One Nation..... A Little History

Ed Miliband gave credit to Disraeli for the One Nation theme in his 2012 Labour Conference Speech:

"You know one hundred and forty years ago,... another Leader of the Opposition gave a speech. It was in the Free Trade Hall that used to stand opposite this building..... His name was Benjamin Disraeli. He was a Tory. But don’t let that put you off, just for a minute... let us remember what Disraeli was celebrated for. It was a vision of Britain. A vision of a Britain where patriotism, loyalty, dedication to the common cause courses through the veins of all and nobody feels left out. It was a vision of Britain coming together to overcome the challenges we faced. Disraeli called it “One Nation”. “One Nation”. We heard the phrase again as the country came together to defeat fascism. And we heard it again as Clement Attlee’s Labour government rebuilt Britain after the war."

For whole unedited speech transcript go here

It's an interesting rhetorical flourish to steal this particular bit of Tory clothing. Disraeli who "dished the Whigs" would smile. My current reading includes D.R. Thorpe's excellent biography of Harold Macmillan ("Supermac: The Life of Harold Macmillan", 2010, London, Random House) and today I was reminded that Macmillan, after his First World War experience,

"developed an empathy for those who suffered with him, and for the first time an understanding of those who had not had the advantages of his upbringing and education. This was not a unique experience. Many of his contemporaries, especially Anthony Eden, his predecessor as prime minister, learnt likewise, and resolved after the war to pursue the Disraelian political ideal of 'One Nation'". (p51)

This post WW2 willingness by successive Conservative Governments to keep the NHS, welfare benefits and the nationalised railway and coal industries; to pursue a Keynesian full employment policy; and to accept a progressive tax system between 1951 and 1964 was known at the time as Butskellism. It was a key part of the post-WW2 consensus and was based on growing US, UK and European economies.

How can this trick be repeated by a Labour government in harsh economic times? Such an attempt at consensus and a Social Democratic, Welfarist approach would be a break from the New Labour/Blairite acceptance of Neo-liberal capitalism after the Thatcher/Reagan revolution of the 1980's.

Are enough people ready for that, especially in the South of England and English Midlands? Was Thatcher too successful in embedding individual self interest as the main motivation for many people for this to have electoral appeal? Does the social change that has marginalised trade unions, friendly societies, churches and similar associations since the 1950's matter? Will the "Labour tax bomb" argument be successfully deployed by the Cameron Tories in 2015? How will Labour explain how it pays for improvements while not giving detail on tax that leads to problems (as in 1992)? Will Labour adopt too much of the "patriotism" bit by backing the absurd immigration targets of the Coalition? Tricky issues.

The new Miliband approach is probably worth a try. A welfarist, "One Nation" approach to improve the lot of the poorest and most vulnerable - the victims of the cuts that have barely started - would be great. I just fear that, with the hostile Tory press and the influence of Libertarian and neo-liberal approaches in the new media, it will be an uphill struggle and effectively attacked by the Tories and Libdems. Will five years be long enough to recover from the Brown fiasco and the blame repeatedly heaped on the last Labour Government for the deficit? Only time will tell but at least it's the basis for a "narrative".

And maybe even a "vision"?