The Questions
1 Each of you who were in the last Government has said, in different ways, that you regret certain policies, the direction of the Government and the disconnection with or failure to listen to the Labour Party and the public. How did this failure occur, what did you do about it in government and why should we not suspect this failure of personal political judgement will occur again should you achieve office as Labour leader and Prime Minister?
1 [b] To Diane: Your decision to send your son to a private school has caused controversy and criticism in the Labour Party, with many members seeing it as a betrayal of the party’s principles. If you are elected leader, why should we not suspect this “failure” of party principle might be repeated in other areas of policy?
2 How do you propose to change the balance of the British economy from one dominated by financial services to a broader mix of manufacturing, innovation, the “knowledge economy”, technical and skill-based production, and co-operatives?
3 If the coalition Government runs its full term, what do you think will be left of the social infrastructure of Britain and what priorities will you have for putting it back together?
4 In the meantime, Labour has a job to do in opposition. As leader, what is your commitment to a return to first principles – such as the workers whose interests need to be represented in the face of the power of global markets and those who are independently wealthy?
5 What is your commitment to restoring and maintaining the role of trade unions and the Labour Party link?
6 It is widely thought – and acknowledged by some of the candidates explicitly – that internal democracy in the Labour Party, particularly the role of members at a local level and the annual conference, has been neutered under New Labour. What are you going to do to restore it? And what plans do you have for increasing membership and/or individual engagement in the policy decision-making process?
7 Each of you appears to share the view that Trident’s replacement should be ring-fenced and that it should be part of multilateral disarmament rather than subject to cuts which take account of the new reality of Britain’s role in global influence. Why, and what specific multilateral goals would you aim for and in what time frame?
7 [b] Diane: You are unequivocal in your opposition to Trident renewal. What would you propose for an alternative defence role for Britain and what would you say to the workers whose jobs depend on the programme?
8 Some candidates have, to a greater or lesser degree, blamed the Labour Government’s failure to listen to concerns about immigration for its defeat at the 2010 general election. Isn’t this playing the immigration card for short-term approval against longer-term social ramifications?
9 On two other social issues: What is your response to the view that too many parents on benefits are allowed and encouraged by the system to have too many children who, in turn, become a burden on the state? And what prescription do you have to deal with Britain’s dysfunctional judicial system which encourages failed punitive imprisonment against rehabilitation and the prevention of crime and reoffending?
10 You all, including Diane, have been accused of being from the same social, Oxbridge educational background. If you were elected leader, how would you be representative of the Labour Party and the people it stands for? Would your election be the end of New Labour or its continuation under a new logo?
The Answers
Diane Abbott
1 As far as my choice of secondary school for my son is concerned, it was nearly a decade ago. Since then, because of Labour investment, Hackney schools have improved out of all recognition and are now among the most improved schools in the country. If I had to take the decision now, I would not have the same difficult choice to make. As far as my adherence to party principle generally is concerned, I can only ask people to look at my record over 30 years in politics. Unlike the others, I have not recently discovered that the Iraq war was wrong. I spoke against it, marched against it and voted against it at the time.
2 We need to break up the banks. The reason some countries such as Spain didn’t suffer from the financial crisis in the same way that Britain did is because they had much stricter regulations, in particular in relation to capital adequacy. The Labour Government seemed in awe of bankers, boasting that Britain offered “light touch” regulation. But that enabled bankers to gamble with other people’s money and generate a leveraged financial bubble. We also need to invest for growth, including in education and training. This is the only way we will generate the skills base to have a genuine knowledge economy. We also need a strong regional policy to support manufacturing.
3 I hope the coalition does not run its full term. I think there are irreconcilable differences between many Lib Dem activists and the “Orange Book” Liberals. But if it does run its full term, there will be grave concerns for the social infrastructure of Britain. First, the consequent unemployment will ravage communities in the way that pit closures ravaged mining communities in the 1980s. Second, many of the welfare institutions that people rely on will be starved of funding and people will be left to rely on charity. My priority as leader would be investing for growth to create jobs and putting money into education.
4 It is very important that the Labour Party rebuilds its relationship with trade unions. The labour movement cannot be strong unless the unions are strong, so I would support changes to the law to create a level playing field between employers and employees. I would stop employers’ vexatious injunctions and having lawful ballots stuck down on technicalities.
5 I have always been active in trade unions and have frontline experience. In 1986, I served the ACTT (film technicians union) as full-time equality officer. I have a practical experience of unions that the other candidates do not have. I am committed to changes in the law around balloting and the internal organisation of unions which will restore fairness to the relationship between employers and employees. I am committed to the Labour Party link and oppose any moves to undermine it.
6 I am very committed to restoring Labour’s internal democracy. The party conference should again become the parliament of the labour movement. It is wrong that successive Labour leaders have ignored conference decisions. I would reform policy forums to make them genuinely accountable and I would allow constituencies to put resolutions directly to conference. We need to make sure this leadership contest is open to all members – new and old, local and national – in order to choose the right leader. My supporters are far more diverse than those of the other contenders.
7 The skills of our armed forces should be used within the context of an international organisation like the United Nations. British soldiers have shown exemplary bravery and commitment to nation-building, but that is best used within a UN framework not as freelance world policemen acting at the behest of the US. It is vital that we don’t lose the skills base that has grown up around defence, but those skills can be put to better uses.
8 Immigration was not an issue brought up on the doorsteps of Hackney when I was canvassing in the General Election. I believe much of the immigration debate is a proxy for other concerns. As the child of immigrants, I can see the benefits that immigration has had on our society. We lost the election because Labour stopped listening to the electorate. We lost their trust over Iraq and the MPs’ expenses scandal. I listened to my constituents and as a result I doubled my majority in my constituency – the only candidate on the ballot who did. Those who have blamed our failure to win on immigration are being facile. Our defeat has much deeper roots. It is very dangerous to blame one section of the working class for the problems of another. It was the Irish yesterday, the eastern Europeans today. Who will it be tomorrow?
9 It is a commonly held view that girls on benefits have children in order to get a new council flat and more benefits. Those who say that have presumably not seen the actual flats that these girls end up in. The reasons these young girls have so many babies are far more complex than that. There is a mix of issues, including poor education and low self-esteem. We need to address educational issues in poorer communities and work to revive them. Women who are educated are far less likely to have multiple children out of wedlock. We put more people in prison per head than almost any other European country. But I have long been of the opinion that prison does not work. There are a limited number of prisoners from whom we actually need protection. Too many prisons are schools for crime, while many inmates have mental health or educational problems, or both. We need to send fewer people to prison and invest in the system so rehabilitation can take place. We should never have privatised. The withholding of liberty is far too serious an issue to be left to the likes of Group 4. I am opposed in principle to privatisation of the public sector.
10 I did go to Cambridge, but I was the first person in my family to go to university. My parents left school at 14 and came to Britain in the 1950s from Jamaica looking for a new life. If I were elected Labour leader, the wider community would know that the party and the wider politics had changed. It would be a step forward to have a mum at the top of the Labour Party ticket. I am the only candidate that can say that my election would mark a decisive end to New Labour. I have never been New Labour. I came up from the grassroots of the party. I was not fast-tracked into anything or parachuted into a safe seat.
Ed Balls
1 Political parties neglect their base at their peril. When we should have been guaranteeing better public services, in the second term the Government sometimes sounded like this could only be done by attacking public sector workers. I argued against this from within government and in an interview – which was controversial at the time – about the limits to markets in the public and private sectors. Some battles we won – staying out of the euro, raising national insurance to invest in the National Health Service, protecting schools spending in the Pre-Budget Report. But some battles were lost – inside government I argued for a graduate tax rather than top-up fees and I wanted us to rule out a rise in VAT and have a less sharp deficit reduction plan. In government, you have to accept collective responsibility. And while you should own up to mistakes, you shouldn’t try to suggest that you were against something all along, when you didn’t speak up about it at the time. In the end, it is a matter of trust.
2 We’ve got to invest in jobs and growth. That means a modern industrial policy, investing in manufacturing, new industries and apprenticeships, too – with regional development agencies creating jobs where they are needed so we have a more balanced economy. The global financial crisis has reinforced the need for new mutuals to emerge providing employment and community based goods and services. Northern Rock should be returned to the mutual sector and we need to make the most of the updated mutuals legislation I helped to push through as a Labour and Co-op minister at the Treasury.
3 I’m very worried about what this Government could do if it has a full term. It is making the same dangerous mistakes of the 1930s and 1980s – withdrawing support from the economy before the recovery is secured which will lead to higher unemployment, lower growth, a higher deficit and risks a double-dip recession. We’re also seeing an attack on the jobs, pay and pensions of public sector workers which we must resist. And we’re seeing a concerted attempt to dismantle our welfare state. These are the three key things I fear we will need to put right, but we must campaign together now to stop some of these mistakes.
4 We have a vital task of opposing the neo-liberal ideology this new Government is pursuing. The new leader must also rebuild a winning coalition. South as well as north, it was professional and higher-income voters who stuck with us. But the voters we lost in large numbers were predominantly lower-income skilled and semi-skilled workers. We have to show, in our policies and communications, that we are on their side. So, if we need to raise more money, I’ve said extending the 50p top rate of tax to those on more than £100,000 is much fairer than a VAT rise which will hit people on the lowest incomes hardest.
5 I was proud that, through voluntary contributions, union members helped me to fight the Tories and see off the British National Party in my constituency. When some attacked me for this, I was proud to defend the support they gave to our campaign. Three million affiliated union members must be more than just a resource for the Labour Party. Properly listening to and engaging with union members is the best way for Labour to stay rooted and in touch with millions of working people who depend on us. We need to strengthen the link between our party members and trade union members – not just nationally, but on the ground in every constituency and union branch. And let’s extend the £1 youth membership rate to members of affiliated unions who haven’t yet joined Labour.
6 We have to re-build our party from the ground up and give a more powerful voice to members. The National Policy Forum is an unexploited asset: let’s use it properly, not to manage our conference but to reinvigorate it as the debating chamber for working people in our country. I will set up a diversity fund to help those who are under-represented get selected – and end undemocratic imposed selections.
7 I’m happy for the precise nature of Trident’s replacement to be part of an overall strategic defence review, but I don’t support unilateral nuclear disarmament. It would weaken our position in multilateral talks to get other countries to disarm – something we must do on the fastest possible timetable.
8 No. I support immigration and migration, which has made an immense contribution to our economy and the diversity and richness of our society. I’ve said this in front of a baying crowd of BNP supporters in my constituency and will do so again. I don’t believe in free migration, I believe in fair migration – fair to migrant workers and to working people. The scale and pace of migration from eastern Europe in the second half of the last decade did have an affect on our communities, on housing, and on the wages and terms and conditions of many workers. Not acting quickly on implementing the agency and posted workers directives exacerbated that.
9 The first view is based on a myth about the benefits system because evidence shows that families with several children are more likely to be in poverty. I believe in “tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime”. But at times we forgot the second half of that soundbite. You cannot tackle crime without investing in prevention and rehabilitation. That’s why it was so short-sighted of the new Government to cut funding for youth services which prevent young people going down the wrong track, which I championed as Children’s Secretary.
10 We may have all gone to Oxbridge, but all of us have different backgrounds and experiences. I was born in Norwich, grew up in Nottingham and represent a seat in Yorkshire. The battle I faced in my seat – when Lord Ashcroft and the BNP threw everything they had at me – means I have had thousands of conversations with voters who supported Labour in the past, but felt they couldn’t back us this time. I understand their concerns, their hopes and fears, and what Labour needs to do to show them we get it and are on their side. As for labels and logos, New Labour, old Labour, next Labour, whatever… We’re the Labour Party and should be proud of that.
Andy Burnham
1 It was a collective failure and I take my share of the responsibility. But I did speak out where I thought we had got things wrong. As Health Secretary, I changed policy on use of the private sector in the National Health Service – despite a lack of support from Cabinet colleagues. I was also one of a very small number of people to speak out against any post-election deal with the Lib Dems, fearing a backlash from the public. At all the moments of crisis in the last Parliament, I got the big judgement calls right. I always put the party first and had no time for the self-indulgent feuding between the Blair and Brown camps which sapped our energy and morale.
2 Post-recession, Labour began to articulate a convincing vision for a rebalanced economy. I was proud of the steps we took to support high-tech manufacturing, and our recognition that jobs of the future will only be developed through effective public-private partnership. As Culture Secretary, I pushed for more of the BBC licence fee to be spent out of London. On co-ops, we talked a good game, but should have done much more. But one of my proudest achievements was establishing Supporters Direct, which has helped establish more than 100 not-for-profit supporters’ trusts and, through football, has communicated the benefits of mutualism to a new generation.
3 Cuts of 40% will cause huge damage to our public services. It is vandalism on a massive scale. We must be credible in opposition, and I have proposed to protect the NHS budget in real terms, rather than increase it, using the money to protect council services. I will lead opposition to these cuts to opportunities for young people, such as the Future Jobs Fund and reducing university places and the withdrawal of support for growth in the regions. We should also make a principled argument that tax should play a bigger part in closing the deficit, starting with the Robin Hood tax.
4 The world of work has changed. Many people today are forced to take short-term contracts and there is far less job security now. Labour should have recognised this change by acting without delay to legislate to protect agency workers and to implement the Posted Workers Directive. The other side of the free movement coin, in a global labour market, is to give every individual minimum employment protection wherever they may work. As leader I would always seek to put a floor beneath the most vulnerable in the labour market.
5 As a proud member of Unison, my commitment to the union link is 100 per cent. I have demonstrated that in government, not just in words, through the establishment of the successful Social Partnership Forum in the Department of Health. Some trade union laws need to be reviewed to prevent the democratic will of a workforce being subverted by a pedantic court. But let me be clear: that does not mean the repeal of all trade union legislation. Trade unions have an important and continuing role to play in protecting and developing workers’ rights and enhancing our economic capabilities.
6 We must be less Westminster-centric and trust our members to select our candidates. That’s why I’m running my campaign from Manchester and will put those parachutes away for good. Our conference delegates will be engaged in policy development throughout the year, not just for the five days of the party conference. This way we can lift the dead hand of stage management from the conference and have real debates and meaningful votes. The Labour Party I lead will value its councillors: if we had listened to them more, we would have avoided some of our mistakes in government.
7 None of us could have imagined back in the 1980s how the world would be in 2010 and we are now about to undergo a major strategic defence review that will assess our future defence needs. We need to approach all future commitments around Trident as part of that review. I am a multilateralist and, under my leadership, we will play a full and constructive part in that review and we will be prepared to ask hard questions about the affordability and usefulness of Trident in the modern world.
8 No. We can’t ignore the fact that immigration was the single biggest issue at the general election – as difficult as that is. Some areas saw rapid change in recent years which gave rise to concerns about access to housing, wages and jobs. But we were slow to recognise this. It doesn’t mean the people who raise these concerns are racist – far from it. Labour’s policy on immigration is right and I will always defend the principle of free movement – not least because my own father benefited from it in the 1980s and 1990s. But by failing to acknowledge legitimate concerns, we made people believe we were no longer listening. This allowed myths to develop and a vacuum for the far right to exploit.
9 Every child deserves support, but I don’t buy the right-wing myth that people have children to get more benefits. I do believe that, in our judicial system, we need a greater emphasis on rehabilitation and prevention. We must also take seriously the huge issue of untreated and undiagnosed mental health problems of young men in the judicial system, as identified by the Bradley Report. Better preventative mental health services for young people and earlier diagnosis of problems would prevent wasted lives and the huge costs of criminality.
10 My background is different. I was the first generation in my family to go to university, followed by work as a trainee journalist and in a publishing company. I can assure you that it didn’t feel very privileged at a Merseyside comprehensive under Thatcher. I speak the language of ordinary people, not London think tanks, and I will be a leader that people can relate to and believe in. For too long, our party has been run in an elitist, top-down way and I will change that. New Labour was right for its time, but now it is time to move on. My political philosophy – aspirational socialism – draws on the best of old and new Labour. Its perfect illustration is the proposal of a national care service: true to our collectivist roots and helping to protect homes and savings.
David Miliband
1 We have to face up to the fact we lost the general election. We did not succeed in renewing ourselves in office, because we became focused on the means of government rather than the ends. Far from correcting our failings, they intensified. And we lost many of our strengths: optimism, clear strategy, plans for change and reform, and a compelling articulation of aspiration and hope. I take my collective share of the blame for our failings – but the key question is who is best placed to renew our party in the future. I believe I am the best candidate to renew Labour and create the kind of government of which we can all be proud.
2 The dominance of the financial sector in our economy and the bonus culture associated with it must change. Amid the pain of the global financial crisis, we must build a more balanced British economy. In the next decade, we need radical private sector reform to check market excesses – just as Labour was right to reform the public sector to tackle the weaknesses of the state. We should be supporting the growing businesses of the future – such as Sheffield Forgemasters, which has been robbed of a loan that offered world-beating jobs for Britain. We also need to find ways to re-establish moral norms in our economy. Unacceptable concentrations of market power, as with unaccountable state power, are not just economically dangerous – as we saw in the credit crunch – they are also immoral.
3 When we started this campaign, we didn’t know what sort of government we were facing. We now know this is a Tory Government as ruthless and as right wing as any of Margaret Thatcher’s. Already we have seen broken promises on VAT, hitting the poorest hardest, and money to cut taxes on business paid for by taking money out of manufacturing. The Liberal Democrats have traded power for principle, leaving the Labour Party as the last hope for millions of people. If we don’t stand up for them, no one will. Getting Labour back into government to reverse the Tory cuts would be my priority as Labour leader.
4 The first principle of Labour in opposition has to be to return to power, as only then can we make sure we can help the people who most need it. Our people are not, on the whole, independently wealthy – unlike the millionaires of the Cabinet. Our people are those who will suffer most under the Tory cuts. So it is the duty of all of us to fight back to reverse the damage the Tories are doing to our economy and to our people.
5 I am committed to maintaining the role of the trade unions within the Labour Party. The link is non-negotiable. The Tory-Lib Dem Government plans to break the union link – and I will fight them tooth and nail. I will strengthen our links with the three million workers who pay the political levy with a national drive to recruit trade unionists to our party.
6 I want to return democracy to the party, starting with an elected party chair as a voice for ordinary members around the Shadow Cabinet table. And I want to double party membership. I reject the old political culture that sees members only as cheerleaders. Instead, I want to rebuild our party as a mass movement for change. I am committed to training 1,000 party members in community organising skills during the leadership campaign and will continue this if I am elected leader. The fight back starts at the grassroots and I will make it happen throughout my campaign and as leader.
7 Britain should be leading efforts to secure multilateral nuclear disarmament on the way to a nuclear weapons-free world. It doesn’t make sense in an unsafe world for responsible states to get rid of their deterrent while irresponsible states retain them. I want Britain to retain its independent nuclear deterrent while working towards multilateral disarmament. That’s the goal – and the
timeframe will be set not by us alone, but with the rest of the world working to make it happen. I believe I have the best chance as leader at working with global powers to make this happen.
8 The rate of European Union expansion from 2004 put real pressure on public services and depressed wages some areas. It also led to a pace of change that was too fast for some communities and left people feeling insecure. However, I am not going to engage in a Dutch auction on immigration – it is not my way and it is not the Labour way. We need to recognise that, for many people, concern about immigration was a proxy for issues of economic insecurity and cultural anxiety. The solution is to deal with problems of low wages, decent public services and access to housing, and to engage in the debate about identity, place and belonging.
9 I reject the demonisation of people on benefits and the idea that people are having babies just to get benefits. I believe in a reciprocal welfare system that supports work and tackles poverty. People must feel confident that we have the right judicial system to deal with the causes, effects and the punishment of crime. I am determined to keep our streets safe and to reduce re-offending. Prison should be about helping people to turn their lives around in order to ensure this. But it is also an issue of the breakdown of community power and relationships. That’s why we should look at wider use of restorative justice to ensure offenders face up to their actions.
10 I am proud to be standing to be leader of the party. I love the Labour Party and have been a member for 27 years. Labour embodies the values I believe in – equality, co-operation and compassion. In the end, it is about values and how you apply these to your life and your politics that matters, not your background. This is a real strength that helps to hold the party together. I’ve said we need to move beyond Tony Blair and Gordon Brown and beyond New Labour. We need a renewed mandate and renewed mission – only then will we have a shot at power
again.
Ed Miliband
1 When Labour came into government in 1997, we had a radical platform of a national minimum wage, a windfall tax on utilities and the rebirth of public services. We made good on those promises, but over time we lost the sense of idealism that lay behind them. We became more like managers of the system than people who want to transform it. It is vital we do not make that mistake again. That is why I want to put our values back at the centre of the way we make decisions. I want to lead a party into government that builds its policies on the values and input of its members and supporters; a party with the courage to fight for its values and govern by upholding them.
2 Reshaping our economy is not a project for one year or one term, but a long-term effort. It begins by recognising the role government can play through an active industrial policy. It is scandalous that the coalition is abolishing regional development agencies when in many places they have led the way in creating the growth of the future. We also need to think again about our financial sector. We should make use of our stake in the banks, rather than simply sell them off as quickly as possible. I would take the opportunity of the rationalisation of these stakes to create a new banking system which works to invest in the industries of the future and the small businesses and co-operatives that can be the centre of our communities. A significant element of the transition in our economy has to come through further and higher education. People should not be put off getting the skills they need by upfront costs. I want to look at a graduate tax as an alternative way of funding universities.
3 We all remember the terrible state of public services at the end of the previous Tory onslaught – leaky roofs in schools, portable classrooms and 18-month hospital waiting lists. The attack launched in the Budget is every bit as dangerous. Only a government with an unshakeable focus on equality will have any chance of putting things right. That is the sort of government I want to lead.
4 We need to be clearer in saying that globalisation is not an untameable force of nature to which we must adapt or die. We can do much more to set the rules in which markets operate. We can also do more to ensure that market values do not intrude into parts of people’s lives where they do not belong. So, for example, I want us to think again about pay and work. When a nurse earns less in a year than a banker earns in a week and it’s the banker who caused the credit crunch, its unjust and we should say so. It is wrong that we work some of the longest hours in Europe. That is why I support a living wage and stronger rights to flexible working. And we must address the issue of top executive pay. As the financial crisis showed, we need regulation to stop the short-term self-interest of a few derailing the economy for all of us.
5 I was brought up to believe the defining purpose of the labour movement is to fight against the injustices of society. Trade unions are very often at the heart of that fight, which is why I think they are such an essential part of the labour movement. Labour’s link with the trade unions is central to keeping our link to working people. I recognise that, as Labour leader, there will be points of disagreement in our relationship. It is important we have debate within our party after a period when there was too little opportunity for discussion. But that debate will always happen on the basis of a common cause, with a common set of ideals and a shared sense that our movement exists to help create a more equal country.
6 Too often, it has seemed like all the leadership wants is for members to deliver leaflets. That doesn’t allow our party to make the most of their talents and it doesn’t make for an exciting party for people to join. We need to give members a proper voice in the direction of the party. That is why I want to see our party chair elected by members, and to reform the way in which we include the views of the Labour parties in Wales and Scotland by having their leaders sit on the National Executive Committee and the Shadow Cabinet.
7 The decision on the renewal of Trident will be made in the next few years and we need to have a thorough examination of that decision as part of the strategic defence review. We must make an important choice about the best way of maintaining the minimum necessary independent deterrence consistent with protecting national security. Our decision should be informed by progress in multilateral disarmament and non-proliferation discussions. We should seek reductions in the capabilities of other nuclear powers and binding commitments from those nations not adhering to or not bound by the Non-Proliferation Treaty.
8 Immigration is a pressing issue in this country, which is reflected in the number of times it is raised on the doorsteps. Our mistake in government was a failure to realise it was a topic that needed genuine debate. More importantly, there was a failure to recognise that the roots of the issue go deeper than the fact of immigration itself. When people talk about immigration, it is often underlying concerns that need to be addressed, such as insecurity in the labour market and access to housing. Whatever immigration policy we as a country pursue, it will have long-term social and economic ramifications. It would be irresponsible not to engage in a sensible discussion.
9 On the first point, I don’t believe that’s true at all. If generations of the same family are dependent on the state, we need to break that cycle through improving education and enhancing opportunities. On the judicial system, there are some significant questions about the impact of short prison sentences. Short stints too often mean there isn’t the time to tackle the barriers to rehabilitation. There is a strong case for more community punishments where they are shown to reduce re-offending rates and offer better protection to the public.
10 We need to turn the page on the New Labour years. It did a lot of good, but the time has come for a radically new approach. Part of that has to be about ensuring the leadership of our party is more representative of the people we stand for. That’s why I want to see the Shadow Cabinet equally made up of men and women, why we will need all-women shortlists for greater gender balance and why I can see a case for all-black shortlists to increase our ethnic minority representation
