Meeting held on Monday 17th October 2022
Ten people were present. Apologies were received from six.
Our meeting took place at a moment of great confusion in the direction of the Truss government and the Tories in general. Although the clear lack of a mandate for the course being taken pointed to the need for an early General Election it was fairly clear that, with Labour well ahead in the polls, it would be unlikely in the near future. The difficulty in predicting the outcome of the present Tory chaos resulted in the discussion being more focussed on Labour and the other parties and their positions going forward.
It was felt that the ongoing problems with Brexit (shortage of labour, the NI protocol etc.) should be addressed not by a new referendum but by seeking much better relationships with the E.U. The economic fortunes of the UK were thought not to be controlled by Brussels but by the ‘market’ and the relatively small number of players who control it.
Tax reform with the aim of reducing inequality including borrowing for investment and a more progressive set of measures to aid redistribution in Society would contrast with Tory polices. It was considered that in the economic field Starmer has a strong team available.
Discussion on the role of policies on Health, Social Care and Education in addressing inequalities divided opinion as to whether strategy should focus on major reforms (eg. abolishing private education or eliminating the private sector from the NHS.) or a smaller step approach (eg. Removing charitable status from private schools or seeking to work with and regulate private health and care providers.).
The prospect of some form of progressive alliance between Labour and other parties at the next General Election, although gaining popularity with the membership, was thought to be meeting stiff resistance from the centre.
It was noted that the Green Party has increased its poll ratings and that the Labour Conference had voted in support of a policy of some form of proportional representation to be included in the manifesto. However it was feared that some forms of PR may result in far right parties having a greater influence.
In general it was felt that it was too early to predict the political outcomes of the present government chaos although the mood in the country may be moving towards the position in the mid-1990s when the left were under some pressure to stay quiet so that Labour could occupy the centre ground. It was commented on that the opinions of the participants in this meeting had appeared to have shifted more towards the centre than was usual.