Labour's leadership race has entered its final phase. With ballots dispatched today, the four leadership candidates have made their final pitches to the party by publishing an essay each in a Fabian Society pamphlet. It reveals the choice is much more complex than a "vote for change" vs ABC (anyone but Corbyn). Here are the key points on the main topics:
We haven't heard it so much since, but each of the candidates here addresses it in their own way:
Andy Burnham
"In the first few weeks of the contest, the word ‘aspiration’ dominated the Labour debate. This is because it is widely accepted that our manifesto, while strong on inequality and insecurity, had too little to say to middle income families. But the call for a focus on ‘aspiration’ is controversial as it is seen as a code for a return to the days when Labour focused on families living in certain parts of the country who shop at more upmarket outlets.
The fact is that the hopes of people at all levels of society are pretty much the same: a secure job; a decent home; a good standard of living; prospects for their kids; and proper care for their parents. But the reality is that, as the 21st century develops, these dreams are dying for millions. Labour’s mission must be to revive them and that is what my Labour party will be all about: helping everyone get on."
A nastier person than I might point out that "families who shop at more upmarket outlets" are exactly who Burnham appealed to in his original leadership pitch video, where he said Labour had to appeal to people who shop at John Lewis.
Yvette Cooper
"We have to convince people that there is something better they can be a part of. At the election the messages of fear, of division and of blame were louder – they won, we lost. But let’s not mistake that for the Tories having the right answers. They are failing to tackle the productivity problem, failing to take the action needed to support innovation, industry and the high skilled economic future we need. Far from keeping us an outward looking country they are turning inwards – especially on Europe. They are zealous and ideological in attacking the state and public sector, when we know it is more important than ever in tackling inequality, uniting our communities and healing our fractured country."
Jeremy Corbyn
"Machine politics sees elections as a game to win – and recreates the world in its image. It constructs the electorate as ‘Terraced Melting Pot’ or ‘New Homemakers’ or ‘Suburban Mindsets’. These are genuine categories used for consumer targeting that have been embraced by political parties, including ours. We need to remember that people are individuals, not faceless categories.
A movement mobilises people and the most overlooked group within the electorate is those who have not been mobilised. At the 2015 election, 34 per cent of people who were registered to vote didn’t vote. They are more likely to be younger, from an ethnic minority background and to be working class – as are the hundreds of thousands who are not registered to vote at all."
(That last point is central to Corbynites' arguments—they dismiss the claim that he is unelectable because he may not appeal to potential Tories in the South by saying that his vision could persuade currently disenfranchised people to vote for Labour.)
Liz Kendall
"Labour’s vision must be for people in every corner of our country to have the power and control to shape their own lives. I want to see employees with a say and a stake in their workplace – and for everyone who has an idea about how to set up and grow a small business or community enterprise to get the backing they need.
Supporting people to do things for themselves: that is the only way we’ll tackle the inequalities that are growing in Conservative-ruled Britain. The deeply regressive Tory budget demonstrated, as if there were any doubt, that the Labour party’s enduring mission to fight for greater equality will be more relevant than ever in the coming years."
"No wonder so many people feel that politics doesn’t speak to them or provide the answers they are looking for. I will change that. I will take Labour out of the ‘Westminster bubble’ and make it the vehicle for the hopes and dreams of ordinary people once again."
Yvette Cooper
"None of this is easy. Labour didn’t earn enough support across the country and we need to reach out. We can only do that with an optimistic vision for the future. One that is true to Labour values, and that everyone can come behind to make our country stronger. People will tell you in this leadership election you have to choose between following your heart—what you care about—and following your head—what’s needed in practice. I believe we have to do both. I want people to vote Labour with their heads and their hearts—and that’s why I’m standing to be leader of our party."
Neither of these first two—perhaps tellingly—devotes much time at all to party organisation, in stark contrast to...
Jeremy Corbyn
A large part of Corbyn's pitch is focused on changing the way the party works, but here's the key passage for my money:
"Our best media is our movement: the people who organise in their work- place or who are active in their communities – they are our best advocates. And if we listen to those people, we can produce a shared vision that can take the country with us.
No leader has a monopoly on wisdom. Whoever you pick as leader must organise our party like a social movement, building on our unique base: our trade union link to millions of working people, our quarter of a million members, and our growing band of registered supporters.
They are the people who will deliver our message. But because we are a movement and not a military hierarchy they are not just the footsoldiers, but the creators of our message too. Their wisdom, their insight is what will ensure we have the right policies to win."
Liz Kendall
"Losing an election hurts, not just because we’ve been rejected, but because we can’t put our values into action, and we can’t tackle the inequalities of modern Britain. Losing makes us ask difficult questions of ourselves."
"As leader I will work every single day to re-establish Labour as the party of work, both employed and self-employed; the party of business, small, medium and large; and the party of economic credibility."
Yvette Cooper
"I want us to do more to set out a strong and principled Labour approach for the future. That is why I will set up a Welfare Reform Commission to look at how we best support families to get on in the middle of the 21st century. It needs to look at how the state best supports work, prevents poverty and delivers value for money. That means rethinking the Tories’ universal credit, which started with sensible aims but has now been so badly wrecked that it won’t provide the proper incentives or rewards for work that must lie at the heart of the system. We need to build in strong principles of obligation and responsibility to work for those who can alongside proper protection and support for those who can’t through serious sickness or disability. "
Jeremy Corbyn
"We have to bust the myths that there is less money around and austerity is inevitable. There is no less money around, it is simply in the wrong place. The Sunday Times Rich List reports that the 1000 richest Britons have more than doubled their wealth in the last 10 years; while official statistics show corporate Britain is the most profitable it has been for at least a generation. "
Liz Kendall
"But supporting people to do things for themselves means we cannot stand by whilst the Tories cut away at the backing the state provides. Long-term, our aim must be for an economy where work pays well enough to live on. That’s why I’d make building a living wage society a priority, and give the Low Pay Commission greater powers to drive up low pay. And I’d review the £100bn cost of tax reliefs to find the money to restore working tax credits and give public sector workers the pay rise they need and deserve."
Andy Burnham
"As leader I will work every single day to re-establish Labour as the party of work, both employed and self-employed; the party of business, small, medium and large; and the party of economic credibility.
I will have a Labour vision with fiscal responsibility at its heart and where growth helps reduce our national debt—where government works in constructive partnership with business and unions, not picking fights with one or the other."
"The recent budget, which disproportionately hit families in work, is no answer to this question. Labour under my leadership will always run sound public finances and we will reduce the national debt, back toward its sustainable pre-global financial crisis levels."
(Burnham is setting himself in opposition to the Tories here, who have an ambition to continue cutting debt to an unspecified end point)
Yvette Cooper
"It was essential to borrow to support our economy during the financial crisis, but now the deficit and the debt need to come down—through stronger growth, fair taxation (such as more action on tax avoidance and evasion) and savings. Budgets will be tight for some time to come. We need to show how we can find sensible savings that still protect the frontline—for example the kinds of savings I found in the Home Office from procurement, abolishing police and crime commissioners and ending the subsidy for gun licences. We need to be much more innovative in the way that we deliver more for less. There have been some great examples of using digital tech- nology in public services, but it’s failed to move into areas where it could improve services and increase efficiency."
Jeremy Corbyn
"Austerity is not an economic necessity, but a political choice. That is not just my assessment but that of some of the world’s leading economists, among them Nobel laureates. The idea that a crash caused by boardroom greed and cabinet neglect should be paid for by cuts to the services and benefits of all is not a Labour idea.
We must become an anti-austerity movement, but we must do more than that. Together we must build a vision for a modern, prosperous and sustainable economy that works for all, not just a few."
Liz Kendall
Kendall, presumably aware she's on the right of the economic debate here, seems unwilling to directly mention the deficit, but this is relevant:
"So a post-industrial Labour party had to do things differently. Our response, between 1997 and 2010, was to use the proceeds of Britain’s finan- cial boom to spend money on public services and physical infrastructure, and to legislate against many social iniquities. I’m proud of the schools we built, our new hospitals and colleges, our Sure Start centres and leisure centres. I’m proud too that we introduced the national minimum wage and tax credits to make sure work pays. But buildings, laws and tax credits don’t create the conditions for a good life on their own.
This comes when people have a sense of power and control over their own lives. From the relationships we have with our family, friends, work colleagues and neighbours, and the bonds we build with others. The early Labour movement understood this."
Aspiration
It was the buzzword of the early leadership contest—back when the accepted diagnosis of Labour's electoral ills was that they didn't have enough to say to ambitious middle class voters. Back before the Corbyn surge.We haven't heard it so much since, but each of the candidates here addresses it in their own way:
Andy Burnham
"In the first few weeks of the contest, the word ‘aspiration’ dominated the Labour debate. This is because it is widely accepted that our manifesto, while strong on inequality and insecurity, had too little to say to middle income families. But the call for a focus on ‘aspiration’ is controversial as it is seen as a code for a return to the days when Labour focused on families living in certain parts of the country who shop at more upmarket outlets.
The fact is that the hopes of people at all levels of society are pretty much the same: a secure job; a decent home; a good standard of living; prospects for their kids; and proper care for their parents. But the reality is that, as the 21st century develops, these dreams are dying for millions. Labour’s mission must be to revive them and that is what my Labour party will be all about: helping everyone get on."
A nastier person than I might point out that "families who shop at more upmarket outlets" are exactly who Burnham appealed to in his original leadership pitch video, where he said Labour had to appeal to people who shop at John Lewis.
Yvette Cooper
"We have to convince people that there is something better they can be a part of. At the election the messages of fear, of division and of blame were louder – they won, we lost. But let’s not mistake that for the Tories having the right answers. They are failing to tackle the productivity problem, failing to take the action needed to support innovation, industry and the high skilled economic future we need. Far from keeping us an outward looking country they are turning inwards – especially on Europe. They are zealous and ideological in attacking the state and public sector, when we know it is more important than ever in tackling inequality, uniting our communities and healing our fractured country."
Jeremy Corbyn
"Machine politics sees elections as a game to win – and recreates the world in its image. It constructs the electorate as ‘Terraced Melting Pot’ or ‘New Homemakers’ or ‘Suburban Mindsets’. These are genuine categories used for consumer targeting that have been embraced by political parties, including ours. We need to remember that people are individuals, not faceless categories.
A movement mobilises people and the most overlooked group within the electorate is those who have not been mobilised. At the 2015 election, 34 per cent of people who were registered to vote didn’t vote. They are more likely to be younger, from an ethnic minority background and to be working class – as are the hundreds of thousands who are not registered to vote at all."
(That last point is central to Corbynites' arguments—they dismiss the claim that he is unelectable because he may not appeal to potential Tories in the South by saying that his vision could persuade currently disenfranchised people to vote for Labour.)
Liz Kendall
"Labour’s vision must be for people in every corner of our country to have the power and control to shape their own lives. I want to see employees with a say and a stake in their workplace – and for everyone who has an idea about how to set up and grow a small business or community enterprise to get the backing they need.
Supporting people to do things for themselves: that is the only way we’ll tackle the inequalities that are growing in Conservative-ruled Britain. The deeply regressive Tory budget demonstrated, as if there were any doubt, that the Labour party’s enduring mission to fight for greater equality will be more relevant than ever in the coming years."
Party organisation
Andy Burnham"No wonder so many people feel that politics doesn’t speak to them or provide the answers they are looking for. I will change that. I will take Labour out of the ‘Westminster bubble’ and make it the vehicle for the hopes and dreams of ordinary people once again."
Yvette Cooper
"None of this is easy. Labour didn’t earn enough support across the country and we need to reach out. We can only do that with an optimistic vision for the future. One that is true to Labour values, and that everyone can come behind to make our country stronger. People will tell you in this leadership election you have to choose between following your heart—what you care about—and following your head—what’s needed in practice. I believe we have to do both. I want people to vote Labour with their heads and their hearts—and that’s why I’m standing to be leader of our party."
Neither of these first two—perhaps tellingly—devotes much time at all to party organisation, in stark contrast to...
Jeremy Corbyn
A large part of Corbyn's pitch is focused on changing the way the party works, but here's the key passage for my money:
"Our best media is our movement: the people who organise in their work- place or who are active in their communities – they are our best advocates. And if we listen to those people, we can produce a shared vision that can take the country with us.
No leader has a monopoly on wisdom. Whoever you pick as leader must organise our party like a social movement, building on our unique base: our trade union link to millions of working people, our quarter of a million members, and our growing band of registered supporters.
They are the people who will deliver our message. But because we are a movement and not a military hierarchy they are not just the footsoldiers, but the creators of our message too. Their wisdom, their insight is what will ensure we have the right policies to win."
Liz Kendall
"Losing an election hurts, not just because we’ve been rejected, but because we can’t put our values into action, and we can’t tackle the inequalities of modern Britain. Losing makes us ask difficult questions of ourselves."
Work and welfare
Andy Burnham"As leader I will work every single day to re-establish Labour as the party of work, both employed and self-employed; the party of business, small, medium and large; and the party of economic credibility."
Yvette Cooper
"I want us to do more to set out a strong and principled Labour approach for the future. That is why I will set up a Welfare Reform Commission to look at how we best support families to get on in the middle of the 21st century. It needs to look at how the state best supports work, prevents poverty and delivers value for money. That means rethinking the Tories’ universal credit, which started with sensible aims but has now been so badly wrecked that it won’t provide the proper incentives or rewards for work that must lie at the heart of the system. We need to build in strong principles of obligation and responsibility to work for those who can alongside proper protection and support for those who can’t through serious sickness or disability. "
Jeremy Corbyn
"We have to bust the myths that there is less money around and austerity is inevitable. There is no less money around, it is simply in the wrong place. The Sunday Times Rich List reports that the 1000 richest Britons have more than doubled their wealth in the last 10 years; while official statistics show corporate Britain is the most profitable it has been for at least a generation. "
Liz Kendall
"But supporting people to do things for themselves means we cannot stand by whilst the Tories cut away at the backing the state provides. Long-term, our aim must be for an economy where work pays well enough to live on. That’s why I’d make building a living wage society a priority, and give the Low Pay Commission greater powers to drive up low pay. And I’d review the £100bn cost of tax reliefs to find the money to restore working tax credits and give public sector workers the pay rise they need and deserve."
(Anti?) Austerity
Only Jeremy Corbyn uses the word itself, with the others understandably clear to keep away from the label, but all tackle the deficit and fiscal responsibility in their own way:Andy Burnham
"As leader I will work every single day to re-establish Labour as the party of work, both employed and self-employed; the party of business, small, medium and large; and the party of economic credibility.
I will have a Labour vision with fiscal responsibility at its heart and where growth helps reduce our national debt—where government works in constructive partnership with business and unions, not picking fights with one or the other."
"The recent budget, which disproportionately hit families in work, is no answer to this question. Labour under my leadership will always run sound public finances and we will reduce the national debt, back toward its sustainable pre-global financial crisis levels."
(Burnham is setting himself in opposition to the Tories here, who have an ambition to continue cutting debt to an unspecified end point)
Yvette Cooper
"It was essential to borrow to support our economy during the financial crisis, but now the deficit and the debt need to come down—through stronger growth, fair taxation (such as more action on tax avoidance and evasion) and savings. Budgets will be tight for some time to come. We need to show how we can find sensible savings that still protect the frontline—for example the kinds of savings I found in the Home Office from procurement, abolishing police and crime commissioners and ending the subsidy for gun licences. We need to be much more innovative in the way that we deliver more for less. There have been some great examples of using digital tech- nology in public services, but it’s failed to move into areas where it could improve services and increase efficiency."
Jeremy Corbyn
"Austerity is not an economic necessity, but a political choice. That is not just my assessment but that of some of the world’s leading economists, among them Nobel laureates. The idea that a crash caused by boardroom greed and cabinet neglect should be paid for by cuts to the services and benefits of all is not a Labour idea.
We must become an anti-austerity movement, but we must do more than that. Together we must build a vision for a modern, prosperous and sustainable economy that works for all, not just a few."
Liz Kendall
Kendall, presumably aware she's on the right of the economic debate here, seems unwilling to directly mention the deficit, but this is relevant:
"So a post-industrial Labour party had to do things differently. Our response, between 1997 and 2010, was to use the proceeds of Britain’s finan- cial boom to spend money on public services and physical infrastructure, and to legislate against many social iniquities. I’m proud of the schools we built, our new hospitals and colleges, our Sure Start centres and leisure centres. I’m proud too that we introduced the national minimum wage and tax credits to make sure work pays. But buildings, laws and tax credits don’t create the conditions for a good life on their own.
This comes when people have a sense of power and control over their own lives. From the relationships we have with our family, friends, work colleagues and neighbours, and the bonds we build with others. The early Labour movement understood this."
