Training | 2009.08.20
Peter Mandelson: Osborne's crass political cross-dressing
George Osborne has a bit to learn on strategic positioning. Few will buy his claim that the Tories are progressive
So the Conservatives want to be regarded as the progressive force in British politics. George Osborne\'s speech yesterday is worth reading because, set against the their stark inaction on the recession and the banking crisis, it exposes the huge distance between the Tories\' instincts and the progressive outlook of most British people.
To be a progressive is to believe that we can make a better society and improve the conditions of individual lives by acting together. Sometimes through an active and accountable government that is responsive to local needs. Sometimes by challenging prejudice and helping the disadvantaged. Sometimes by unlocking individual potential through education and opportunity. It is to believe in the necessity and value of social justice. Osborne doesn\'t believe this and couldn\'t speak about it with conviction.
After a decade of New Labour government Britain has better health and childcare, better education, better help for the unemployed, greater investment in science, better workplace rights and greater devolution of government than it did after 18 years of Tory rule. These things didn\'t happen by accident. It is no wonder that David Cameron is desperate to convince voters that this progressive legacy would be safe in Tory hands. But Osborne simply defines progressive to mean whatever the Tories believe this month. Which is, above all, an ideological commitment to government retrenchment and a budget cut until it is "balanced", regardless of the consequences for growth or individual welfare.
The role of government and the state of the public finances are important issues. But the Tory attitude to both quickly undermines their progressive claims. Government matters for progressives because it is how we define the limits and role of a market economy, guarantee public services and invest in our essential capacities as a country. Yet Osborne\'s only real argument about government is that it should be smaller – a lot smaller. Of course, finances are tight and any government will have to assess its priorities for government spending carefully. But the ideological Tory approach to reducing the size – as opposed to focusing on the effectiveness and efficiency – of the state stands in the way of a genuinely progressive approach. Their talk of public sector reform – which has never been more vital – is simply code for cuts.
The necessary costs of fighting off the recession will now need to be paid down. Everyone accepts that. But Osborne\'s billions of pounds of tax promises as shadow chancellor, coupled with his talk of debt reduction, can only mean public spending cuts that would eat deep into frontline delivery and investment in growth. We would have a balanced budget, but at a crippling cost in human potential and long term growth. What is progressive about that? A genuine progressive would argue that a programme of fiscal restraint and spending prioritisation must go hand in hand with investment in Britain\'s strengths and a commitment to frontline services, including training and support for those seeking work.
If Osborne is serious about making a bid for progressive credentials, why are the Tories so coy about their policies on education, healthcare, minority rights, workplace rights and Britain\'s place in – or out of – Europe? How progressive is a policy on inheritance tax that would favour the very wealthy with a substantial tax cut? Why does he have so little to say about social mobility? The Tories\' instinctive belief that the ultimate arbiter of most human interactions should be the market hardly fits with a century of progressive thought, much of which has focused on humanising the market and globalisation, rather than just letting it rip.
The Tories say they have "gone green", but their ideological commitment to laissez faire will prove a block to the kind of thinking we need about the role of government in driving the shift to a low carbon economy.
From the benches of the European parliament, where the Tories sit alongside a motley collection of far rightists, nationalists and homophobes, their claim to carry the torch of progressive politics looks like a bad joke.
The Osborne argument is an audacious attempt at political cross-dressing that will convince few genuine progressives. It may also backfire. Because, given that most of the Tory party identify themselves as being to the right of their new leaders, it will also anger those Conservatives who have never aspired to such radical and positive change in Britain. The first lesson of political positioning is that you have to have credible ground to stand on. George obviously still has a bit to learn.
For more information, please visit
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/[...]orne-progressive-conservatives
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