Peter Kilfoyle has always been a battler for the soul of the Labour Party. In Liverpool, he was the scourge of Militant and in Parliament he was, of course, one of Tony Blair’s most outspoken and implacable opponents over the Iraq war. So it should probably come as no surprise that his new book makes for grim reading. It’s a litany of Labour failures with most of his former colleagues – especially Blair, Gordon Brown and Peter Mandelson – coming in for some vitriolic criticism.
“New” Labour is not to Kilfoyle’s liking. And yet you can’t help but wonder why he ever backed Blair in the first place. Kilfoyle was one of his campaign managers in the election for party leader, so he must take some of the blame. Were the signs not obvious even then? He tells of driving Blair back to Manchester from the Southport women’s conference one Sunday in 1994. Blair’s preoccupation was to find a church. Travelling along the M58, Kilfoyle spotted a spire and headed for the church, arriving just in time for evensong.
Kilfoyle, a devout Irish Catholic, offered to accompany him but Blair rejected the offer and went in alone – though not before asking Kilfoyle if he could borrow some money for the collection. The incident seems to sum up Blair; surely that should have been enough of a warning.
Kilfoyle, who retires at the election, has written a valedictory address which vividly highlights, whether he meant it or not, the dilemma for many of us in the Labour Party. You might not have liked Blair but he was, at least, electable. But, generally, Kilfoyle presents a depressing picture of Labour politics which ends on a disheartening note: “As I walk away, perhaps as an ageing and increasingly cynical retiree, I ask myself just one question. Was it worth it?”
Well, surely it wasn’t all bad. Far be it for me to be an apologist for New Labour, but Britain today is a far cry from what it was under Margaret Thatcher, John Major and the last Conservative Government. Education at all levels has improved dramatically in the past 13 years. There are more opportunities for young people to go to university, even though the cost is one of Labour’s more shameful acts. The National Health Service is much improved and our towns and cities have taken on a new lease of life. Just take a walk along the Liverpool waterfront and you’ll see new buildings, apartments, a thriving sports arena, hotels and bars that have created jobs and transformed the city centre. Manchester, and other northern cities, boast similar attractions. The elderly are better cared for, there are enhanced rights for women and gays and the social tensions of the 1980s have largely gone. Of course there are still problems but giant strides have been made.
I’d like to say I found this book stimulating and optimistic. But, sadly, I found it disappointing. A more thorough appraisal of Labour in office would not have gone amiss, and nor would a detailed alternative. From his vantage point, and his politics, Kilfoyle could have delivered a better critique.
But he is right to wonder what state the Labour Party will be in if we lose the election. Constituency parties are already bereft of members and money and the big business donors will be off to where the power lies, leaving the coffers even emptier than they currently are. And then who will come to the rescue? The unions? Maybe, but will they want to after being snubbed for so long and, anyhow, most have dwindling memberships and financial problems of their own. And if Brown goes, who will take over? The options may well be limited to a handful of uninspiring lightweights. The prospects are not encouraging. Defeat on May 6 is a nightmare scenario.
