It’s easy to say the Tories did a terrible job.
Very easy.
But, in fairness, they weren’t dealt the easiest of hands. Covid and the invasion of Ukraine were virtually unpredictable, and nobody could argue that a global pandemic and war in Europe won’t make governing a country of 67 million people harder. The economic consequences of Brexit also, although partially their fault, haven’t helped either.
It has massively electorally benefited Labour to paint a grim picture of the nation the Conservative Party have left but, personally, I think some would have voted Labour anyway just to avoid hearing Rishi Sunak saying ‘going gangbusters’ again.
Whatever the truth of their record in office, one thing’s crystal clear: they lost. Another statement of the glaringly obvious: the new kids in town, Keir Starmer’s Labour government, have moved at pace since July’s landslide victory.
“They need a strong will and competent ministers”
The new government announced more bills through their King’ speech, than any other government since Blair’s in 2005. They’re set to remove private schools from their tax-free status to fund 6500 additional public-school teachers. Rachel Reeves has already begun embedding the phrase ‘£22 billion black hole’ in people’s minds, preparing the nation for tax rises they failed to commit to outright during the election. Some speculate a rise in capital gains – the tax on the sale of possessions worth over £6000 e.g. second homes and business assets – as well as inheritance tax.
So, in just over a month in office, they have already upset private schools and could further shock second home owners and beneficiaries of large inheritances. Mark Zuckerberg’s company slogan in the early days of Facebook was “move fast and break things” – it feels as a thread of that same Silicon Valley impatience is woven into this new administration.
Another possible source of turmoil is Labour’s approach to immigration, they have ditched the plan to ship illegal immigrants to Rwanda and instead plan to target the criminal gangs charting the small-crossing boats.
This may be fiscally the more sensible, and less short-termist, option. But if they don’t get results quickly, then the Tories may be able to pin this issue on Labour’s ditching of Sunak’s flagship policy.
The recent far-right riots have only added to this difficulty. The anti-immigration politics we’ve seen in America and France seems to be seeping over to Blighty. If Starmer’s law-and-order-first approach, rightfully locking up all those responsible for looting, isn’t latterly combined with an analysis of the core issue behind the riots, and a plan to deal with it, then this issue may remain a thorn in the side of Starmer’s political progress.
Immigration may be a quick fix for some problems we face such as an ageing population and economic growth, but there is a delicate balance between social cohesion and its economic benefits. The four million Reform UK party voters who support their proposed freeze on all except ‘essential’ immigration may also continue to be unhelpfully noisy over the next five years.
The battleground doesn’t stop there, also ruffling some feathers is the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, which, in short, will annoy a lot of wealthier rural communities in order to get stuff built quickly. Speeding up Britain’s planning process – reducing the cost of land procurement for example – in order to achieve growth targets and fix Britain’s chronic housing shortage. However, reaching their target of building 1.5 million homes before the 2029 election may come at the cost of a few ‘peaceful villages turned into industrial estates thanks to government reforms’ headlines in the embittered Tory press. Some more reluctant Labour voters might feel a touch of buyer’s remorse.
However, I say it’s about time for these reforms. If Labour get us building again (bring on the wind turbines!) and end the repeated cycle of delayed, stunted and over budget infrastructure projects, then this could really help in tackling many of Britain’s wide array of chronic issues.
Some of the government’s more radical policies include renationalising the railways in addition to strengthening workers’ rights. This comes at the moment when (at the time of writing) our government decides whether to endorse pay rises above the current rate of inflation for public sector workers. They’ve recently agreed to huge pay rises of 22% over two years to get junior doctors back to work. Is this hinting at a future where these trade union friendly reforms come back to bite government negotiators in future disputes?
There are also a few constitutional bills: having budgetary changes assessed by the OBR, which is a win for stability. The removal of the right of hereditary peers to vote in the House of Lords, a loss for nepotism and the ‘devolution’ plan to hand more responsibilities to mayors (such as housing and transport), which has been on conservative books for a long time. These are all positive, sensible things, but not, in and of themselves, gamechangers.
Ultimately, there are many moving parts. I believe the execution of these bills will be more important than the guiding ideology behind them. If Labour want to achieve their goals in office, and really improve the state of the nation, and people’s everyday lives, then they need a strong will and competent ministers to do so.
Currently, Labour’s most powerful playing card is their enthusiasm and support from the public but confronted with impassable and divisive problems, which planning reform and immigration policy could both mutate into, that support could be quickly lost.
Well, only time will tell.
