If there’s anything that progressives love to do more than anything else, it’s rip each other to shreds.
The prospect of full-blooded civil war in the Labour Party is looming large yet again, following Corbyn’s expulsion. I don’t want to focus on Labour’s anti-Semitism problem – so much has been written about it already – but obviously I have huge sympathy for Jewish people for whom this whole ongoing saga must be incredibly painful.
But what so often gets forgotten amongst the inevitable infighting is all of the things which progressives have in common. What holds the bulk of the left-leaning population together?
Well, an awful lot actually. Here are some examples.
- A fairer society
Inequality is out of control. Corbyn knows it, Starmer knows it, Davey knows it. Jeff Bezos’ wealth increases by over $300 million every day while almost a quarter of Brits live in poverty. Something has gone seriously wrong to allow that to happen. Left of centre parties agree on many of the ways to tackle this problem. A more redistributive tax system. A more robust welfare system. Greater investment in our economy. A minimum wage that keeps people out of in-work poverty. There is a broad consensus about these points on the left, regardless of which faction people place themselves in.
- Climate change
There were some environmental activists who, to their credit, were shouting about this long before it was “cool” among other left-wing people. Those days are gone. The left is now broadly united in the belief that serious change is needed to tackle the climate emergency. This means making a lot of decisions which can be unpopular, and we may have to accept some short term damage to the economy. But I am heartened by the fact that leaders in all progressive parties are championing the case for a greener economy.
- Tackling discrimination
Despite the awful problem with anti-Semitism in parts of the Labour party, I am convinced that a continued commitment to tackling prejudice is something that progressives can be proud of. Taking a stand on these issues can be unpopular. A lot has been said about how UKIP-style parties can eat into parts of the progressive vote, and how some traditionally left wing voters are being turned off by issues like immigration and political correctness. But, despite this, progressive parties in the UK and abroad continue to (broadly) champion diversity, which is a strength we can be proud of.
The one which matters…
The public already support many of these causes, and vote for progressive parties in high number. The median voter has been “left-of-Tory” in every General Election for the last 60 years, except in 2015. But the Conservatives have ruled for the majority of those years because FPTP doesn’t give us what we want. When it comes to causes that progressives should unite around, electoral reform needs to be top of the list.
First Past the Post punishes pluralism. When the progressive vote is “split”, it helps Conservatives win. And despite all of the things which we agree on, people on the left just aren’t comfortable in one broad party like Conservatives are. And they shouldn’t have to be. Pluralism isn’t a bad thing, as long as parties can still work together on things which we are united on. In-fighting among progressives has doomed us to many years of lost progress, and I hope and pray that we can at least unite around the need to reform our voting system so that future Governments reflect what voters really want.
The Greens, the Lib Dems and the SNP already support this. All eyes on Keir Starmer. 👀
Lib Dem Ben 