For the time being, Labour leadership hopeful Diane Abbott no longer has former Tory MP Michael Portillo – who once had serious ambitions to lead his own party – to herself on the sofa on This Week, the late-night political programme hosted by Andrew Neil. In its wisdom, the BBC decided her regular appearances would be unfair to her leadership rivals and so they have all been taking turns to swap opinions with the forthright Neil. The other Thursday, for instance, it was the turn of Andy Burnham. In fairness, though, not many people would be gambling on Diane Abbott as the next leader of the Labour Party even if she were invited to replace Jonathan Ross on the prestigious Friday night chat show.
The departure from the race of John McDonnell – who stood aside and gave his backing to Abbott once he saw that he was not going to secure sufficient nominations from his colleagues in the Parliamentary Labour Party to ensure his name was on the ballot paper – created a vacancy for someone able to present himself or herself as an old-style Labour socialist.
The outspoken Abbott has done her best to take advantage of this. She is helped by the fact that she is not an identikit youngish middle-class white man of similar, centrist opinions, like the four members of the Shadow Cabinet who are standing against her.
Nevertheless, it is thanks to the good offices of at least one of them – bookies’ favourite David Miliband – that she is on the ballot paper. She was also nominated by acting leader Harriet Harman, who knew how embarrassing the lack of a female and ethnic minority presence at the hustings would be. However, it is unlikely that Abbott will be Harman’s choice to take her place at the despatch box in the House of Commons.
Abbott’s critics have pointed out that she, too, is Oxbridge educated and therefore not so very different from David and Ed Miliband, Ed Balls and Andy Burham. They have also criticised her decision to educate her son at a £10,000-a-year private school. After all, in the past, the Hackney and Stoke Newington MP has chastised prominent colleagues, including Tony Blair and Harriet Harman, for sending their offspring to selective state schools.
Abbott has defended herself robustly. “I’m a West Indian mum and West Indian mums will go to the wall for their children”, she said. Her critics say that’s what most mothers would do, but not all of them have the money to go as far as Diane Abbott. The leadership battle is a still lukewarm one, rather than heating up, as each camp rallies its supporters in a friendly but thus far uninspiring campaign. Abbott at least brings personality and a bit of life to the contest.
Ed Miliband has said he wants to move Labour back towards the political left. Yet it seems many in mainstream Labour ranks are reluctant to contemplate a progressive political realignment to that extent.
The recent struggle among the main political parties to occupy the centre ground meant it became difficult for the electorate to discern major policy differences. In order to be an effective opposition after the summer recess, Labour needs a permanent, popular leader with a clear mandate. Nationwide hustings may help Labour members to make up their minds, but are so far failing to kick-start a crucial national debate about the state of politics in our country and the role that democratic socialism could play in modern Britain.
Without a united membership and parliamentary party, Labour cannot fully take the fight to the coalition Government – which must be done. The Liberal Democrats have sacrificed principles for power – or, at least, ministerial cars – so Labour has to be seen as the party of the moderate left. A more extreme left alignment would not regain the middle-class support Labour recruited to help it win power in 1997.
At the same time, we should acknowledge that the erosion of Labour’s core support played a significant part in its 2010 defeat. Many of those who could once be relied on to back Labour come what may either stayed at home on May 6 or voted for someone else.
To be an effective social democrat force, Labour has to make itself democratic again. Its makeover in the 1990s saw the role of ordinary members diluted by the party hierarchy. Giving power back to them, especially at the annual conference, might convince some of those who have walked away from Labour to return.
There are those who think the party will not be electable again if it veers radically from the centre and adopts left-wing economic policies. The new leader – whoever he or she is – will have to decide how far they need to pitch Labour’s appeal to middle-class voters while simultaneously making what must be a powerful case for a more co-operative, fairer society.
