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IMPACT UPDATE: Byline Times investigations have forced the suspension of two Conservative local election candidates after revealing their far-right extremist posts
As the Prime Minister responds to growing calls from Labour MPs to stand down, Alexandra Hall Hall imagines the speech he should have made after his party’s local election defeats
Ladies and Gentleman
I suspect most of you are here today to hear me give a speech fighting for my own political future. But, I am not going to do that.
I want to talk about how I intend to fight for Britain’s political future.
Because – while being a politician means fighting for your party’s advancement, being Prime Minister is different. It is about leading a whole country. Of trying to transcend political differences. Of trying to represent all voters, including those who didn’t vote for you, or are sceptical about what you have to offer.
I know last week’s elections were a crushing blow for my party. I am devastated that Labour has lost so many good, decent officials, who have spent years working for the betterment of their communities. As leader of the party, I take the lions’ share of the blame for these losses – and I deeply apologise to all of you who have lost your seats, or seen close friends and colleagues lose their seats.
But what the fractured results tell me is not just that people are feeling insecure about their futures, and disappointed with their current political leadership, but that they are deeply frustrated by the entire state of British politics. Many are disillusioned not just with Labour, but with all of the traditional political classes. Many are turning to more extreme parties to the right or the left, not necessarily because they reject everything we stand for, or embrace every policy of those other parties, but because in their current frustration, they are willing to try anything, which sounds new and different.
This is not unique to the UK. Across the democratic world, we are seeing a great churn of politics, with traditional incumbents on both the left and the right regularly being booted out of office by disenchanted electorates. Countries across the world are being buffeted by global headwinds beyond the ability of any one individual nation to control.
The UK is not living in a world where we can pull up our drawbridge, retreat behind our island walls, and prosper by ourselves. The ripple effect of events like the covid pandemic, the wars in Ukraine, and the Middle East, or other conflicts even further beyond our shores, which have had ripple effects on global trade, refugee movements and energy prices, should all have taught us this hard lesson by now. We cannot insulate ourselves from the effects of climate change either.
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In fact, Britain’s original greatness arose from our willingness to travel across the oceans to new continents, and to develop great partnerships and enterprises in far flung parts of the world.
This makes it all the more anomalous that even as the world becomes ever more interconnected, British politics has started to look increasingly parochial and inward-looking – fantasizing about how we can “take back control”, and keep out foreigners, as if we too are not buffeted by these international currents, or have nothing more to learn or gain through collaboration with others.
For too long, this has also meant Britain’s strategic choices have been dictated too much by small-minded, short term domestic political concerns, rather than by long term, strategic policy choices, and by fear of the outside world, rather than confidence about Britain’s ability to make a success in it.
For too long, successive British political leaders have chosen to duck the hard choices, and promised voters more than they can deliver, all in the service of winning elections. Their governing strategies have been guided by facile political slogans, cheap shots at opponents, and disingenuous arguments about being able to – shall we say – “have our cake and eat it.”
Some have promised lower taxes; some have promised better services. Some have promised more money on welfare and the NHS; others more money on our military and defence. Some have promised we can end all immigration, or cut ourselves off from the EU, as if we no longer need any foreign labour to support critical sectors of our economy, such as hospitality, health and social care, or will suffer no economic losses from raising trade barriers with the world’s largest economic bloc.
Some promise everything, as if there are never any tough trade-offs to be made.
Most of our political classes have not been completely honest with voters about the difficult decisions which need to be made. Voters aren’t stupid. They can tell when we are being disingenuous. They can tell when we are being manipulative. Governments guided more by short term political considerations than long term strategy are almost certain to fail, and in the process, only fuel voter cynicism and disillusion.
So, I am here, not to fight for my own political future, but to suggest that it is time for us to change the way we govern. Some people like to talk about “levelling up” our society – and if there is one thing which Labour has always stood for, it is for opportunity, fairness and justice for all. But, what I want to do now, is promise to be level WITH you.
That starts by kicking off a proper, honest, open national debate, ideally transcending partisan political divisions, about the nature of today’s challenges, and the trade-offs which need to be made in tackling them.
I would argue there are five major areas where we need to be more honest with the public:
First: the economy: we cannot achieve our national growth goals if we continue to cut ourselves off from free and frictionless trade with the EU. It is objective fact that British GDP has sunk since we left the EU. It is objective fact that many small and medium sized businesses have struggled to cope with the myriad new barriers to trade caused by Brexit. It is objective fact that it has become far harder to travel, work, study or live in the EU; and it is objective fact that many international businesses no longer see us as such an attractive place to invest, because we are no longer a gateway into the wider EU market. After ten years, the evidence is clear. It was an economically harmful decision to leave. No amount of new trade deals with others around the world will be sufficient to offset the lost trade with the EU. We will not have enough money for the things we want if we let this situation fester.
Labour campaigned on a pledge to honour the Brexit referendum. I believe it is now time to admit there is no magical way to “make Brexit work” and to launch a proper national debate on the pros and cons of rejoining again – knowing that there are no easy choices, and that we will not be able to go back in on the same terms as before. We need to be honest about that. But, we should have the debate.
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Second: National security and defence. For 80 years since the end of the World War 2 we have been lucky to live in a relatively peaceful and stable part of the world, as part of the greatest defence alliance in history – NATO. We have been fortunate that the US has been willing to bear the lion’s share of the defence burden, and to protect us under its formidable military umbrella. The UK remains committed to its bilateral relationship with the US – which has for decades transcended different political administrations and leaders. But, as they say – past performance is no guarantee of future results. We should not take the NATO alliance, or the US relationship, for granted. The threat from Russia, China and other hostile powers is real. We need to spend more on our own defence, and we need to have a difficult debate about where to find the money to pay for it.
Third: Immigration, Labour and Skills: We need to be honest that the British economy is always going to need some foreign workers to help drive growth, and provide skills in certain sectors, where there is not enough home-grown talent. We need to be honest that our education system is not fully equipping students with the skills they need to thrive in today’s economy. We need to be honest that Brexit did not end all illegal immigration, in fact it hamstrung our ability to cooperate with our EU neighbours, and has led to a surge in immigration from other parts of the world. We need to debate what is the right level of legal immigration? It is not zero – otherwise, some sectors would struggle to survive. But, of course, it is not open borders either. We need more debate on how to curtail illegal immigration, whilst staying true to our values. We need to work with businesses to develop training programmes which give them the workers they need, and more hope and opportunity to our young.
Fourth: Energy and the Environment: The argument that we need to become more energy efficient is easier to make right now, with the blockade in the Straits of Hormuz driving our fuel prices sky high. The high price of oil also makes the cost of developing renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar, more attractive. In the end, the only long term way to preserve our planet, and to secure our own energy independence in the process, is to wean ourselves off fossil fuels. For once, doing the right thing, and doing the cost-effective thing, go hand in hand. Transitioning to renewable energy will be expensive. But sticking with fossil fuels is even more expensive in the long run.
We recently celebrated Sir David Attenborough’s 100th birthday. I would like to honour him by announcing the launch of an annual “Attenborough Award” for the best invention each year which enhances our energy efficiency.
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Finally: Constitutional Reform. Some of you may know that I am the son of a toolmaker! Even the best toolmaker knows that sometimes mere tinkering around the edges is not enough. Sometimes a vehicle is no longer fit for purpose and needs to be re-engineered. Our political system, like a rusty car, has become corroded. Foreign money and influences, misinformation, cronyism and patronage have all seeped into it. Some people believe the first past the post system is also no longer fit for purpose. We should be careful not to allow current frustrations compel us into jettisoning everything about our current system. But, I do believe we should be willing to open the bonnet, take a look at how the engine of our democracy is working, and consider if at least some significant changes are needed.
I therefore propose the establishment of a constitutional commission comprised of experts to take evidence, conduct hearings and hold citizens assemblies around the country, and submit recommendations to Parliament before the next general election.
I know that much of what I have said today will be controversial or unpopular. But good leadership requires the courage to say the hard things. What I took from last week’s election results is that I – we all – need to raise our game. We need to be more honest, more forthright, and more willing to take the hard choices.
I never regarded becoming Labour’s leader, or Prime Minister, as a way to advance my own ambition, or massage my own ego. It is said that all political careers end in failure, and I have no doubt that at some stage, I will also have to face the exit door, with criticisms ringing in my ear of all the things I should or should not have done.
But this job is far more important than any one individual. What matters is not so much who occupies the leadership position, but whether they have the right vision, strategy and principles to lead the country. This is my roadmap for making Britain stronger, richer, and better for all.