INTRODUCTION
 

Seven or so months before a General Election.  And it is not the best of times for the Labour Party.  There is a general malaise.  The opinion polls predict a significant Conservative victory and possibly worse.  The impact of the MPs’ expenses episode has hit the whole political system, but the Party in government is particularly hurt.  It is a time of global economic recession and many of our most vulnerable citizens are suffering from the debilitating impact of unemployment.  The young in particular, fresh out of school, college and university, are struggling to gain a foothold. 

Challenging perceptions

This pamphlet is to counter the impression that Labour is intellectually exhausted.  In reality, the progressive side of politics is the natural source of intellectual renewal as the world sees the downside of free-market politics.  Our group puts forward a wide-ranging positive agenda.  This includes revitalising our politics and our constitution; thinking radically about social policy priorities; being positive about Europe; ensuring both liberty and security; and arguing for a citizenship that balances rights and responsibilities.
 

Yet there is a widespread perception that Labour, after over 12 years in power – an unprecedented period in office for the Party – has run out of steam, is intellectually exhausted.  This is not entirely fair, witness the Rebuilding Britain document, new policy proposals announced at Conference and, to take one policy specific, the radical Green Paper proposals on social care.  But it is a strong perception and it needs to be countered with a positive agenda and intellectual confidence.  Certainly the electorate are less clear about what we stand for than in, say, 1945, the elections of the mid-60s, or 1997.  This is probably only partly because a clear narrative is easier to set out in opposition than in Government. 
 

When some of us first met to discuss all of this, we resolved to discuss Labour philosophy, principle and policy, and to seek to present our ideas for wider Party and public debate. 
 

It is not the group’s intention to present detailed policy prescription and we do not all, individually, necessarily agree all the ideas presented in this paper.  We do agree, however, that the Party needs to think afresh about the challenges that confront Britain in the years ahead.  Our country and the world face new and powerful challenges and a terrain very different in some crucial respects to that of the late 1990s.
 

The global economy

The most significant is global economic recession and the questions it poses for domestic policy.  Just as Labour’s economic performance for over a decade was buoyed by growth and the beneficial aspects of globalisation, freer trade etc – we now need to fashion a more difficult programme in the wake of globalisation’s new and cruel edge. 
 

Restoring faith in our democracy represents a very different challenge, following public anger and alienation over Parliamentary expenses, but addressing, too, a longer term detachment from conventional Party loyalties.  This all creates a grim backcloth against which to assess the role of parliament and state. 
 

Yet, for those of us on the Left, the importance of the state is only too apparent, whether in tackling global warming (where the commitment to reduce CO² levels by a massive 80% by 2050, which we warmly support, surely ranks as the most demanding target ever set by government); or the task of re-building the banking and financial services sector in ways that promote social and economic integrity; or re-fashioning policies, in testing financial circumstances, to reflect emerging social, employment and demographic patterns. 
 

The role of the State and the history of British politics are inextricably intertwined, from the Attlee Government’s substantial use of state authority to rebuild the peace, to Mrs Thatcher’s attempt to roll back the State, through to this Labour Government’s more nuanced approach to state-market relations.
 

The situation today

Today the situation is problematic.  On the one hand, the state has had to take on unprecedented responsibilities, including the full or partial nationalisation of banks following the near-collapse of the financial services sector.  On the other hand, this occurs at a time of loss of faith in Parliament and the state.  Politically, what should have been a significant opportunity for the Left is in fact leading, across much of Europe, to disappointment for social democratic parties and electoral success for the Right.
 

The prospect of a Tory election victory is therefore a strong one, possibly bringing in a dozen years of Conservative power.  This would erode the opportunity to renew our democracy; to negotiate recession in ways that promote justice and fairness; and deny the chance to tackle a range of emerging issues that require good government and a sensitive state.  In the absence of a clear progressive agenda, many people feel that the cheap populist initiatives offered by the Conservatives are worth a try – and this will potentially open up the prospect of Britain sleepwalking into another generation of Thatcherite government.
 

To bring about a revival in Labour’s fortunes requires two things:
 

● a strong and coherent attack on a Conservative Party that is fast abandoning its modern and fluffy pretence and is now gleefully fashioning policies to cut back social provisions. 
 

● a clear statement of Labour’s purpose – our values, our objectives and our continued determination to build a Britain that is both economically strong and just.
 

In these short essays we advance ideas in some of these key areas.