Branch Discussion - "The Life and Soul of the Party"

This is the text of a discussion of Tony Blair's 10 year Leadership of our Party and seven years in Government that took place at the Branch meeting on 6th October 2004.

Graham set the scene for the discussion. It's just over 10 years since Tony Blair was elected Leader of the Labour Party; we have been in government for over seven years and there is a crucial general election likely to be held in 2005. There are several highly controversial issues within the Party, the biggest of which must be Iraq but there are also the questions of Foundation Hospitals, the PFI, university tuition and top up fees. These are all questions that divide the Party and are ones that will be important in the 2005 campaign.

Bob:	Like all Party members, he had received the 2004 Spending Review from Ruth. He said that when you look at the figures you can see the tremendous things that Labour has done in government and what we plan to do in the future. Unfortunately we have a poor record of staying in power once we have achieved it; this was the case under Harold Wilson and again with Jim Callaghan. We mustn't make the same mistake again.
	He agreed that there are things that we don't like that our government has done but, on balance, we have made great strides under Tony Blair and we can go further. He stressed again the importance of not just gaining power but also holding onto it; we mustn't calmly hand it over to someone else. The chips are down and there will be a general election within the next 18 months, probably sooner, and we have to swim or sink together.
Craig:	Blair's overwhelming achievement is to make Labour a natural party of power; the Tories are falling apart. If Neil Kinnock had won in 1992 he'd have had a very small majority, would have struggled to have carried out Labour's programme and would have possibly followed Wilson and Callaghan in losing the subsequent election.
Alan:	If we become so fractious that we all want our own way then we will lose any remaining confidence that the public has in us. We've become a much more flexible and less dogmatic Party and that is the way we must be if we want to continue in power.
John G:	Labour has achieved a great deal in office. There are many more doctors and nurses, expenditure on the NHS is at record levels, schools and colleges are seeing the greatest investment that there has ever been and our government is tackling the great evils of crime and poverty, especially amongst children. But there is a great lack of trust by the electors in Labour generally and Tony Blair in particular; this is especially the case as a result of the Iraq war. People rightly or wrongly believe that they were lied to over so-called weapons of mass destruction and many, including UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, think that it was an illegal war.
	This lack of trust will make it very difficult to achieve the same sort of success in the probable 2005 general election that we had in 1997 and 2001. Our main saving grace is the weakness of the Tories but we must remember that the Lib Dems will probably be the main challengers in Bolton West and Ruth's majority is only about 5,500.
John M.	Cynicism and apathy are the real problems that we face; the Party seems to have moved to the right and has left behind many of the good Socialists in its ranks. People who are uncommitted hear all the knocking taking place from both the left and the right and end up being very cynical. He thought that the very weakness of the Tory party could go against us; they are the "under dogs". Iraq is still a very important issue but it has been over-hyped by the media. We need to keep re-convincing ourselves of what Labour has done in office.
George:	He agreed generally with what Bob had said but believed Iraq to still be a very big issue. It was very unfortunate that Bush happened to be the US leader at the wrong time! Another US president would have handled it differently and the feeling the Iraq war being a Bush "family feud" wouldn't have been a factor. Blair should formulate a policy for withdrawal from Iraq.
	He fervently hoped that the Tories would never get re-elected but agreed that there is a lot of apathy about and warned that we shouldn't underestimate them; they are active around Heaton and the Lib Dems are always a danger, especially amongst the Asian population. The general election won't be a walkover; Labour will win but the press is a big problem; they tell lies all the time.
	There are going to be big problems from increased energy costs and more from the huge economic growth in China - even the lock company Chubb is manufacturing there instead of in the UK now; our industry is being decimated.
Alan:	The question of trust is a big one; we have the whole of the media, including the BBC, doing all but call Blair a liar. There is little real opposition from the other two parties; the press and media are now the real opposition in this country. It's the Tories who are the actual liars.
	The situation on unemployment is fantastic; who'd have thought that we would have virtually full employment in this country after the devastation of the Thatcher era. It's less than a million and most are people who are between jobs. The NHS has improved greatly and education is on the up and up; we've done a wonderful job in primary schools and have now started to do the same in the secondaries.
Noelene:	A great deal has been achieved but we are not good a getting it across to people. Unless we publicise our success better to the general public we won't get the benefit when it comes to the election.
Paul:	I would have considered myself to have been on the right of the Party but the Party has moved to the right and I now feel as if I'm on the left over many issues. Iraq is a real, real problem; the world is now a much more dangerous place than before we went into that country. The war was supposed to have made us all safer; it most defiantly hasn't.
	We need to continually commit ourselves to a fairer society and that means wealth re-distribution. We have done little for pensioners; we need a massive improvement in the state pension. Above all the Labour Party must be working for this fairer society that we all talk about but do little to bring about. Paul said that "we have become masters of spin but we are not masters of delivery". He thought that the spark has gone out of the Party.
Bob:	Disagreed with what Paul and others had said. He reminded members that the winter fuel allowance under the Tories was £10, is now £200 and is going up to £300. The Government has tried to target the neediest in society and this is how it should be. Means testing isn't popular but not all pensioners and others in receipt of benefits are poor and we must give the greatest help to the most poor in our society.
	Bob said that the first general election he had worked in was that in 1945. The lot of the poorest in our country has improved immeasurably since then, mostly as a result of the Labour governments that have from time to time been in power; we must have a long period of sustained power to really achieve our objectives of a better society for all.
Jim	The Tories have said that if they are re-elected they will restore the link between pensions increases and increases in wages. This will be a vote winner for them amongst retired people.
Craig:	One of the things that Thatcher left behind was a very small rented housing sector and when the economy goes into decline there could be a lot of homeless people.
Terry:	Terry: In the US election there is a much bigger focus on Iraq than here. Despite the absence of WMDs Saddam Hussein was a really evil guy and it is right that he is no longer in power.
Craig:	There are many things that Labour could do that don't cost money. Our government worships the free unregulated market but we need to rebuild the trust in basic services: the mail, railways, public services, etc., now in private ownership, cowboy builders and tradesmen. Nothing changes!
John M.	Part of creating a fairer society is forging a "together society". Young people now are much more apathetic than we were when younger and it disturbs me the way that nearly all of our towns, including our own, have become young persons' ghettos in the evenings. Entertainment in most big towns and cities, except London, is almost exclusively aimed at the young and comprises not much more than pubs and clubs. The opening of big places such as Middlebrook has driven people away from the town and city centres. Society seems to be breaking down.
Joyce:	What do you think would make a fairer society? Paul said "increased taxes and redistribution to the poorest". Joyce though it unfair that many poorer pensioners get lots of benefits whilst those who have saved all their lives to make their retirement more comfortable, don't.
Olwin:	Speaking as a person who lives on just the state pension, she has found that she can manage. It isn't as bad as some people make out, if you are very careful.
Diane:	I went to see Tony Blair at the Reebok some time ago and he talked about the cynicism that exists in society. That was in 2001 and it's got worse since then. Tony had said that the Israel/Palestine issue is one that needs to be sorted out and is crucial not just to peace in the Middle East but more widely. She believed that he seems committed to helping a resolution.
	She thought that it was good that we have a society in which there is the freedom for 2 million people to demonstrate against the war in Iraq. She said that Labour has fulfilled most of the pledges that we made in 1997 and 2001 elections and we must build on these. There is no other party that can win the next election.
Graham:	As Party members we have a couple of problems:
		We are idealists and, as such, we are dissatisfied with what Labour has done and the speed at which it has done it.
		But, our government has, with great trumpeting, done things with which Party members disagree whilst doing things we approve of with a whisper!
	The thought of Howard at No. 10 is just too awful to contemplate and we must remember the mantra "Any Labour government is better than any Tory government" and repeat it to ourselves a hundred times a day!

Graham summed up, thanking all those who had taken part in the very open and frank discussion. He also thanked Leilia for the use of her home and for her hospitality and declared the meeting closed at 21:40.

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