Labour’s first 100-days in Government
The level of expectation from a Labour government with a landslide majority was never going to be met realistically in the first 100 days.
‘Careful and considered’ is what we were promised to bring stability to Government and calm the markets as a first step to economic growth. What we have got is considered policy measures, but perhaps not so careful in how they are presented.
There is time to fill the gap between expectation and delivery – a whole parliament. However, the gap is perceived as a chasm by many and how it is portrayed in the media.
In practical terms, the government was trapped. Caught by a snap July election and a vast number of new MPs without offices or staff before the August summer recess, and ministers newly appointed then finding their feet in Whitehall departments, after the party has been out of government for 14 years.
For the Prime Minister, appointing a Cabinet and key personnel, pulling on the levers of government was always going to be a monumental challenge. This ran alongside a summit of world leaders hosted in the UK, and global crises from Gaza to Ukraine and beyond, with heightened risks to security, and headlong into the uncertainties and ramifications of the US presidential election.
While most new governments introduce a Budget to back their ideas within a matter of weeks after the election, the series of events triggered by a July election made that impossible, and the Budget is set for 30 October.
An avaricious media has pounced on “miss-steps” in policy – or rather, in communications – and dramatised turmoil in Labour ranks.
From high profile changes in No.10, to disquiet on changes to the winter fuel allowance for pensioners, and the PM’s personal wardrobe paid by a Labour peer extrapolated gifts and hospitality which at any other time would be passed over as unremarkable. Much of which will settle down and would not be expected to make even the footnotes of history.
However, without the oxygen of hope and clear sense of purpose of what government does, rather than just say it will do, the honeymoon period for this Labour government ended abruptly, if ever it existed.
A more muted September party conference was perhaps so many being awestruck by the size of the challenge, or simply not wanting to appear triumphalist on the back of the election landslide in the face of the everyday challenge and experience by the public at large.
Yet the fringe events held were vibrant and packed, the largest ever Labour conference, bubbling with ideas and practical ways forward, rehearsed over 14 years in opposition: we are assured it is a mission-led government.
Which is why now so much hope and expectation is being loaded on to the October Budget. Having an iron grip is one thing. Putting in place strong foundations for growth follows on.
However, more is needed to sate the appetite of the public for change, but the Budget is a sticking plaster for one year only. The longer run up is to next year’s comprehensive spending review for a minimum 3-year commitment for investment and spending, 2026-29, which will see out this parliament. For systemic change, that will take longer still within a two-term, 10-year horizon.
This requires stability, yes. It also needs leadership and recognition that “change begins”, which was Labour’s party conference theme. This can only be secured with patience – ‘careful and considered’ policy changes.
However, all is defined in the short term by further spending cuts at a time when there is little left to cut across public services and local government.
The first steps are being taken with legislation planned for employment rights and children’s wellbeing, also putting in place GB Energy towards a green economy for example. We look ahead to greater devolution and the role of mayors and combined authorities, in the design and delivery of public services, closer to the communities they serve.
Housing, Health and Employment – for home, wellbeing and income – are the bedrock of other policy proposals. There will be a trade-off and compromise which many will understand. In a political narrative, breakfast clubs in schools is a counterbalance to the ending of universal winter fuel allowance for pensioners.
As we adjust to a change in government and presentation, it is right to pursue evidence-based policies especially at a time of spending constraints, but this cannot be risk-free.
There is a need for bold policies that will deliver a real return which people can see and feel and benefit from, here and now. What is missing is the belief and hope that change will really happen and an impatience with government, creating a void where a large number disengage from politics feeling left behind and disenfranchised, or turn to the rhetoric of ‘easy answers’ and populism which seeks to divide and marginalise great swathes of our communities.
Citadel 