Peter Mandelson affair shows why Labour should have stuck to historic pledge to scrap Lords
More than a century ago, Labour’s manifesto pledge to abolish the House of Lords was supported by Winston Churchill, then a Liberal
In 1910, the still relatively new parliamentary kid on the block, Labour, went into the general election with a manifesto pledge to scrap the UK Parliament’s upper chamber – “The Lords Must Go,” they pledged.
Labour wasn’t alone, in that same general election one of my predecessors in Dundee was fighting the election as a Liberal. Winston Churchill had been the MP for Dundee since losing a by-election in Manchester and being parachuted into the constituency, which he won and represented until 1922, sharing the seat with one of the first Labour MPs Alexander Wilkie.
The Liberals went onto win that election and, just across the Tay, East Fife MP Herbert Asquith became Prime Minister. Labour found an unlikely ally in that general election. Churchill was an opponent of the Lords and sought to abolish the chamber, suggesting in a Cabinet memo that it should be replaced by a unicameral system. Of course it never happened, and Churchill had to settle for the 1911 Parliament Act that curbed some of the Lords’ powers.
Mandelson fit to serve in Lords, but not US
Oh, how this week, the Labour government must have wished that it had listened to Churchill and implemented its 115-year-old commitment to scrap the Lords. It is not news that the Prime Minister has found himself on the ropes recently over his appointment of Peter Mandelson as US ambassador.
Having now removed the ambassador, who was unusual for a diplomatic posting as a political appointee, he now faces the thorny issue of what to do with the ex-diplomat, who still has a seat in the Lords.
The government doesn’t think Lord Mandelson is fit to hold a diplomatic posting but they do think him fit to legislate for us for the rest of his life, without any recourse to democratic accountability. The normally sure-footed Foreign Office minister, Stephen Doughty, was unable to answer whether he thought Mandelson should remain in the Lords or even retain the Labour whip when he was sent out in the unenviable role of government defender in the Commons this week.
That speaks to the funk in which Labour finds itself, just over a year into government. They keep on being undone by policies that they don’t really believe in.
Children in poverty in Labour’s Britain
Along with the Lords fandango, Labour MPs squirmed their way through a parliamentary debate, led by the SNP MP Kirsty Blackman, on removing the two-child benefits cap. It was brought in by the Conservatives and criticised by Labour MPs, and those of other parties, at the time.
Since its introduction, the cap has driven three-quarters of a million kids into poverty whilst seven million from low-income families in the UK are going without basics such as food, heating and toiletries. Most families affected by the cap have at least one parent in work. All of this in Labour’s Britain.
The Child Poverty Action Group has said that “abolishing the two-child limit is the most cost-effective way to reduce child poverty which is at a record level”. Barnardo’s, Save the Children, Action for Children, Gordon Brown and Neil Kinnock have also all called for it to go. However, when that Bill went to a vote on Tuesday, Labour sat on their hands, not even bothering to vote.
Parliament has now gone into its ‘conference recess’ and not a moment too soon for a government that has lost its way and doesn’t know what it’s for. They can’t hide forever and autumn brings a fresh set of challenges.
Blowing £40bn a year on Tory hard Brexit
November’s Budget will be particularly difficult as the Chancellor seeks to fill a fiscal black hole, something that should worry all UK taxpayers. The most common complaint I hear from small businesses is the impact the dramatic National Insurance increases are having on them, especially on their ability to recruit and grow.
At the same time, research by the Labour mayor of London shows the Treasury is blowing £40 billion a year on a hard Brexit that Labour never wanted but now are too feart to do anything about.
This failure to act leaks over to other policy areas. There is terror in Labour ranks about the migration debate and the impact of Reform UK. Instead of countering the right, this Labour government leans into its arguments, with Keir Starmer’s “Island of Strangers” speech a testament to a failing approach.
The UK ripped up its returns agreement with the rest of Europe during the Johnson era. Starmer agrees that this led to the small boats crisis, yet will do nothing about it, leaving the UK alone in Western Europe in sitting outside the Dublin Regulations.
Speaking to Labour MPs privately, there is a general shaking of the head and lack of enthusiasm about this government. Politics is hard, but it’s harder when you don’t believe in the policies that you are sent out to defend and implement.
My experience is that it’s always better to be able to speak up for, and where possible enact, what you believe in. Voters appreciate it too, even where they disagree with you.
Fag end of an administration
The 1910 election was the last in which the Liberals won the most seats, albeit just. It was also the last when a party that was neither Labour nor the Conservatives won the most seats.
There is a lesson there. In politics, do what you believe in. If you don’t you may never get another opportunity. Labour has a massive majority, yet it feels like the fag end of an administration.
Westminster has powers that the Scottish Parliament could only dream of, and exactly 11 years ago this week Scots were told to reject having the normal powers of independence and stick with Westminster.
During that time, the Westminster parties have failed and not produced the change to improve the Union or lives. Like the Liberals before them, Labour might not get another chance.
Stephen Gethins is the MP for Arbroath and Broughty Ferry
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