Politics

What is the future for Labour?

Published

10 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

Pembrokeshire County Council group to review ‘climate emergency’

Published

7 hours ago

July 20, 2025

Bruce Sinclair - Local Democracy Reporter

A CALL for a group to review Pembrokeshire County Council’s decision to declare a climate emergency some six years ago has been backed by councillors.

In May 2019, the council declare a climate emergency following a notice of motion by Cllr Joshua Beynon calling on the authority to back the global consensus that climate change poses a risk to the well-being of future generations.

He had urged county councillors to back a motion to take “bold, decisive action” to fight “truly, catastrophic” climate change.

He called on the council to commit to becoming a zero-carbon local authority by 2030.

At the July meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council, a notice of motion by Cllr Mike Stoddart called for the establishment of a working group to review the decision made by the council to declare a climate change emergency.

Cllr Stoddart’s motion said: “Given the turbulence on the global financial markets; the parlous state of the UK’s public finances; Pembrokeshire County Council’s projected funding gap; and the government’s softening of its policies on the switch to EV vehicles and heat pumps, this council establishes a seven person, politically balanced working group to review the authority’s decision to declare a climate emergency at its meeting on May 9, 2019.

“The working group will be asked to: (a) examine the effect of the emergency declaration on the level of council tax in Pembrokeshire and particularly the extent to which any such increases militate against the authority’s anti-poverty policies.

“(b) The cost of decarbonising the council’s housing stock and the effect this has had on the authority’s ability to finance the building of new housing.

“(c) The extent to which the council’s decarbonisation programme has contributed to a reduction of the risk of runaway global temperature increases, and (d) any other effects that the working group considers may have adversely impacted the wellbeing of the residents of Pembrokeshire.”

Cllr Stoddart’s notice of motion was previously supported at the June meeting of the council’s corporate overview and scrutiny committee, with a recommendation to full council in July meeting, to reinstate the Net Zero Working Group to review the contents of the notice of motion and, subject to the outcome of this review, review the future delivery of the Net Zero Action Plan.

Cllr Stoddart’s call was backed by Cllr Steve Alderman, and Cllr Rhys Jordan, who said: “I fully support this, it couldn’t come sooner; around England and Wales councils are looking at this, there’s been a huge push for a ‘net zero’ agenda at any cost, I don’t think we’re in a position to drive that.”

Cllr Aaron Carey said: “We’ve set ourselves some lofty goals, but we haven’t got the money to back it up.”

Members overwhelmingly agreed to back the June committee recommendations.

Climate

Newgale road scheme proposal report expected by autumn

Published

11 hours ago

July 20, 2025

Bruce Sinclair - Local Democracy Reporter

A FULL report on Pembrokeshire council proposals for a £40m-plus road realignment scheme at flood-hit Newgale before a formal planning application is made is expected to be completed by the autumn.

Newgale was hit hard by flooding following storms in early 2014 storms, and later by Storm Dennis in 2020.

In 2014 it even saw a visit by the-then Prime Minister David Cameron following the storms.

A public consultation – through agent AtkinsRéalis – was launched earlier this year ahead of a formal council application to Pembrokeshire Coast National Park for Phase 1 of the Newgale Coastal Adaptation Project, which would see the development of a new inland section of road with bridge over Brandy Brook some 2.3km inland, to replace the coastal section of A487 at Newgale that will be closed.

Varied claims have been made about the cost of this scheme, from £20m upwards, some even saying it could cost as much as £60m, with millions spent on consultation fees to date.

An alternative, cheaper, scheme has been proposed by STUN – Stand Up for Newgale, proposing a section of the shingle bank at Newgale be realigned 10-12 metres seaward leaving an over-wash barrier between it and the A487 to capture any pebbles and sea water.

In a question, on behalf of Solva Community Council, heard at the July 17 meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council, community council chair Gareth Chapman said STUN’s proposal “appears to be an under £1m proposal with up to 85 years’ lifespan compared to the conservative £40m-plus estimate for the PCC proposal”.

The question added: “PCC’s proposal is to counter for road closures that rarely happen and, even then, require little expense to restore the pebble bank. It should also be remembered that on several occasions, flooding at Newgale occurs because the river outlet is blocked preventing water from the valley escaping and not as a result of a high tide or storm.

“It is acknowledged that climate change and coastal issues at Newgale may eventually in many years force a change in the highway arrangements at Newgale but it is felt that all efforts should be made to retain the character of the village and iconic views for as long as possible.”

It also asked for the council to “commit to thoroughly examining the alternative proposal,” and to “fully take on board the overwhelming public opinion regarding the future of Newgale”.

Responding, Cabinet Member for Residents’ Services Cllr Rhys Sinnett said a full presentation had been given to the local community council earlier this month, adding a number of options had been considered in 2016 and 2017 which were “ruled out at that stage for a number of reasons” prior to the scheme now mooted.

He told members the council had undertaken “extensive consultation which has all fed into the development of the scheme,” with a full report expected before the autumn prior to a formal planning application.

“Any coastal protection scheme, we believe, would be a multi-million-pound scheme, certainly in excess of the £1m from STUN,” said Cllr Sinnett, adding those proposals would “only delay the issue for a short period of time, if at all.”

He told members a response to the STUN proposals would be included as part of the full pre-application consultation responses, with council representatives agreeing to meet with STUN.

Cymraeg

Call for more support for rural areas of Pembrokeshire

Published

11 hours ago

July 20, 2025

Bruce Sinclair - Local Democracy Reporter

A CALL to protect Pembrokeshire rural communities, “to ensure no part of our county is forgotten”, was heard by councillors.

At the July 17 meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council, members heard a notice of motion submitted by Cllr Delme Harries, Bro Gwuan county councillor and vice-chair of council, calling for a working group for supporting rural areas.

Cllr Harries’ motion said: “It is increasingly evident that while significant effort and investment has been directed toward revitalising our towns, many of our rural areas are being left behind.

“These communities are the backbone of our agricultural economy, custodians of our landscape, and home to vital heritage and culture and the Welsh language. It is time we restore balance and give our rural communities the attention, voice, and opportunities they deserve.

“To ensure that no part of our county is forgotten, I propose that we establish a dedicated cross-chamber working party focused on reigniting our rural areas — supporting rural enterprise, connectivity, housing, access to essential services and how we can help young people to live and work locally.”

Members agreed the notice be sent to the council’s services overview and scrutiny committee for discussion, the call potentially returning to a future meeting.