Comms and Comrades at: Fabian New Year Conference

The 2023 Fabian New Year Conference was jam-packed with prominent Shadow Ministers, but did they impress?

Rachel Reeves Keynote Speech

Reeves has undoubtedly done a fantastic job of nurturing an image of fiscal responsibility. That has meant throwing the previous leadership under the bus, but if that’s what is necessary to win the election, so be it. Alongside consistent messaging, Reeves’ personal image is professional and reassuring, and occasional reports that the former BofE economist has up to four hair and makeup appointments a day are hardly interesting enough to reach scandal-territory.

On a more critical note, the Shadow Chancellor’s delivery continues to be robotic and awkward. Even in front of a supportive crowd at the Fabian Conference, she comes across as stunted and anxious. It is as if she needs to instruct the audience when to clap, by shouting the last few words of each point. Labour’s dearth of good orators is something we have discussed before, and the likes of Streeting, Thornberry and Rayner do a lot of the heavy lifting. ‘Jonny’ Reynolds could be a rising star on this front, and Lisa Nandy is beginning to seriously own the levelling up agenda, but Starmer and Reeves will need to step up as we get closer to election time.

Bridget Phillipson on Education and Children

Phillipson was perhaps the most disappointing speaker of the day. She has been an exciting prospect within the opposition roster, especially with Labour’s policy on the charity status of private schools. Not only was her speech far too short, the policy was uninspiring. Labour’s education platform needs to go further than childcare, although that is undoubtedly crucial, and deal with issues outside of early years development. Criticising Conservative action on Sure Start centres is not a substitute for policy and Labour simply must go further.

The Shadow Education Secretary found herself being outdone by the other panellists, specifically João Albuquerque and Darren Northcott, who provided a comprehensive breakdown of the issues facing teachers, students and parents, as well as several policy solutions. One can only hope that Phillipson was being help back by the Shadow Chancellor’s ‘fully-costed’ commitments and that the next year will see transformational education policy announcements from Labour. If not, then I hope she was listening closely to her co-speakers.

Anneliese Dodds on Winning Elections

The Chair of the Labour Party was the key speaker on perhaps the best panel of the day. It is clear that Dodds is an expert on politics, and that Labour have a good understanding of what needs to be done to win. Further, it is reassuring to hear that Starmer reportedly warns his Shadow Cabinet about complacency almost daily.

Paul Mason was brilliant as always, and expressed an important message to the left of the party. As he put it, there aren’t a lot of “happy campers” from that wing of Labour at the moment. However, we need to forget what could have been in 2017 and 2019 and live in the present, where the job is winning and Starmer is leader. Living in the past won’t help anyone, so lets get enthusiastic about a Labour win in 2024!

The inevitable Brexit question was asked, and received raucous applause from the ostensibly middle-class, remainer audience: ‘why don’t Labour run on a pro-EU platform, and identify Brexit as the cause of so many of our problems?’. Anyone with an ounce of political understanding knows that Labour cannot do that, and must talk about Brexit as a closed issue. The likes of Alistair Campbell and others who fought so hard to remain might see this as a ‘charade’, and they might be right, but this is simply the world we live in, and Labour cannot risk their lead in the polls.

Ed Miliband on the Environment

Post-leadership Miliband is one of the strangest stories in today’s politics. Of all the Shadow Cabinet, Ed is one of the best communicators, and one of the only Shadow Ministers who seems comfortable in his own skin. He has also become a real expert on both climate change and the politics that surround this sometimes contentious issue.

While Paul Mason has told us to stop living in the past, one can’t help but imagine what the 2015 campaign would have looked like with today’s Ed at the helm.

There were unfortunately several disappointing aspects of this panel. Firstly, the Guardian’s Fiona Harvey did not speak anywhere near enough given her expertise on the environment. Harvey made some very interesting points about the language of an environmental agenda, and how Labour should avoid words like ‘ban’, in favour of softer alternatives. Secondly, Cllr Sandhu seemed to be on completely the wrong panel, which is not her fault but the organisers. Lastly, Polly Billington, who is running to become Labour’s candidate in South Thanet, was outright embarrassing. Billington epitomises a multitude of problems that have plagued Labour candidates over the last decade; arrogant, out-of-touch and tone deaf spring to mind. When asked what Labour would do to solve sewage leaks, she simply responded “jail them [water bosses] … chuck them in prison”. Yes, Labour’s official policy does include prison sentences for the worst offenders, but Jim McMahon’s position is nuanced, pragmatic, and focuses on a automatic fining system. Billington is not the sort of politician that appeals to the lost heartlands, nor anyone who isn’t consumed in a sanctimonious, left-wing echo chamber.

Where do we go from here?

The polls look great for Labour. Avoiding controversy, complacency and conceited candidates everything should go smoothly. Neither gender recognition, Brexit or GPs seem to be the iceberg that will stop Starmer’s titanic.