Every generation of Labour politicians has had to revise their creed as the times change around them. Labour’s long period of opposition began in the aftermath of the financial crisis and encompassed the seismic shifts of Brexit and COVID-19. Now, over the course of a few short months in office, decades of economic and foreign policy consensus have been suddenly upended. Where can a Labour government look for a roadmap to guide them through such fast-moving and challenging circumstances?
The Fabian Society has always been central to helping Labour adapt the application of its eternal values to changing circumstances. And this government can lay claim to being as Fabian as any we have ever had. All of the great offices of state are filled by Fabians, and last year’s general election saw record numbers join the Labour benches.
Generally understood, the Fabian answer has been to look to the central state, with Labour politicians marshalling its power and resources to drive a more equal society. This tradition has brought many of Labour’s greatest successes, from the National Health Service to the minimum wage.
However, the left’s “revisionist” tradition has always been mindful of simply lifting and shifting the means of the past into contemporary conditions. So in a new pamphlet I argue the complex nature of today’s problems calls for social democrats to draw on a different Fabian story; one that has always been there, but has tended to live in the shadow of the big-state, democratic collectivism associated with Sidney and Beatric Webb. This is the “communitarian” thinking of GDH Cole and RH Tawney, who sought to unlock the dynamic power of local communities, rather than simply administer social justice from Whitehall.
In this telling, equality remains the core concept for social democrats – the ultimate “ends” around which the creed should be organised. However, it should not be solely understood in terms of income, outcome or opportunity. It is equality of power that social democrats should seek today – the ability to live our lives together, in our communities, in the way we choose.
The state can both support and stand in the way of this goal. This is not a call for the state to do less. The challenges we face are perhaps greater than they have ever been, so now is not the time to retreat from using one of the most powerful tools we have for social change. But what we need is for the state to do things differently – inspiring and incubating, rather than directing and delivering.
During Labour’s 14 years of opposition, a consensus began to emerge around this insight. New Labour had been “too hands off with the market and too hands on with the state”. A new communitarian vision began to develop of a more “relational state” and a “foundational economy”; of “everyday democracy” and “radical help”; of a “community wealth building” economy and a “community paradigm” for our public services; of pathbreaking legislation to unlock community power.
All of this adds up to a rich body of work that can help the government navigate the most pressing political problems it faces today.
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‘Affording more attention to the everyday economy’
Take the economy for example. Growth is the government’s number one priority, but too often its benefits are disconnected from people’s lives. For many, growth is seen as something that happens elsewhere, while their high streets decay and their jobs get more insecure. The communitarian roadmap suggests that our dash for growth must be accompanied by an agenda that spreads power and control right across the economy.
This means long-term reform to build equality into the core of how our economy functions, rather than just seeking to use the tools of Whitehall to smooth its edges after the fact. It also means affording more attention to what Rachel Reeves has described as the “everyday economy”: improving the large number of jobs across foundational sectors like retail, hospitality and care, rather than a strategy that’s solely focused on shiny new infrastructure or big tech innovation.
‘Shifting NHS power and resources into local communities’
Alongside the economy, the NHS is the key area where the government knows its promise of “change” will be judged. Shifting to prevention and community-based care are rightly central to Labour’s 10 Year Health Plan and are our best shot at making a decisive impact on reducing waiting times and improving outcomes. But as the NHS Confederation have recently set out, these benefits won’t be realised if we simply move our existing medical model into more localised settings. We need the state to “let go”, with a genuine shift of power and resources into local communities, so they can really get to the heart of the complex problems that drive long-term pressure on our public services.
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Reform UK’s local election success has brought to the fore the populist discontent that threatens even Labour’s landslide majority. More in Common’s Luke Tryl recently described focus groups where “the disillusionment was the worst I’ve heard, in every group it was anger, despondency or misery about the state of Britain that doesn’t feel sustainable.”
Number 10 know they need a response to this; one that closes the gap between politics and people, and builds a collective sense of agency, where we feel we can tackle the challenges our country faces together.
The good news is we have precisely this agenda, rooted in Labour’s Fabian tradition and fleshed out in the policy thinking and practical experimentation of the last decade and a half. It’s time for the left to move it from the margins to the mainstream as the core means of achieving its mission in 2025 and beyond.
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