solution. By starting to talk about tax cuts right out of the gate, you're losing an audience that really wanted to hear how you, an Orange Booker, were going to be a safe keeper of the heritage of Beveridge and Keynes. You recovered somewhat when you started unveiling your plans for investment and localism - all Liberals like those, particularly the latter (which would have been more effectively placed in Cardigan's ALDC speech) - but the lack of a narrative that can truly enthuse the left wing of your party and reassure them that you are not drifting rightward alongside New Labour is a missed opportunity. If I were you, I'd have started from rail renationalisation and built it from there - now that's something that'll get the LibDem left cheering.

Remember, these are social liberals - they believe in positive government action to help indidivuals be more free, the kind of thinking that in their eyes spawned the NHS. You have to sell to them how the policies you set out achieve that, especially when you start by talking more about negative liberty than positive liberty, which was a bit of a faux-pas.

Altogether, it gets some positive coverage. But the fact that the audience reaction wasn't as good as it could've been quite mutes the effect.

+6 LibDems