Labour returns to its roots in the ashes of defeat

Fabian Society types and members of the media bustled into the lecture hall at the Institute of Education, seemingly unmoved by any sense of occasion. Perhaps an election after an election had drained Labourites of enthusiasm or the already lively but constant press coverage had diluted expectations. There were people, there was noise, but there was no leftie fervour to get me excited as I waited for the games to begin. 

Then it started. The hopefuls, Andy Burnham, David Milliband, Diane Abbott, Ed Balls and Ed Milliband, strolled onto the stage and the chair, Gaby Hinsliff from The Observer told a bad joke (“Welcome to Labour’s Got Talent!”). Andy Burnham got proceedings under way with his opening statement then, one by one all the others followed with fighting talk in an attempt to convince, nay, beg the audience to let them become the next leader of the Labour Party. 

Except, that is not what happened. What happened was extraordinary. The Leadership Hustings was a display of humility and honesty, of gracious agreement and informed argument. It was politics, but not as I know it. 

The evening, if anything, clarified one thing for me. Diane Abbott is not a candidate for the Labour Party leadership because she is black and a woman. She was the only person on stage who had risen through the ranks – an honour not unnoticed by her competitors. She is passionate, experienced, truly dripping with Labour values and, what’s more, has the voting record to back it up. 

She had the lines to get the crowd cheering: “When Cameron says cuts will change our way of life, he doesn’t mean his way of life – he means your way of life.” Statements like these got everyone, including the other candidates, thinking.  When she described herself as a ‘turn the page candidate’ she was completely right. Not because of what she is (black, female) but because of something she never was (New Labour). 

This is not to say she doesn’t have a fight on her hands.  Ed Milliband, unafraid to tackle the champagne socialism he graduated from, promised to embrace Labour values and nurture a state that picks up all who capitalism leaves behind. Brother Dave, without hesitation, accepted the flaws of his government in failing to listen to policy think tanks when writing their manifesto which, as it happens, Milliband junior wrote. In fact, the topic that generated the most discussion of the evening was a response to the wily question: “Which three New Labour polices of the last 13 years do you most regret?” All five would have gone on all night, listing the ways in which the Labour government failed their supporters. 

At first, I lamented their congeniality. The affable pats on the back, the nodding and smiling whilst one another spoke. Then I realised I was just conditioned by the general election, where there are so many watching, there is so much to lose and politicians become drones. 

What the candidates have now is room to manoeuvre and perspective. No press officers barking instructions down their Blackberries or news reporters filming their front doors. In the absence of these pressures honesty and frankness flourished; I recall only one New Labour fault being blamed on Gordon Brown, the 10p tax rate, which everyone disagreed with. For everything else collective responsibility was chosen. Collective responsibility; certainly the buzz word of the night. And, if this was not a hoax, it will remain a buzzword when Labour decides too.

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