Labour: a summary of old and new Labour policies

Gordon Brown, in a rather desperate last ditch bid to regain some ground on the Tories, announced a blizzard of specific policy announcements at conference this week.

The Guardian on Wednesday provided a summary. I am going to use this list to update my notes on whether Labour has abandoned its traditional principles.

The Guardian reports:

Right for councils to ban binge drinking and introduce “drink asbos”
Is it new? Councils have already got this right but this is the first high-profile suggestion from Brown that liberalising drinking hours might have gone too far.
Who is it for? Attractive to the squeezed middle classes and the left. No 10 sources admit 24-hour drinking has not helped city centre policing. The party’s leftists think the government slow in tackling alcohol issues.

No compulsory ID cards in the next parliament
Is it new? Not really.
Who’s it for? Aimed at the left, and also blunts Tory opposition. Within a month of becoming home secretary Alan Johnson said the scheme would be scaled back. It will please Labour’s fiscally austere who think the government needs to shelve big projects to reduce the deficit. Civil libertarians who have fought against it for years may welcome it.

Teenage mothers’ hostels
Is it new? A bit of a bolt from the blue, though it was an idea first suggested by Tony Blair’s 1998 Social Exclusion Unit.
Who is it for? The Daily Mail. Many on the left will react badly to “ghettoising” young mothers. However, MPs in marginal seats targeted by the Tories were gratified by the policy.

Loss of benefits for the parents of young people who break their asbo
Is it new? Asbos were a Blairite idea downgraded under Brown, which have now been resuscitated.
Who is it for? Attractive to the squeezed middle classes and a unifying line with New Labour. Their rebirth is a tacit admission that Brown has been ignoring crime; but will upset the party’s left.

“Recall” for MPs in clear cases of financial corruption or misconduct
Is it new? It’s a steal from the Liberal Democrats.
Who’s it for? A move towards public opinion, still angry about the expenses scandal. Campaigners are pleased at a new lever to eject errant MPs, politicians are less elated.

Legally binding commitment to spending 0.7% of GDP on international aid
Is it new? Yes.
Who’s it for? Dividing line with the Tories. The aid budget is one of two the Tories have said they will definitely ringfence - the other is health.

Ten hours of free childcare for 250,000 two-year-olds
Is it new? The pledge itself is not new - a similar ambition was announced last conference - but the funding method is.
Who is it for? It acts as a unifying line for the party’s left, and is attractive to the squeezed middle, but will irritate those earning more than £40,000. Scheme funded by ending childcare tax breaks, which are worth about £1,000 a year for more well-off parents.

Referendum on the alternative vote system of electing MPs
Is it new? Yes.
Who’s it for? Provides a unifying stance with some on the party’s left and a split with Tories. Cabinet ministers and campaigners, faced with a Tory party that would not make the electoral system more proportional, have lobbied Brown to rush through legislation this side of an election. Disappoints many, as it would not occur in the next parliament.

Abolition of means-testing for care of the elderly at home
Is it new? Yes.
Who’s it for? Unifying line with the party’s left, helping the squeezed middle and could secure a fair chunk of the sizeable grey vote, coming into effect the month of the general election.

Spending on schools protected
Is it new? Yes.
Who’s it for? Dividing line with the Tories, unifying line with the left, worried that the government has lost its mojo on public spending.

People’s post office
Is it new? Has been floated by Lord Mandelson for more than six months.
Who’s it for? Outflanks Tories and Lib Dems as the party defending rural communities.

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