As Oasis returns, Labour must harness the soft power of 'Cool Britannia' reborn

Ask anyone my age and I can guarantee you no one will dislike any of the band’s hits like Don’t Look Back in Anger, Wonderwall, Live Forever etc. Whilst the music remains the same, the fans have changed. Some will have proposed to their significant others to music from Oasis, some may have even conceived their children to the Gallagher brothers’ music. With every song, there will be a memory associated with it.

To many, Oasis was the soundtrack to their youth, while for others it’s the soundtrack they have grown up with. It’s one that we revisit often as we think about days gone and days ahead. And a younger audience is also being introduced to this great music as we speak.

The iconic and defining band of my teen years was, let’s not forget, discovered by my good friend and fellow Scot, the music mogul Alan McGee – former chief executive of Creation Records – at King Tuts in Glasgow in 1993.

Once again, they are the talk of the town. As I write this piece, I’m listening to their debut album Definitely Maybe and instantly I’m transported back to being that 14-year-old kid with the same excitement and passion today as I had back then, when things were very different.

 A country on its knees

This announcement couldn’t have come at a better time. A newly elected Labour government that has promised change and it does have a lot of similarities with Tony Blair’s New Labour government in terms of messaging but that’s where the resemblances stop.

International relations are on a knife edge given the Middle East conflict and the potential for escalation; there’s been rioting in the UK; and now we’ve had a message from Keir Starmer’s government that things will get worse before they get better.

Compound all of that together and what you have is a case of low national morale and low national self-esteem – a country that is on its knees. This shouldn’t come across as a shock given that we have had 14 years of Conservative chaos but, let’s be honest, people still want to see a glimmer of hope. 

Finding the next Noel or Liam

It’s all well and good saying to people that they have to tighten their belts until things get better, but they want to know that there is a plan to facilitate the economic growth needed to put the country back on track.

The reality is that Keir Starmer and the Labour government are in a very difficult position. I understand that tough decisions have to be made in the national interest but perhaps Labour should harness the soft power of 'Cool Britannia' reborn with the aim of unblocking talent and finding the next Noel or Liam.

Cool Britannia to me was about national pride. A strong message which was underpinned by a sense of ambition that captured the national mood at the time and which everyone bought into. It’s high time we had that back.

We need champions for Britain, champions for Scotland and a champion for the people of these islands with a clear message that things really can and will get better. 

Much more than a band

For me, Oasis is much more than just a great band. At the height of the Britpop era, they encapsulated everything I believe in. This was around the time when I started to get into politics. I felt strongly that no matter where you are from it shouldn’t act as a barrier to achieving success – that is what underpinned the Cool Britannia ethos and that’s why it proved to be so popular.

There was a visible demonstration of this in 1997 when the newly elected Labour Prime Minister, Tony Blair, met with Noel, Liam and Alan at 10 Downing Street. It was also then that the arts and the creative sector were given their rightful places as key sectors of the British economy.

Two working-class brothers from a working-class suburb in the North West of England, who let’s be honest put Manchester on the map, are the real success story here. In short, what I’m talking about is social mobility; breaking barriers and moving upwards, promoting brand Britain at home and abroad with a clear message that anything is possible.

A mission to find new hope

For a significant period of time, 14 years to be exact, what we have had is a narrative that promoted the false optimism otherwise known as Brexit, coupled with an inward-looking fear of co-operation and international collaboration, resulting in the talking down of Britain.

What we need now is hope. I, for one, am delighted that Oasis have announced their forthcoming tour and can feel a sense of optimism emerging. If I were Keir Starmer tonight, after a hard day of governing, I would walk up the stairs at Number 10, look at the picture of Tony Blair and start to think how best to reawaken Cool Britannia – then play What’s the Story, Morning Glory, and get that renewed sense of hope that his Labour government is on a mission to find for us all.

Barrie Cunning is a former Scottish Labour party candidate and managing director of Pentland Communications