Politics

What is the future for Labour?

Published

9 years ago

August 20, 2015

Tom Sinclair

Labour leadership hopefuls: L-R (in picture) Liz Kendall, Andy Burnham, Yvette Cooper, and Jeremy Corbyn.

FOLLOWING Ed Milliband’s resignation after the General Election, The Labour Party has been doing a serious amount of soul-searching. Numerous reasons have been given for the party’s poor performance, even though they gained seats in England and only lost one in Wales.

The most common reason given from inside the party is a variation on the theme that under Ed Milliband, the party veered too sharply to the left. There have been numerous ways of expressing this, from Chuka Umunna claiming that the party needed to be more ‘business friendly,’ to acting leader Harriet Harman and candidate Liz Kendall refusing to vote against the Conservatives’ welfare bill because British people have real concerns about benefit spending.

This contrasted sharply with the experiences of many canvassers who felt abandoned by the parliamentary Labour party, which made constituency candidates something of a hard sell in places. Across the country, the emergence of UKIP as, if not a credible political force, then certainly one strong enough to influence the outcome of any seat, was largely at the expense of what Labour would have considered core voters in 1997. Anti-austerity parties to the left also benefitted from Labour’s perceived lack of opposition to Conservative policies.

The election of a new Labour leader was meant to be the fairest and most transparent to date in a party that has traditionallyprideditselfonadherenceto democratic principles. Jeremy Corbyn, described ad nauseum in the press as an ‘Old Labour dinosaur,’ and a ‘veteran left-winger’ was only put on the ballot after 35 MPs, many of whom had no intention of voting for him, decided that all facets of the party should be represented. That these MPs were subsequently described as ‘morons’ by one of Tony Blair’s former advisors shows the extent to which the left-wing of the party is viewed as an embarrassment nowadays.

A strong showing ofpopular support for Mr Corbyn has led to outcry in the national press. A YouGov poll recently put him on CHECK %, leading to claims that the poll was inaccurate, and leading people to predict a schism in the Labour party similar to that which occurred when Michael Foot was made leader – something Mr Corbyn has blamed for the landslide defeat in 1983. The Daily Mirror, the only remaining left-wing tabloid, has suggested implementing an ABC (anyone but Corbyn) strategy, while on the other end of the scale Toby Young has suggested that those on the political Right join the Labour Party and vote for Mr Corbyn as a way of bringing down the Labour Party.

Mr Corbyn is certainly different to any leadership contender since the early nineties, if not before. Having said that, John Smith was considered to be on the centre-right of the party then, which shows how much the political landscape has shifted. The public spending cuts that Ed Balls claimed he would not alter if Labour were elected would have had an old One Nation Tory like Ted Heath spinning in his grave. Mr Corbyn has claimed that the role of leader should be more about facilitating debate rather than developing policies. He is known to favour the abolition of student fees, scrapping Trident, and the renationalisation of the rail industry.

There has been uproar in the Labour party about this. Apparently Labour should not be a party of protest but a party of government. It appears that from an opposition perspective, this means agreeing with most of what the party in power proposes, on the basis that they were voted in and are therefore what the electorate want. It may be facile to suggest that this makes the concept of an opposition moot, but certainly the parameters of debate will be narrowed.

Interestingly, a journalist for the Independent checked out the YouGov poll results for Mr Corbyn’s policies, and found that the public were heavily in favour, with 60% in favour of nationalising trains, for example. It appears that the claims that the Labour party has already suffered a split between the grass-roots supporters and the metropolitan ‘elite’ may have some basis in fact. A point which appears to be overlooked is that ‘three-time-winner’ Tony Blair still had the support of Labour’s core vote, until it began melting away over the New Labour years. Without this support, and without any way of either working with the SNP or encouraging Scottish voters back into the fold, the ‘swing seats’ targeted in ’97 will be increasingly irrelevant.

Andy Burnham, the politician many party insiders would like to see get the nod, is nominally on the left of centre, in the same way Yvette Cooper is slightly to the right. Mr Burnham is the only candidate to say that he would serve in a Corbyn shadow cabinet. Liz Kendall, considered one of the Blairite faction’s big hopes, has performed poorly, and is fourth-placed by some margin. A spoof facebook page – Liz Kendall for Conservative Leader – had nearly as many ‘likes’ as her own page before it was deleted. A problem appears to be the unwillingness of the other three candidates to commit on issues, for fear of jeopardising their shot at the top job.

Whoever emerges as Labour leader in the coming months will be in an unenviable position. They will have to reconcile those on the political Left and Right, and attempt to appeal to disillusioned Labour voters, as well as trying to take votes from the Conservatives and UKIP and, in all probability, having to work with the SNP and possibly Plaid Cymru in Wales, both parties with a broadly left-of-centre manifesto. It is far too early to tell what sort of a party will emerge at the other end, the outcome of a leadership battle fought across such a wide spectrum, and the ensuing rise in the number of party members, many of whom are looking for a credible alternative to the Tory-lite policies of the last two decades, will mean the party will indeed be living in interesting times.

News

New 45-metre wind turbine set to be built near Fishguard

Published

6 hours ago

January 16, 2025

Bruce Sinclair - Local Democracy Reporter

A CALL to replace a Pembrokeshire community wind turbine which has raised more than £76,000 for local groups with a larger one has been backed despite a recommendation to refuse.

In an application before Pembrokeshire County Council’s planning committee meeting of January 14, Abergwaun Community Turbine Ltd, through agent Machynlleth-based Dulas Ltd sought permission for a larger turbine to replace the existing Abergwaun Community Turbine.

The proposed turbine, in a pasture field at Trebover Farm, to the south of Fishguard, would be 67m tall, the existing 2015 one being 45 metres.

In supporting statements, parent company Transition Bro Gwaun said: “The Community Climate Fund (CCF) is the mechanism by which Transition Bro Gwaun (TBG) is fulfilling our ambition of funding projects in Fishguard, Goodwick and across North Pembrokeshire, using income from the community wind turbine.

“The core themes for grants are climate change mitigation and adaptation, enhancement of biodiversity and improvements to community resilience through promotion of community engagement and resource sharing.”

Profit generated by sale of electricity from the turbine is split 50:50 between TBG and Parcy-Morfa Farms Ltd through the jointly-owned trading arm, Abergwaun Community Turbine, with community grants awarded through TBG’s Community Climate Fund, amounting to £76,036 to date.

2024 awards of £20,917 were made to six projects, including Theatr Gwaun, Parc Cerrig Growers, Caerhys Organic Community Agriculture, and Nevern Valley Veg.

The scheme was recommended for refusal on the grounds including “significant detrimental visual impact” on the area, “including areas of high sensitivity in the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park and in Fishguard,” on the Conservation Areas of Goodwick, Fishguard and Lower Town, Fishguard.

At the January meeting, local member Cllr Jordan Ryan made a call for the scheme to be approved against officer recommendations: “I think it’s a good application, I think it’s good for Pembrokeshire; a single wind turbine isn’t going to affect people in the area too greatly.”

He was backed by Cllr Alistair Cameron, who said he supported the scheme due to “the need to tackle climate change and the economic benefit to the area,” adding: “We have to accept some visual consequences from that, that’s the reality we are in.”

Another in support was Cllr John T Davies, himself the owner of a windfarm scheme, who pointed out the existing turbine was granted on appeal, with any refusal of the latest scheme potentially being overturned by a planning inspector.

The committee’s unanimous backing of the proposal takes the form of a ‘minded to’ support, meaning the proposal will return after a ‘cooling-off’ period to a future meeting as it is against an officer recommendation, and, if supported a second time, will ultimately have to be decided by full council at a later date.

News

Find out more about Coastal Adaptation Project as plans for Newgale progress

Published

8 hours ago

January 16, 2025

Tom Sinclair

PEMBROKESHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL will be holding two public engagement events to show people how plans for adapting to the impacts of climate change at Newgale have developed.

The Newgale Coastal Adaption Project has been underway for some time. Through ongoing engagement and information gathering, proposals have now evolved.

At this next phase, the Council wants to share its thoughts and ideas at engagement sessions that will be taking place on Wednesday, 29^th January and Saturday, 1^st February.

Those involved in the Pembrokeshire County Council led project will be on hand to explain the scheme elements making up Phase 1 of the project and answer questions. It is also a chance to share your views with the team.

A key aim of the project is to make sure Newgale is supported to become a resilient community that can adapt to a changing coastline and climate.

The Council has appointed AtkinsRéalis to help with the development of the project due to their fully integrated and specialist environmental services.

The first phase has four main scheme elements – rerouting the Newgale section of the A487, creating a new walking and cycling path through the village, changing access to the beach and coastal businesses and releasing space for the beach to naturally adapt to coastal change.

Cllr Rhys Sinnett, Cabinet Member for Resident Services said: “As this project moves forward, we hope that members of the public take the opportunity to find out more about the proposed scheme and are able to comment directly to staff involved in its development.”

Newgale’s shingle bank was affected during storms.

Save the dates

To ensure everyone has an opportunity to have their say, an online appointment system is being run for each public event. To make your booking, please visit www.newgalecoastaladaptation.co.uk

The events are:

Wednesday 29^th January 2025 – Victoria Hall, Roch, 10am to 7pm

Saturday 1^st February 2025 – Memorial Hall, St Davids, 10am to 4pm

News

Citizen sought to join Pembrokeshire County Council’s Audit Committee

Published

11 hours ago

January 16, 2025

Tom Sinclair

PEMBROKESHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL is inviting applications for a Lay Member to join its Governance and Audit Committee, with the deadline for submissions extended to January 31.

The role of the Governance and Audit Committee is crucial in ensuring the council’s financial and operational integrity. Responsibilities include scrutinising the council’s financial affairs, assessing risk management, performance, and corporate governance, and making recommendations to improve these areas.

The successful applicant will need to demonstrate an understanding of the value of audit functions and a commitment to accountability, openness, fairness, and sound financial management in the public sector.

However, some restrictions apply. Individuals cannot be appointed if they are:

A member or officer of any local authority.
A former member or officer of a local authority within the last 12 months.
A spouse or civil partner of a member or officer of any local authority.

The appointment will be decided by a panel that includes an independent chairman, three council members, and a community council member. An allowance will be paid for attending committee meetings.

The council encourages applications from all sections of the community.

For more details and an application pack, contact Lydia Cheshire on 01437 775356 or email: [email protected].

The closing date for applications is 31 January 2025.