They may not be debating with each other face to face or even acknowledging the existence of a contest, but at least two of the possible successors to Rhodri Morgan as Welsh Labour leader have now started something of a discussion with each other, albeit on line rather than in a more formal setting.
Huw Lewis has replied on his blog to comments by Carwyn Jones that Labour’s core vote is no longer big enough to win a majority in Welsh elections. Mr. Lewis clearly disagrees:
My concern, however, is that through the use of labels such as core voters – or aspirational voters, for that matter – we run the risk of further alienating the very people we should be engaging with. I have always been of the opinion that Labour voters are by their very nature aspirational. A desire to improve the lot of yourself, your family and your community is a Labour value in itself, and can be found in our supporters from Pembrokeshire to Flintshire. All of this notwithstanding, perhaps the pithiest response I heard today came from a Facebook friend, who simply observed “that whilst our core vote alone may not be enough to win the election for Labour- we certainly won’t win it without them!”
I am also a little uneasy at the conflating of the war in Afghanistan and the war in Iraq, and the subsequent inference that the conflicts alone are behind a drift in ethnic minority support for Labour in Wales. We should remember that the situations in Iraq and Afghanistan are complex and very different beasts, and also remain mindful of the fact that voters of all ethnicities and cultures are concerned with decent public services and stronger local communities – as well as international events.
His answer is to find positive policies that appeal to both Labour’s core vote and others as well. One of the comments describes Huw Lewis’ assessment as a ‘fairly devastating demolition job’, which it is clearly meant to be, however closer analysis shows that really both candidates are trying to say the same thing about the strategies that Labour need to adopt to win. They are just trying to accentuate a difference that is not really there. Still, at least they are debating – at last!
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