Walking around the Labour conference and its fringes, it sometimes feels like the party suffered not just a defeat but a lobotomy. There are no great arguments about the future of socialism, the uses and limits of the market etc. There is no spark, no protest, not even dissent. No debate, no tension. That’s not to say there aren’t any clever people: Ed Miliband has some real brainboxes behind him and some of his ideas show the result of hard thinking. There are plenty of bright young Labour things, and it will be a party worth listening to when the 2010 intake starts to ascend the ranks.
But now? Last night’s receptions felt more like a wake than a rally. Jurassic union leaders roam around with a proprietorial air. Every delegate here is wearing a pass ribbon around their neck saying “Usdaw, the campaigning union”. Its normal for unions to sponsor these things, but this year it seems oddly symbolic. The unions stump up 85 per cent of Labour’s funds. David has blogged about Tessa Jowell and the other Blairites who are talking about the need to reform – but even calling them Blairites shows how marginalised they are. It’s like a political version of Blake’s Seven, a group of followers carrying on after the leader perished.
This is a party that’s been ahead in the polls for nine months. Lord Ashcroft’s poll of marginals on Monday put Labour six points ahead on the economy. And still, Labour delegates are near-suicidal. The 21st post-statist formula they’re looking for is the same one they rejected three years ago. The Blairites did not stay to fight. Milburn, Purnell, Reid, Hutton – they all left, watching speech highlights on the sofa and making their debate contributions by texting friends here in Liverpool. The purple Labour stuff is being softly derided here, even by those supposed to be a part of it.
There is no mutiny, or factionalism, so I suppose you say a sense of unity prevails. But it’s the same unity that the captured members of the Judean People’s Front displayed at the end of the Life of Brian. I’m not sure if Labour intends to end on The People’s Flag this year, but “always look on the bright side” does seem to fit the mood better. Except, for reasons that can be explained more by a psychologist than a psephologist, Labour doesn’t even seem able to do even that.
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