Blue Labour after Conference | The Young Fabian Blog

Blue Labour after Conference

In this member post, Young Fabian member Patrick Doyle expands on the continuing phenomenom of Blue Labour.

One theme I have been drawn to during Conference season has been the emergence of a rigorous intellectual debate taking place in the Labour party. It is being conducted between the various shades of party opinion you have almost certainly heard of by now: ?Blue?, ?Purple? and ?Red? Labour.

In particular I want to focus on Blue Labour. A cursory search on Google brings up its Wikipedia entry which begins, ?Blue Labour was a recent, and momentarily influential political tendency in the British Labour Party that was ?effectively disbanded? in July 2011 following remarks about immigration by Maurice Glasman.?

Following this week?s Conference that analysis would appear to be wide of the mark. Despite its critics and its attendant controversy, Blue Labour is still stirring up debate within the Labour party (not least in relation to its controversial name) and I think it will remain an intellectual fixture within the party for some time. The publication of Rowenna Davis? new book analysing the genesis and potential implications of the project suggests that Blue Labour has much to say regarding the future direction of the Labour party.

At a fringe event which focused on Blue Labour, a panel of experts sought to define exactly what it represents. However, as engaging and thoughtful as the meeting turned out to be, a fully nailed-down definition of what Blue Labour stands for remained elusive.

Nonetheless I was struck by several points.

Since the general election, our party has been gripped in the midst of an existential crisis in which it has been asked ?What is Labour actually for?? especially after the money runs out. From what I can tell, far from representing a crisis for the party, this question has created a debate in which the intellectual underpinnings of the whole labour movement are rigorously assessed. Blue Labour deserves a great deal of credit for kick-starting this process regardless of one?s personal views on it. It has carved out a space for discussion where the party can analyse and (re-)discover its intellectual origins, whilst simultaneously placing these ideas and concepts amidst the context of our current situation. This can only be a good thing.

The accusation that Blue Labour holds a nostalgic worldview can also be challenged. A focus upon the community need not imply a backward-looking way of doing politics. It can instead address the point that many people have lost out as a result of the unequal impact of globalisation which served to undermine and loosen communal relationships. Reconnecting with those who feel alienated and cut adrift could not only benefit the Labour Party, but also help breathe fresh vitality into the democratic process in this country. Promoting the local is not the same as retreating from the global. Rather, it allows the Labour Party to establish that it is on the side of those who are most vulnerable and exposed within our society.

One concern I was left with centred on the economic argument. For me this remains Blue Labour?s biggest problem. During his speech to Conference Ed Miliband talked of ?predators? and ?producers? in business. The challenge now will be to argue the practical case for how one is differentiated from the other and then offer measures that could be applied effectively. Whilst I believe this shift in the treatment of business addresses some of the anxieties expressed by Blue Labour, the movement has yet to produce any practical economic solutions.

Ultimately, in its current state Blue Labour does not amount to an alternative program for government. Rather it engages by providing ideas and questioning old party certainties, contributing to the current process of reengaging with the electorate. The exchange and discussion of ideas remains an organic process with no overnight solutions to Labour?s current situation.

Ed Miliband?s speech to Conference contained a significant amount of Blue Labour thinking. For that reason alone it deserves to be considered as something more than ?momentarily influential?.

It appears to be very much alive and therefore deserving of all our attention and scrutiny.

Patrick Doyle is a member of the Young Fabians.

Source: http://www.youngfabians.org.uk/blog/index.php/2011/10/06/blue-labour-after-conference/

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