The result of the 2015 election was deeply disappointing to
many who hoped to see an end of the austerity and division brought in by the
last government. What went wrong? Of course many are asking that question and
there is no simple answer. Some would say that Labour had drifted too far to
the left and that is certainly how the media portrayed the situation. That
argument hardly seems credible though. The people of Scotland rejected Labour
and opted for a party that was (on the face of it at least) far more radical.
The SNP were clearly an anti-austerity party and that must have been a key
factor. Would the Scots really go for a more ‘moderate’ Labour Party. I don’t
think so.
Ed Miliband should not be vilified but the leadership of the
party, and their advisors, made big mistakes. The press from day one of the
past government blamed Labour for the economic problems the country was facing.
Hardly any economists believed this but incredibly Labour never convincingly
argued against it. Maybe Ed Balls and co agreed with the media and that what
was really needed was more austerity and this would have been a fear to many in
Scotland. This coupled with the fear that the press stirred up about the power
of the SNP led many in England also to abandon Labour. If the party had
presented tangible and achievable policies, rather than bland aspirations, this
would have helped to alleviate this.
What next? While the leadership of the party refused to
contemplate deals with the SNP to form a government the situation is now very
different. There has to be discussions and even an alliance between the Labour,
the SNP, the SDLP, the Greens, Plaid Cymru, and the Liberal Democrats in
Parliament. Such a coalition would be attractive to many but it would need to
be genuinely progressive. Attempts to move Labour back to being a Blairite
party would be disaster and none of the other parties would support it.
Choosing the right leader for Labour is of course crucial and Andy Burnham
would be the choice of many. What about the leader of the Liberal Democrats?
This is not an irrelevant question because they will rebuild locally and in the
West of England they will be the main alternatives to the Tories next time. The
obvious choice of someone who could succeed would be Tim Farron.
All is not lost. The next five years will see dreadful cuts
to public services, increased privatisation in the NHS, limits to welfare
payments, and a destructive in-out debate about Europe. This has to galvanise
effective opposition in preparation for a progressive coalition government in
2020.