The Guardian - UK (2022-05-02)

Monday 2 May 2022 The Guardian •

7

Peter Walker

Political correspondent

Keir Starmer’s Labour should mirror

the consistency of messaging and

positive vision used by the party

ahead of Tony Blair’s fi rst election

win 25 years ago, a report has said,

while stressing that it is not enough

to simply borrow from the past.

The document, Lessons from a

Landslide, says particular challenges

Labour must tackle include prepar-

ing for a possible hung parliament

and outlining a longer-term narra-

tive for change.

Written by political historian

Anthony Broxton alongside Labour

in Communications , a network of

party supporters in the media and PR

industries, the study’s recommen-

dations include echoes of Blair-era

tactics.

It advises Labour to focus on

simple and consistent messag ing,

which “works as much as it did 25

years ago”. The report points to the

contrast between Boris Johnson’s

ubiquitous “Get Brexit done” 2019

slogan and the several slogans used

by Labour at the time.

Another recommendation was

to engage with a hostile right-wing

press: “The idea of a crisis in Conserv-

atism, which is beginning to develop

in the media, can build into a more

substantial argument about Labour’s

call for change.”

The study said a key to success

would be whether Starmer can “neu-

tralise the inevitable criticism that

the party is still part of the ‘London

Remainer elite’” then “ demonstrate

to the British public why Labour

values are British values on a more

consistent and impactful basis”.

Two of the most important ele-

ments would be to enter an election

with a clear view on what might hap-

pen in a hung parliament, to deal with

the “inevitable” suggestions that

Labour will ally with the Liberal Dem-

ocrats or SNP to reverse Brexit; and

to off er a broader vision of change.

“Over the next few years, Labour’s

task is to turn that narrative into a

powerful policy platform that meets

the challenges of today rather than

those of 25 years ago ,” the report said.

A Labour party source said there

was already a rigorous and settled

communications operation, and that

Starmer and his aides regularly liaise

with media organisations from the

right as well as the left.

Labour party

Mirror Blair’s

tactics to win,

advises report

T

here are increasing

calls for action

to tackle what is

described as an

institutionally

sexist atmosphere

in parliament, one in which

harassment , against both women

and men , is alleged to have

become endemic. But so far

there has been little in the way

of specifi c ideas. Here are a few

possibilities.

Change the system for

employing MPs’ staff

Currently, the staff who work

directly for MPs are employed by

them. The MPs claim expenses

and eff ectively operate as the

manager of a small business.

While MPs say this gives them

control over a complex area

of their work, it can greatly

complicate staff raising concerns

about their MP employer, despite

the advent of an independent

system for complaints.

The Commons Speaker,

Lindsay Hoyle , has proposed

setting up a “Speaker’s

conference” to look into the idea

Peter Walker
Political correspondent

The Liberal Democrats view them-
selves as the likely challengers to
the Conservatives in the forthcom-
ing Tiverton and Honiton byelection,
Ed Davey has said, despite his party
fi nishing behind Labour in the past
three general elections.
The Conservatives have held the
Devon seat since it was created in
1997 but could face a tough battle
following the resignation of the MP
Neil Parish after he admitted twice
watching pornography in the House
of Commons chamber.
While Labour ha s fi nished ahead
of the Lib Dems in the constituency
at every general election since 2015,
Davey’s party is set to declare itself
the most likely to defeat the Tories,
based on stronger local election
results in the area.
This is what the party did in Decem-
ber’s North Shropshire by election ,
coming from a distant third in 2019

of changing the system so staff are

formally employed by a central

body, giving them standardised

terms and conditions, and making

complaints easier.

Closing the bars

A number of allegations appear to

centre around drunken behaviour

in bars on the Westminster estate,

notably Strangers’, a compact and

often tightly packed venue where

drinkers spill out to the Thames-

side terrace in warmer weather.

Kwasi Kwarteng, the business

secretary, rejected the idea of bar

closures, calling it “excessively

puritanical”, a view likely to be

shared by many MPs working long

hours away from their families.

The fact parliament has several

bars and restaurants is often seen

as a sign of its cosseted decadence,

although the picture is a bit more

complex, not least as the estate is

campus-sized and tightly guarded,

which can make outside excursions

Q&A What’s

the best way

to tackle

sexism in

parliament?

Lib Dems Party best placed to

win over disaff ected Tory vote

in south-west seat, says Davey

lengthy. As well as a workplace it

is also the base for many functions

involving outside guests.

All-women shortlists

These were pioneered by Labour

ahead of its 1997 election victory,

doubling the proportion of female

MPs overnight from 9% to 18%,

with 101 of them from Labour. The

proportion is now a third, with

more than half of Labour and Lib

Dem MPs being women.

While the argument is that

more women in the Commons

would dilute any institutional

sexism, the Conservatives – over

three-quarters of whose MPs are

male – have no plans to use any

targets or similar measures to

change this.

Changes to the complaints

system

The independent complaints and

grievance scheme (ICGS), set up

in 2018 following an earlier series

of complaints about harassment

and abuse, has been largely

seen as a success, and off ers an

anonymous helpline that can

trigger investigations. The ICGS

has said there were 15 cases

started against MPs between

July 2020 and June 2021, adding:

“We are seeing a similar trend in

disclosure so far this year.”

However, a review into the

scheme after 18 months of its

existence raised concerns about

equal access for diverse groups

and processes that had become

“over complex”.

A new culture at the top

This was the charge made by Keir

Starmer – that Downing Street

has got into the habit of either

dismissing claims made against

Conservative MPs or seeking to

delay any action with lengthy

inquiries. “A fi sh rots from the

head,” the Labour leader said

yesterday.

Others have argued that when

Boris Johnson and dozens of No

10 staff and civil servants have

been fi ned for breaking lockdown

rules and reportedly drunken and

sometimes unruly parties, this

hardly sets the best example to

others. Peter Walker

behind the Tories and Labour to

win the Conservative stronghold by

nearly 6,000 votes after the resig-

nation of another disgraced MP,

Owen Paterson.

Asked about his party’s chances

in Tiverton and Honiton, Davey told

Sky’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday show:

“I believe the Liberal Democrats can

be the real challengers in that. We

have a real legacy of success across

the south-west.

“We showed in the North Shrop-

shire byelection, where we were third

at the previous general election but

we beat the Conservatives. No one

gave us a chance, but in those rural

communities across North Shrop-

shire we found lifelong Conservatives

who feel they have been taken for

granted.”

The Lib Dems and Labour vehe-

mently reject the idea of formal pacts,

with both Davey and Keir Starmer

denying that their parties had stood

aside in some areas for this Thurs-

day’s local elections.

However, both have shown a will-

ingness to campaign less hard in seats

where the other has a better chance of

defeating the Conservatives.

The Lib Dems would be expected

to do this in the other looming

byelection, in Wakefield, where

Labour hopes to regain the seat fol-

lowing the resignation of the Tory

MP Imran Ahmad Khan after he was

convicted of sexually assaulting a

15-year-old boy.

A Labour source said: “All par-

ties are sensible about putting in the

appropriate time and resources to

seats where they have the best chance

of winning, or creating a good story

by gaining ground.”

Asked whether the Lib Dems were

standing aside on Thursday in areas

such as the north-east of England,

where the party is fi elding candidates

in 56% of council seats, against 78%

when they were last fought four years

ago, Davey denied any deal.

“There’s no pact now, there’s not

going to be a pact in the future,”

he told the Ridge show. “The Lib-

eral Democrats are actually fi ghting

Labour in many areas : in Hull, in Sun-

derland, in Sheffi eld, in Haringey, in

Southwark.

“These council numbers are a bit

of a distraction, and pretty desper-

ate from the Conservatives. Let’s

remember, they always fl uctuate

from election to election. And actu-

ally, the Conservatives are fi elding

over 100 fewer candidates this time.”

Starmer also dismissed the idea of

a secret pact, as alleged by the Con-

servative party chair, Oliver Dowden.

“I wouldn’t take anything Oliver

Dowden says particularly seriously,”

he told the Ridge show. “There is

no pact, everybody knows there is

no pact.”

▲ Tony Blair led Labour to a

landslide election victory in 1997

▲ Ed Davey: ‘Legacy of success’

‘There’s no pact now,

there’s not going to be

a pact in the future’

Ed Davey

Liberal Democrats leader

18%

Proportion of women MPs, up from

9%, after Labour introduced all-

women shortlists in the 1997 election

15

Number of cases started against MPs

between July 2020 and June 2021

following complaints to the ICGS

▲ The Commons’ riverside terrace in summer PHOTOGRAPH: MARTIN ARGLES/GUARDIAN