Article from the Sept. 2006 issue of the Socialist
newspaper of the Socialist Party, Irish section of the CWI

New Labour, new leader, same policies

THE DEPARTURE of Tony Blair from 10 Downing Street will not come a moment too soon for working class people. The Blair government has been one of the most rightwing, anti-working class governments in British history, rivalling that of Margaret Thatcher.

At home it has presided over a relentless neo-liberal offensive of cuts in services and privatisation. Education is being opened up to the private sector to a degree that the Tories would not have thought possible. Tuition fees and loans are increasingly closing off third level education as an option for working class people.

What remains of the NHS is being steadily dismantled through privatisation, with services and jobs being contracted out to private sector profiteers. Pensions are also under attack under the government's "Work until you drop" proposals. Those on benefits, those referred to by Cabinet Ministers as the "work shy", have seen their entitlements steadily eroded.

Blair and Brown would claim these measures are needed to "stimulate" the economy. In fact, the Blair decade has seen a steady weakening of Britain's economic position. Latest figures show that 1.1 million manufacturing jobs have been lost over this period.

On the world stage, Blair linked arms with George Bush and the coterie of neo-cons who surround him. Their so-called "war on terror" has now created an arc of instability stretching from Israel/Palestine through Iraq and Iran to Afghanistan.

It was little wonder that when Blair attempted to address the TUC Conference he was jeered by many delegates and that one union, the RMT, walked out.

But most of the union leaders who are critical of Blair are prepared to throw their weight behind Gordon Brown for the "succession". The reality is that, apart perhaps from presentation on some issues, Brown stands for exactly the same neo-liberal programme as Blair. So too do all the other leading contenders who have indicated they might run.

Brown is one of the leading advocates of privatisation, through PFI and PPP schemes, in the New Labour hierarchy. On the evening of Blair’s TUC speech he spoke to delegates at a private dinner and stoutly defended Blair’s plans for the privatisation of health and education.

On international issues Brown supported the invasion of Afghanistan. While he kept a little more distance from Blair over Iraq, Brown has enthusiastically supported the "war on terror". Nonetheless it is possible that the disaster opening up in Iraq and the mounting opposition at home might force whoever succeeds Blair to start to withdraw British troops.

The conflict at the top of New Labour does not disguise the true nature of this party. Labour is no longer in any sense a party of the working class. It is an openly capitalist party increasingly financed by big business.

The membership has shrunk to virtually nothing. During the 1950s Labour had a million members and real roots in the working class. Membership since Blair took over has more than halved. Officially it is around 200,000 but the only left winger standing for the leadership, John McDonnell, puts the real figure as low as 100,000 with perhaps ten to twenty thousand active.

This despite some £100 million of their members’ money which union leaders donated to New Labour since 1997!

There is no prospect that this party can be "reclaimed" as some union leaders still argue. If they were serious about this they would support John McDonnell’s leadership bid. Instead the majority are set to back Brown. The leadership election will not signal a political reversal of the Blair years. Rather it will confirm that Labour is now a thoroughly anti working class party which cannot be "reclaimed."

It is time for the unions to follow the lead of the FBU and RMT and cut their ties with Labour. A new party of the working class is now needed to fill the vacuum that now exists on the left. The Socialist Party in England and Wales have launched a campaign for such a party.

Rather than concern themselves with who will be Blair’s successor and who will carry on with his dirty work, trade unionists and others should throw their weight behind this campaign so working class people have an alternative party to support and vote for.