“Equipped with radical ideas and a strong delegation of left NPF members and trade unions we knew that there would be opportunities for us to input some transformative ideas into policy.”
By Mish Rahman
I was blocked from a long list to be a parliamentary candidate for Wolverhampton West despite having the support of 7 trade unions and affiliates as well as hundreds of members. That too for my I voting record on Labour’s National Executive Committee.
So it was great to come face to face at the National Policy Forum in Nottingham with the people who blocked me and see some of them squirm uncomfortably and take imaginary phone calls to avoid confronting me when coming face to face but it was also pleasant to receive solidarity from places least expected.
The National Policy Forum was supposed to be an opportunity for members and delegates to have a say on Labour policy and help shape the direction of where we are going in specific to the Economy, the Environment, Health, Education, Housing, Transport, Work, Equality, Justice and International. The last general election was presented by Labour about making Britain a fairer place, this time its about making Britain better, but by Starmer and Reeves adopting ‘fiscal conservatism’ it is hard to see how this can be achieved.
The left of the party knew that our chances of success going into the NPF was always going to be marginal. However equipped with radical ideas and a strong delegation of left NPF members and trade unions we knew that there would be opportunities for us to input some transformative ideas into policy.
All this was despite being hindered by the leaderships self imposed policy of no repeals of Tory laws and the ‘fiscal discipline’ which included a plan to avoid making any commitments allowing the front bench to not commit to any spending beyond the budget gained from abolishing non-dom status and a one off windfall tax.
We also knew we were dealing with a macho culty thin skinned control freak leadership and this was more evident when right from the off, every shadow minister told us the same: nothing with spending commitments would be allowed and there will no language around repealing of new Tory laws.
Amendments supported by Momentum and the wider Left, as well as our friends in the trade unions, such as a £15-an-hour minimum wage, universal free school meals and democratic public ownership were rejected out of hand.
Labour is a moral crusade or it is nothing, Harold Wilson famously said but furthermore when the Leadership refuses to commit to abolishing heinous Tory policies such as the two-child limit and anti-protest laws, meaning undemocratic measures could be kept in place under a Labour government – this should hit the very soul of the Labour movement.
The democratic process was over before it began in many ways – so many of the policies we need were ruled out, popular policies, policies which are desperately needed to tackle the huge crises we’re facing such as public ownership and mass council house building. And when they say they’re ‘uncosted’, comrades, let me tell you – these are effective, affordable policies. We could fund them easily by implementing wealth taxes on the richest in our society – another highly popular policy Just like austerity was a political choice – It is also a political choice not to spend this money and to adopt fiscal discipline.
But despite these deeply disappointing positions – which do not represent mainstream opinion within the party – we still saw some important wins.
I myself brought amendments to provide universal free school meals for all primary school children, to take water into public ownership, to end privatisation of the NHS and to put some more meat on the bones of GB Energy. Despite not being able to take water into public ownership, pass free school meals or to get language ending privatisation of the NHS, I did manage to get some language agreed in terms of defining the ambition of GB Energy which is a positive.
Others were able to celebrate more small but significant wins From modernising the Gender Recognition Act, improving disability rights and standing in solidarity with countries in the Global South. For those interested in Proportional Representation, the party while not committing to Proportional Representation itself, admitted that the current electoral system was a failure and contributed to the alienation of voters and communities.
Looking forward, we have Womens conference and Annual Conference as opportunities to keep up the campaign for radical transformative policies so we must prepare ourselves for further fights to try and win those important victories.
- Mish Rahman is a members’ representative on Labour’s National Executive Committee (NEC). You can follow him on Facebook and Twitter.
- Mish spoke at the National Policy Forum discussion held on July 25th: “What’s in & out of Labour’s Agenda? National Policy Forum Reportback” held on July 25th, 2023. You can watch the discussion in full or listen on the Arise Festival podcast.
- If you support Labour Outlook’s work amplifying the voices of left movements and struggles here and internationally, please consider becoming a supporter on Patreon.
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