If Labour don’t want to become the third party, Brown shouldn’t act like he leads one

A long long time ago (ok, not that long ago), our party was accused of making promises that didn’t add up, but that it didn’t matter as we’d never see power anyway.

Today, Gordon Brown decided this was the political territory that he wants the Labour party to inhabit. As MORI put Labour in third place, for the first time since 1982, Gordon Brown firmly positioned himself in the spot of the third party.

I’ve always thought that the accusation levelled at us of ‘not costing our promises’ was at times harsh, although, at least at that time, the ‘not winning the election’ part of it wasn’t. Labour and the Tories bashed heads over what the real choices facing the country were, while we kinda chirped on in the background about what we’d really like to do. Times have changed. We are now setting out a real agenda for government, leading the debate and setting out our stall as an alternative to the red-blue-blue-red circle, the Tories are playing catch-up, admitting there is a debate to be had on spending although not actually telling us their view.

Labour know that they can’t win the election by telling the truth or debating where the axe will fall with us. But they seem to think that if they lie, it won’t matter because they still probably won’t win, and if they lie enough, they might somehow win, and then deal with the consequences afterwards. It’s the sort of immature politics you expect not just from a third party, but from a fringe party.

Lets look at the reality. The Treasury admit that cuts will have to be made, yet what has Gordon announced today:

More investment in schools
£1 Billion innovation fund
250,000 green jobs
10,000 skilled internships
Halving the deficit in four years
Restoring the pensions/earnings link
Increased child benefit and tax credit
Free childcare for two year olds

By the end of it, I was expecting ‘a white Christmas every year’ and ‘free cheese, beer and a puppy for every household’. It is just as deliverable. Maybe doubling the budget on Gnomes as well.

Some of these are good policies (the real lot, not the bollocks I made up, if you can tell the difference), ones I would support and love to see go through. But only if they can be paid for. And what did Gordon say about paying for these? Some vague notion of ’raising tax at the top’, again good, but that won’t pay for everything. Can you promise us that there will be no tax rise for low and middle earners? Because that will do far more damage to the country than you’ve managed so far.

After ten years in government, the Labour party have the sheer gall to clap electoral reform, Lords reform and the dropping of ID cards? What ! We’ve been banging that drum for years and you’ve been ignoring us. Yet suddenly Gordon puts it in his speech like some sort of Scottish Messiah and you’re suddenly converts.

And this ‘in the next Parliament’ thing. I remember seeing that before. You promised that you would not introduce top-up fees, and then claimed you only meant in the next Parliament. So don’t expect us to be fooled this time. We know you still want to introduce ID cards and that you are trying to put them off because you can’t afford them. We know as soon as you can you’ll bring them back. Don’t try to claim you are protecting civil liberties because you are lying. And this time people won’t fall for it.

And what the bloody hell is this rubbish about putting 16/17 year old mothers in supervised accommodation? That’s just nuts! He claims it is unfair that they are able to get council houses while other people can’t. Is that your answer to the housing crisis Gordon? Rounding up school girls? Here’s a better idea: BUILD MORE SOCIAL HOUSING. And if you can’t afford that, and that is understandable at the moment, then help to encourage more empty properties back into use, use public land more effectively and make sure councils, as well as developers, are able to use the planning system as effectively as possible.

I guess it doesn’t matter what Gordon said today. He won’t have a chance to implement it. I know that, you know that, his policy advisors know that, his party knows that and even he knows that.

There were a few good things in his speech, I know they are good, because we proposed them, and once again, he stole them.

In all likelihood Labour will get a hammering this Spring. And that is fine with me. If Labour want to act like a third party, while we step up and become the responsible opposition to Tory spin, then the electors will start to consider exactly where their vote should go. That MORI poll showed us this could already be happening, and we pick up votes as the election continues. It’s could be a bright Spring for the Liberal Democrats, in both Wales and the rest of the UK, and a dark, dark time for Labour.

And after Brown’s performance today, I’ve realised something. They deserve it.

(This post is not the view of the Welsh Liberal Democrats. It is the view of Matt O’Grady, who isn‘t important enough for any sort of title or explanation as to who he is. He probably isn’t sure what he actually wrote at the beginning of the post due to a short attention span, so it‘s barely even his view.)

Related posts:

1. If Labour don’t want to be the third party, Brown shouldn’t act like he leads one
2. Brown in Wrexham showing Labour panic over seat and region
3. The five stages of Parliamentary Labour Party Grief