Labour's Authenticity Problem

Labour has internalised an authenticity problem. Without getting into the genealogical guts of the difficulty, the Tories - the party of privilege and unearned income - has made political hay from Labour being the party of out-of-touch elites. During the Blair and Brown years, the left outside of Labour made the same charge. Something Blue Labour took up when it emerged as a semi-coherent trend among, ironically, a Westminster-centric cadre of wonks, advisors, and MPs. And when Jeremy Corbyn was leader, right wingers and Blairites, people not known for caring about working class aspirations and interests, started wielding it as a factional weapon against the left. Now the right are back in charge they have to address the contrivance they've expended so much political capital and effort building up. After all, the front bench presently constituted is as middle class metro you can get. How to persuade the punters the chief paragons of Starmerism, despite their briefcase carrying countenances, are just like them?

The flags and nostalgia nods are subtle shuffles toward authenticity. And so is the parading of opposition politicians' biographies. Keir Starmer talks a lot about how his dad worked around the clock as a working class factory man, while being sketchy about how he was a sole trader and the "factory" was a workshop. Our long-time friend Wes Streeting is often invited to talk about his journey from a single parent upbringing to Labour's front bench. Jonathan Ashworth has spoken many times about his upbringing and how it was blighted by parental alcoholism. And Bridget Phillipson has lately discussed her childhood as the daughter of a single mum living in a council flat.

But there is a problem. Growing up in a council property has become a favoured marker of keeping it real among Westminster and media circles, but is it one that can connect? Former Corbyn aide Steve Howell suggests not. With millions of people, particularly the young, caught in the rent trap the experience of a secure, subsidised tenancy is unknown to them. In fact, with people breaking their backs and putting themselves in harm's way to make the rent it comes across as a relatively privileged and lucky existence.

Yet, while this layer of the working class are, or should be, Labour's natural support the leadership's authenticity offensive is not geared toward them. Among Starmerism's many weaknesses is a strategic orientation targeting the older, home-owning and largely retired vote that have peeled away from the party these last 15 years. Nothing wrong with that per se, especially if one's policy platform is based around the appreciation of the interests young and old share in common. But Starmerism is not doing this. For all its formal repudiation of the so-called culture wars, Starmer and friends are peddling a low-fi cultural politics to try and win them back. The lick of Blue Labour paint is one pillar of this strategy, and the affected humility of their humble origins the other. Among the punters they want to recapture, council housing is redolent of authentic working class communities where everyone knew everyone. Their lot in life was modest, but the riches of place and belonging more than made up for it. The showcasing of shadcab biographies is another note added to Labour's background music, a spectrum of subtle, preparatory melodies before the leadership start playing (what they hope will be) an election-winning symphony.

Now in the most comfortable position Labour has been under Starmer's leadership, these soft, human interest stories aren't going to do any harm. I think having the likes of Phillipson talking about life on free school dinners aren't about to put anyone off, nor would growing up in a council property. Having stories filling up the press about how authentic leading Labour MPs are is good optics as far as LOTO are concerned. But what can and, judging by the polls, is turning off people the party must keep on board are the continually stressed socially conservative themes and the studied refusal to articulate the aspirations of the new Labour base versus the powerful vested interests Starmer has spent his leadership courting. Generation rent don't have council properties but, politically speaking, there are plenty of other homes available.

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