Tom Griffin (London, OK): Over at the Independent's Open House blog, Steve Richards argues that unless they can spell out an alternative agenda, Charles Clarke and those who think like him will only make Labour's problems worse:
Those who want the removal of Brown have three obligations in the coming weeks. First, they must spell out in detail how they would deal with all the external factors that have derailed Brown’s leadership, in particular the credit crunch and the soaring price of oil and food. Second, they must spell out in more detail their policies for the future and how they connect with a party that is supposed to be on the centre left of British politics. Third, they must demonstrate that they can build a popular coalition of support that gives Labour a chance of winning the next election.
These are pretty much the challenges that Compass's Neal Lawson sets out to address at Comment is Free today:
The challenge for the centre left is to describe in convincing terms new forms of collective action which empower people to act together to make their lives more secure.
From that position a whole set of policy ideas could flow which would meet with popular acclaim and rebuild the now fractured coalition that came together in 1997. Policies like a windfall tax on the energy companies to cover in the short term the fuel bills of the poorest and in the long term to insulate their homes so they can be as energy efficient as possible. We could put an end to income tax for those earning less than £10,000 a year and pay for it by increasing the upper rate on the very rich.
Compass's flagship windfall tax policy has been subjected to some pretty searching criticisms by Conor Foley, and many of its proposals suggest forms of collective action that are not that new, but it is at least addressing the right questions, the ones that won't resolve themselves with the departure of Gordon Brown.
