Evaluate the view to which the Labour Party have returned to Old Labour Views

Question 1

INTRO

Answer 1

they have not returned to old labour views

Question 2

theme for para 1

Answer 2

leadership

Question 3

theme for para 2

Answer 3

economic policy

Question 4

theme for para 3

Answer 4

welfare, TUs

Question 5

para 1 - leadership

Answer 5

• He took his own party to court as he did not get enough votes on the ballot to run again, claimed he was allowed to do so as he was the incumbent leader.
  
  • Was not popular among his own party MPs
  • Many MPs quit the Labour party (Tristram Hunt, Jamie Reed), some went to chair select committees (Hilary Benn, Angela Eagle) and a few retired (Gisela Stuart) or resigned themselves to the role of ex-MPs (Douglas Alexander)
  • The election of Starmer as leader has shown the position that the Labour party are moving towards, as they are learning form the success they endured under Blair.

Question 6

para 1 - however

Answer 6

• Sat over period of very close elections between Labour and Conservatives (2017 no one won a majority).
  
  • Corbyn brought Clause 4 back
  • Corbyn supported left wing policies including the renationalisation of water, railwasy and the royal mail, the reintroduction of the 50p tax rate, an increase in corporation tax, the establishment of National investment Bank with £250bn for infrastructure, the reintroduction of maintenance grants for university students and the abolition of tuition fees

Question 7

para 1 - rebuttal

Answer 7

• The election of Starmer shows that there is not an appetite for a far left leader of the Labour party.
  He has come from a similar background to that of Tony Blair, and appears to be a social democrat
  Furthermore, the increase in vote share for corbyn is certainly attributable to the Brexit vote, in which the conservatives were seen as the leave party and Labour were remainers

Question 8

para 2 - economic

Answer 8

• Under Starmer, they have become more of a social democrat party
  
  • The party has come to accept capitalism, choosing to work with it rather than abolish it.
    Economy: free market and capitalisation widely accepted, nationalism largely abandoned. Example = 2021 speech Starmer supported ‘companies seeking to make a profit’.

Question 9

para 2 - however

Answer 9

• Increase income tax for the top 5% of earners, reverse the Tories’ cuts in corporation tax and clamp down on tax avoidance, particularly of large corporations. No stepping back from our core principles
  
  • 2019 promise to scrap tuition fees, opposing PFI contracts for hospitals/schools and opposition to universal credit (continued by Stammer)
    He has also stuck with the policies adopted by Corbyn, such as the nationalisation of many parts of industry.

Question 10

para 2 - rebuttal

Answer 10

• Labour have not been supporters of nationalisation for a long time since the policy of nationalisation was dropped by Blair in 1997.
  Due to Starmer only being leader during the period of the pandemic, we are yet to see what policy agenda he will try and follow if he was to become PM

Question 11

para 3 - welfare, TUs

Answer 11

• However, the trade unions have simply become less important in politics, showing a move away from the left. In 1979, some 13.2 million people in Britain were members of trade unions. By 2018 there were just 6.01 million members – a decline of over 50%
  
  • This was due to the policies passed in the 1980s by Margaret Thatcher, which were not reversed under Blair or Brown. Furthermore, Starmer doesn’t seem to be pursuing a policy of nationalisation either, showing that the move away from the unions shows a move away from Old Labour
  • commitment to significant public spending (eg Stammers New Green Deal) and a focus on family values and patriotism in 2021 speeches (attempt to win red wall seats back- broadening party like Blair did).
    Stammer also immediately pledged to stamp out anti semitism from the party, expelling Rebecca Long Bailey and Corbyn from the party- suggests shift from Corbyn era.

Question 12

para - 3 however

Answer 12

• Creation of Momentum. It was founded by John Lansman and Adam Klug. They built Momentum into a movement to support the pro-Corbyn wing of Labour local branches and made links with the unions to provide funding and infrastructure.
  
  • They mobilised supporters online and on the doorstep during the 2017 election campaign.
  • In January 2018, it had 35,000 activists and 15 members of staff
  • Work shoulder to shoulder with trade unions to stand up for working people, tackle insecure work and low pay. Repeal the Trade Union Act. Oppose Tory attacks on the right to take industrial action and the weakening of workplace rights.

Question 13

para 3 - rebuttal

Answer 13

• Critics of the group claim its activists have taken over constituency Labour parties and stirred up trouble against sitting MPs who are critical of Corbyn
  As momentum was created to support Corbyn, it is likely that its importance will be drastically reduced through the election of Starmer as leader