IS Sir Keir Starmer’s shadow cabinet reshuffle a tribute to New Labour or a credible government in waiting? You, the voters, will ultimately decide.
Critics, pundits, and political commentators have all expressed an opinion one way or another on the recent shadow Cabinet reshuffle by the Labour leader.
Notable commentators like Owen Jones and former party staffer Andrew Fisher have predictably echoed concerns the frontbench has been filled by core Blairites and that there is a purge on the left of the Labour Party.
This idea that there was a “cull” or “purge” has no factual basis whatsoever other than feeding the commentariat the political equivalent of high school gossip.
It’s an opinion I don’t agree with but that’s the beautiful thing about democracy – everyone can have an opinion. But Owen Jones and I will have to agree to disagree. For me, politics has always been about competency, not personality, and ensuring we have our best team to take us into the next election. But at the end of the day it will be the voters who decide whether the Labour Party remains in opposition or emerges as the next government which, for obvious reasons, I hope will happen.
Where I do agree with Andrew Fisher is when he rightfully put forward the argument that Labour needs to give voters a reason to vote for the party.
This is no easy task given that the Labour Party is emerging out of what can only be described as a period in its history where it went from being perceived as an ineffective opposition focused on winning internal battles and controlling the party machine to the present day where it has assembled a strong shadow Cabinet.
But a strong team alone will not win an election.
The Conservatives have been in power for over a decade and in that time we have had austerity, policy U-turns and a Government in chaos with Johnson’s Trumpism-style politics where boozy parties at Number 10 take priority while the rest of us stuck to the strict lockdown measures that are in place.
People are starting to see through this shambolic, opportunistic, out-of-touch Government with voters now looking for a credible alternative – and that clearly falls within the remit of the Labour Party.
Going forward, we need to have a clear vision of what we stand for, what our offer is and how we differ from the current Government. It’s no good pointing out the failings of the government of the day if you can’t articulate in an easy-to-understand way what we would do differently.
This goes back to the point about having well thought-out policies that people can get behind and support, with a clear message of invest in today for a better tomorrow.
If we don’t adopt an intelligence-based approach to policymaking underpinned by a strong vision, then the reality is that the Conservatives will remain in power. A scary prospect when you think about how long they have been in power already and what they have done to our country during that time.
If this happens the status quo will remain which will only benefit the Conservatives and the SNP, with Labour in Scotland further squeezed with demands for a second referendum on Scottish independence.
The shadow frontbench are the custodians of the Labour Party and how they perform is key to the future relationship with voters across the country. Currently, there is an expectation from voters that the Labour Party will up its game and give them a reason to vote for the party – this could be applied to the Scottish Labour Party and it’s vital that the Labour Party fills that void.
While there is mounting speculation as to the relationship between the leader and deputy leader of the Labour Party, for me the clear promotions from the reshuffle have to be Wes Streeting, Ilford North and now the shadow secretary of state for health and social care, and proud northerner Lisa Nandy, MP for Wigan who was appointed as the shadow secretary for levelling up, housing and communities.
The next election will be fought on key Labour issues – namely investment in public services, the NHS, the growing timebomb that is the social care crisis as well as the levelling-up agenda which the current UK Government has repeatedly spoken about but has failed to deliver.
Given that these issues will likely be the main focus of the next election, this puts Nandy and Streeting in a strong position as they go head to head with their respective counterparts.
For the first time in a long time, the Labour Party has a credible team that can win the next election.
Barrie Cunning is managing director of Pentland Communications and a former Scottish Labour Parliamentary candidate
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