TMP Online

Leading members of the British centre-left urge Prime Minister Gordon Brown to put society first and to reach out to crucial bases of support, including black and ethnic minority voters, in this statement published today by pressure group, Compass.  The statement has been signed by the Compass Management Committee (of which TMP editor, Chuka Umunna, is a member), Jon Cruddas MP, Jon Trickett MP, UNISON General Secretary, Dave Prentis, and others.

British politics is suddenly in flux. The postponement of a general election that looked all but certain only weeks ago has sent shockwaves through Westminster and beyond. After a summer of soaring poll leads, Labour is facing a newly-energised Conservative Party. The Liberal Democrats are about to stage their second leadership contest in two years. Other rapidly-changing issues and events are only contributing to the sense of tumult. For Labour, this presents both threats and opportunities.

Gordon Brown needs to demonstrate that he is not the victim of events, but their master. To do so, he will have to show that the way he both acts and reacts is informed by a connecting narrative which guides the government through the chaotic processes which inevitably buffet any modern party. He and his government need to make sense of their actions, and provide an intellectually and morally coherent vision for his premiership. This, needless to say, is a matter of urgency.

Read the rest of this entry »

In the wake of the election that never was, there has been much comment about Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s alleged lack of vision. Three years ago this month, Brown made a seminal speech in which he argued for the need to build a progressive consensus in Britain and to look beyond narrow, individual, self interest to the interests of everyone in society.  The speech which was given to the 2004 Compass national conference attracted much comment.

Read the rest of this entry »

We need to ask what causes people to carry weapons in the first place, argues TMP editor, Chuka Umunna, in the wake of the President of the National Black Police Association’s call for more stop and search.

Another day, another shooting in urban Britain. South London residents like myself woke yesterday to find chaos on Streatham High Road. Like a scene from a movie, two men - both black - had been gunned down in a drive-by shooting on Europe’s longest high street, in the early hours and close to the ice rink where 16-year-old James Andre Smartt-Ford was murdered earlier this year.

The usual stream of buses were brought to a sudden halt and diverted. Cue long-faced bus drivers and annoyed passengers. The increasing speed with which the shock subsides after each passing firearms incident and people’s attention turns to transport disruption and the matter of how to get to work, is symptomatic of how frequent such occurrences seem to be becoming in our inner cities. Sadly, people are getting used to it.

Read the rest of this entry »

There has been a lot of talk about the “vision thing”, in the wake of the election that never was, and what kind of society Gordon Brown should work towards under his premiership. Many of the challenges the government still faces – such as tackling child poverty and dealing with employment and pay gaps in certain sections of society – particularly impact on ethnic minority communities. The Guardian’s Comment Is Free site asked several figures on the centre-left of British politics what vision of the good society they want Gordon Brown to deliver. To read the musings of former Labour spin doctor, Derek Draper, revered Guardian columnist, Polly Toynbee, Compass Chair, Neal Lawson, RMT General Secretary, Bob Crow, TMP editor, Chuka Umunna and others, click here.

TMP editor, Chuka Umunna, reflects on the Healthcare Commission’s report on the Maidstone and Tonbridge Wells NHS Trust.

No one could fail to be appalled at the Healthcare Commission’s findings that 1,100 patients contracted C difficile at the Maidstone and Tonbridge Wells NHS Trust’s three hospitals between April 2004 and September 2006. A total of 345 patients with multiple medical problems died and the commission concluded that 90 patients “definitely or probably” died as a result of infection.

Though C difficile is on the rise in our hospitals, to some extent the facts are confined to this particular Trust - there were undoubtedly serious failings in management at a local level. The Trust did not adopt the government’s new hygiene code - introduced in October 2006 - until March of this year. Investigators came across contaminated bedpans, overflowing needles and sharp instruments in bins. They even found that staff stored food in medical refrigerators - you don’t need a government code to tell you that is bad practice.

But there is a bigger issue here which public services union, Unison, has drawn attention to - the decline in hospital cleaning staff. Since the 1980s, when the contracting out of cleaning services started, the number of cleaners has almost halved - from 100,000 to 55,000 in 2003-04. These are staggering statistics when one considers that NHS infrastructure has grown and many new hospitals have been built – one would have expected there to have been an attendant rise in cleaner numbers, not a reduction.

Read the rest of this entry »

TMP editor, Chuka Umunna, reflects on a turbulent and dramatic couple of weeks for Labour, culminating in the Prime Mininster’s announcement this weekend that there will be no general election this year and probably the next.

Waking up yesterday to the shrill, self-satisfied tones of those men of the people, David Cameron and George Osborne, crying “chicken” after Gordon Brown’s announcement over the weekend that there will be no general election this year (and probably the next) was wholly predictable.

Only three weeks ago I was downplaying the merits of an early general election on Sky News in discussion with the Telegraph’s George Jones, who was very much pro the idea. Not only did the Labour party seem ill prepared - under-resourced in terms of money and personnel, with many local parties lacking a candidate - but I felt it would be viewed as bad form by the Great British public when cows were being slaughtered and a run on one of the country’s banks (the first in a generation) was under way.

David Cameron, by common consent, had had a torrid summer. When Northern Rock started to splinter, with the consequent suggestion that a period of economic turbulence was to follow, Labour’s poll lead actually strengthened, with several polls putting Labour firmly in 40% territory - extraordinary given the usual downward pull of economic difficulties on a government’s poll rating.

So as Cameron’s fortunes dwindled and Labour congregated in Bournemouth, shorn of the Blair/Brown rivalry of yesteryear and more united than ever, I found myself beginning to waver. Maybe Gordon should call it after all. In private, one of the more cautious cabinet “young turks” and a couple of other ministers seemed to be wavering with me. But we have now well and truly sobered up, having got a bit jolly on a few poll leads in the last fortnight; smug shadow cabinet members are not what one wants to hear while recovering from the resultant hangover.

It may be painful, but Gordon Brown’s eventual decision not to call an election was surely the right one. Notwithstanding the latest polls, Labour’s troops were not totally sold on having an election now, with the most recent Guardian/ICM poll showing only 58% of Labour supporters saying “bring it on”. Indeed, public desire for an autumn election gathered apace as speculation increased; there did not seem to be an inherent desire out there in the real world to troop down to the ballot box on a frosty November day.

Above all, fans of our parliamentary system will also hope that Brown’s decision has stopped the drift towards a presidential system of politics in Britain. A common complaint made of Tony Blair was related to his promotion of the notion of a presidency with “Tony” at the helm, as opposed to a government with the Labour party in the driving seat. Though it could be argued that to the extent Labour’s mandate in 2005 was personal, it was as much Blair’s as it was Brown’s (remember the cries of “Vote Blair, get Brown”?), it is surely healthy that a change in party leader has not, on its own, precipitated a general election in Britain. There would have to be no clearer sign that Britain was sleep walking into presidential politics than for an election to be held primarily so that a premier could claim to have secured a personal mandate midway through a parliament.

Read the rest of this entry »

Shortly before Gordon Brown’s announcement that there will be no general election in the near future, TMP editor, Chuka Umunna, caught up with Minister for the Cabinet Office and the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Ed Miliband MP.
~
CU: Going forward, what do you see as the major challenges for Labour in terms of what it has yet to achieve after 10 years in government?

EM: I think there are a whole range of challenges. There are challenges where we have made progress since 1997 - such as those around some of the public services, creating a fairer society more generally- and we need to make more progress on them.

And then there are new challenges which, in a way, were not so apparent 10 years ago. Something I’ve campaigned a lot on is youth services – services for young people are a big issue in every constituency I go to. Work/life balance and having a voice over the things that matter over one’s life are also issues. Take young people, one of the things we have given young people control over is the ability to control local youth budgets and so on. But there is a lot further to go in all these areas.

So its about meeting the existing challenges where we have made progress and confronting the new challenges our country faces.

CU: With regard to youth provision, Gordon Brown has announced that £670million will be taken from dormant bank accounts for the purposes of youth provision – how are you going to use that money?

EM: The detail will be fleshed out. I think it will be money which will be channelled to local authorities but they will have to put in relatively innovative bids which involve the voluntary sector, which bring in all kinds of partners. There has been a consultation document issued but we are also talking to young people to find out the kinds of services they want. What I know is that this is an area we need to make lots of progress on.

I think the other thing is that there is a wider issue about the voice of young people in society and I feel a bit like we are where we were with issues around women 10 or 20 years ago - which is that public policy is quite behind where the population is. Young people want a voice, they want a say, they don’t just want to have things done to them and I think public policy needs to catch up.

CU: On the poverty issue, Gordon Brown has reaffirmed the commitment to abolish child poverty – is that possible when you look at a place like Sweden which still has 5% poverty across the board?

EM: I think we want to be amongst the world’s best; I think that is possible but its going to take resources, its going to take effort and its going to take innovative thinking - we’ve got to do all those things. Read the rest of this entry »

On Monday we posted the first part of Chuka Umunna’s interview with former Labour MP, Oona King. Here is the second and final part of Chuka’s interview with her in which Oona talks about the need to modernise Parliament and how she is coming round to the need to adopt positive action measures to increase the number of ethnic minoritiy MPs.

~

Chuka Umunna: Your book doesn’t actually encourage people to go into politics does it?

Oona King: It certainly doesn’t. One of the effects I hope the book will have is to hurry up the modernisation of the House of Commons and to increase pressure for the House to change some of the ways in which it works. There is no doubt that it drives out those people who want to contribute to politics but also want to have some life outside of it.

I think this is a really serious issue for our democracy - if you only have people in the Commons prepared to give up a significant amount of time of normal family life, then I think there are other consequences that will flow from that.

The longer I’m out of Parliament, the more I respect those who I left behind. Of course there are some bits I miss – you will never have a greater privilege in your life than being able to sit in the chamber of the House of Commons when the chamber is debating an issue, and to have you say on that issue. But I don’t miss it enough to give up everything else that I’ve gained since leaving, to go back there.

CU: A lot of people would like to see you return to Parliament, particularly those from ethnic minority communities. If you were invited to go for a seat, would you turn the offer down?

OK: I already have! I’m not bailing out on politics, but there are other ways to contribute to politics than by being an MP. The bottom line is that I hope people won’t be dissuaded by going into politics from reading my book. I hope they’ll think its an honest account of a normal person put into fairly extraordinary circumstances, but its not all doom and gloom. Its just that we need to look at this dysfunctional relationship between people and politics, and the way we run our country. If we improved the way we run Parliament, we would improve the health of our democracy.

CU: Where do you stand in the all ethnic minority shortlist debate in relation to Labour parliamentary selections?

OK: Initially I was opposed [to all ethnic minority shortlists], as I thought comparing all women shortlists and the situation of women (who make up 50% of the population) to that of ethnic minorities (who make up just under 10%) is difficult. But I think we are getting very close to the point where we will need to adopt some positive action measures as progress on ethnic minority representation is totally lamentable - if we keep going at the rate we are, we will get nowhere.

Read the rest of this entry »

~ 

Chuka Umunna: Thanks for speaking to TMP Oona. Firstly, can I ask why you wrote this book? Was it a form of “self-therapy”?

Oona King: In a way I suppose it was. That said, I’ve always kept a diary since my mum gave me one as a Christmas present when I was 11. I’ve never been obsessive about writing it.

In fact, I’ve just started reading Alistair Campbell’s diaries and I can’t understand how he managed to do the job he did while writing reams and reams in his diary every day. In most of his diary entries he says there just aren’t enough hours in the day and ponders what he could do about that - I thought that not writing your diary would be a start!

I often would only write in my diary once a month. When first elected, I kept it less regularly than before, as I struggled to find the time to write it. What it gives is a snap-shot of what my life was like over a given period of time.

CU: Do you think you were too “normal” for the House of Commons?

OK: In some ways yes, in other ways I was one of the most abnormal MPs there. I was a completely atypical MP (being Jewish, mixed race and a woman). My favourite compliment (which I got as a politician) was when people would often say to me “you are too normal to be a politician” – so in a sense I was too normal. In other ways, I had wanted to be Prime Minister since I was 4 or 5 years old – that’s not normal at all!

CU: One of the things which has been said about you and the reason you did not achieve ministerial office was that you were perceived as being too “gobby” and not that “safe pair of hands” Prime Ministers look for in their ministerial team. Do you share this view?

OK: Absolutely - that is absolutely right.

CU: You are seen as a bit of a cheerleader for Gordon Brown [Oona appeared on his leadership campaign website and was part of his campaign team]…

OK: …well I always have been. People used to call me one of Blair’s “babes” but I always would jokingly say, “look at me, I’m a Brown babe!”. I’ve always been deeply impressed by his ability to marry strategic thinking with astonishing campaigning abilities, and his capacity to deliver the redistribution of wealth.

CU: …and what about redistribution – has there been enough redistribution of wealth over the last 10 years in your view?

OK: I don’t think there could ever be enough [redistribution] but for me its not just about wealth - you have to redistribute influence too.

In the past - on the Left - we thought if we just redistribute wealth, that’s enough. For me, its hardly the beginning - which is what my pamphlet is about [“The Battle to Engage: Renewing democracy for the next generation”]. I really think wealth was our focus but it can’t be our only focus.

Read the rest of this entry »

TMP editor, Chuka Umunna, ponders the continuing employment inequalities in modern Britain. 

A couple of years ago, I advised a high flying professional who was being subject to overt sex discrimination at work. Not only was she told not to use her married name at work, on the basis that a switch from using her maiden name would demonstrate a lack of commitment to her job, but it transpired that the rest of her team had run a sweep stake on how soon she would leave work (to have children etc) after marrying. Fed up with this nonsense, she consequently resigned and there followed a substantial out of court settlement in her favour.

However, most female clients for whom I act cannot point to such concrete evidence; the same can be said of other disadvantaged groups who find themselves discriminated against at the point of recruitment or dismissal, or who simply find they are being paid less than their colleagues. Discrimination is more covert these days and the burden of proof in most cases initially lies on the claimant to show wrongdoing – a high hurdle to overcome.

It is therefore little wonder that in 2007, despite all our anti-discrimination legislation, employment and pay gaps between disadvantaged groups and the population at large continue unabated. Women working full-time are still paid on average 17% less an hour than men (38% less if they work part-time) more than 30 years after the Equal Pay Act was introduced. It is estimated that 57% of working women are in jobs below their skill and qualification levels – so not only are they underpaid, they are being passed over for promotion also.

Ethnic minorities do not fare much better. Being underpaid is an issue here too. In April, a Joseph Rowntree Foundation report showed that male ethnic minority professionals earn up to 25% less than their white counterparts. But securing employment in the first place is still a struggle - the employment gap between ethnic minorities and everyone else stubbornly remains around the 15% mark. This is before looking at the situation of those with disabilities and others.

So if the moral and the legal arguments are failing to bring an end to these disparities, what are we to do next? Step forward Committed 2 Equality (C2E), the leading employment diversity consultancy. Today they have published a report that shows there are strong financial incentives for business to adopt fair employment practices.

Read the rest of this entry »