Labour must make democratic renewal a central reforming agenda for its first term in power

When he was elected as the leader of the Labour Party in the spring of 2020, Sir Keir Starmer MP described the task of restoring Labour’s reputation as a credible electoral force as “a mountain to climb”. The received wisdom was that Labour would remain out of power for most of the 2020s.

Fast forward three years, and things are looking very different indeed. Starmer has focused on turning his party around, and that work has borne fruit more quickly than many expected. Labour is benefiting from the Conservatives’ declining popularity under Johnson, Truss, and now Sunak. Poll after poll is suggesting a Labour victory – and even a landslide – at the next election.

Of course, the usual caveats apply. Polls can be wrong, and there’s plenty of time for Labour to squander their lead. If the last decade has taught us anything, it is to expect the unexpected. But a Labour (or possibly a Labour-led) government in the near future feels very likely indeed.

So having scaled his first mountain in impressively quick time, Starmer is now leading a party that looks ready for power. Should he get there, though, he may find that this “mountain” is a modest foothill compared with his next climb: governing the UK through the crisis-ridden world of the 2020s.

So far, Starmer has acquired a reputation as a cautious and stable leader. The strategy is to play it safe, and stand well clear of controversy while the Conservatives destroy themselves. It looks like this will be enough to get Labour into Number 10, but it’s unlikely to be enough to keep them there. The party’s “iron-clad” commitment to fiscal discipline may turn out to be a smart bet electorally, but it limits Labour’s options once in office.

Labour has mapped out its ambitions for the country in the form of the “Five Missions for a Better Britain”. If achieved they could be transformative. The ambitious, if rather vague vision is to make Britain a country with a thriving economy, a land of equal opportunity and low crime, boasting a world-class healthcare system. All of this, of course, will be powered by green energy. All these are noble goals. All must be achieved on a shoe-string budget.

With his Five Missions, Starmer hopes to capitalise on an appetite for real and lasting change in this country. Many feel helpless in the face of a seemingly endless cost-of-living crisis, and failing public services. Many more are terrified of what life on a warming planet might look like 10 or 20 years from now. And in an increasingly polarised world, we are united by a lack of faith in government and political leaders to act in our best interests.

The country is ready for radical change, then. So how can Labour deliver that within the strict fiscal terms it has set out for itself? To me, the answer is obvious. The work of fixing the country must begin with fixing politics. Trust in politics and the political process is depressingly low, and that is fuelling the pervading sense of weary hopelessness and alienation that is stifling this country’s spirit.

The good news is that Labour is hinting at a transformative policy platform that could bring about real and lasting change. The causes of Britain’s current economic and social woes are complex, but at their heart is a brittle, creaking political system which is no longer serving British citizens. If Labour can fix that, it could kick-start a new era of meaningful political participation and government that works for the people they were elected to serve.

Labour is indicating a willingness to address this ever-growing dearth of trust in politics. In July, Angela Rayner gave a landmark speech at the Institute for Government, committing the party to a long overdue revamp of the system that investigates Ministerial misconduct. Labour’s plan to set up an independent Ethics & Integrity Commission is a significant step forwards when it comes to cleaning up our politics.

What’s more, last December Gordon Brown published his Report of the Commission on the UK’s Future. Released to much fanfare, Brown explicitly linked the failure of democracy to the UK’s poor economic performance. Inequality is also made worse by a system that hoards power in Westminster, and leaves local communities without a say. Brown’s proposals of deeper devolution to the nations of the UK, giving local authorities more power, and replacing the House of Lords with an elected Senate of the Nations and Regions are imaginative, radical proposals that could drive growth and opportunity all over the UK.

Finally, the draft report of Labour’s own National Policy Forum states clearly that our rigid and unfair electoral system, First Past the Post, is driving the very “alienation and distrust” which Brown identifies in his report. This is an explicit acknowledgement of the damage that First Past the Post inflicts on our democracy and society.

For those of us who watch democracy issues closely, all this is encouraging progress from the Labour Party. Labour is acknowledging that our rigid and outdated democratic system is holding us back as a country.

Fortunately the solutions are popular with the public. The British Social Attitudes survey has tracked a dramatic increase in support for electoral reform, from 27% in 2011 to 51% in 2021, and over 7 out of 10 members of the public think that the House of Lords should be reformed.

It’s not just the public who want to renew our politics.

Powerful forces within the Labour Party are also pushing for bold reforms of our democracy. Two-thirds of Labour’s affiliated trade unions now back Proportional Representation, along with 83% of members. Many new Labour Prospective Parliamentary Candidates will be keen to reflect and act on the public’s appetite for democratic reform if elected. It’s becoming clear that Starmer’s power base is dependent on his ability to show leadership on democratic reform.

Having come this far, Labour must go one step further and make democratic renewal a central reforming agenda for its first term in power. The hard thinking has been done, the case has been made within the party, and the British public is crying out for change.

If elected, Starmer’s legacy could be one of an era-defining Prime Minister, who faced down multiple crises to create the conditions for a fairer and more prosperous era. Labour cannot afford to miss this golden opportunity to exploit the UK’s potential to be a thriving, modern democracy.

Grace Barnett, Head of Membership at Unlock Democracy.

This blog was first published by Left Foot Forward.