The modern progressive dilemma: You can only win by being cautious; you can only govern by being radical

Lowdown interview with Steve Richards

Here is one of best podcasts we have recorded with political historian and journalist Steve Richards. You can listen here on Apple

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Labour won a brilliantly targeted election campaing by being as conservative as possible. There were to be no rises in VAT, Income Tax and National Insurance. Wholly unaffordable tax cuts, the Conservatives rushed in a vain and desperate attempts to save themselves from a deserved drubbing would remain in place.

Nothing, of course, would be done about Brexit.

I and everyone I speak to believes that Labour might have been bolder and still won. But then we are not Labour politcians, who have suffered defeat after defeat, even when we deserved to win. The only way they know how to achieve power is the 1997 methodf.

So Labour was ultra cautious. Like Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, the plan was to earn a reputation for economic competence before reforming the system.

But history does not repeat itself. Often it does not even rhyme. The caution that helped win an election is not helping Labour govern a country that is crying out for change.

Labour in power is not explaining who it is power to help. Nor is it driving home the monumental failure of conservatism. In 14 years we have had the failure of fiscal conservatism with austerity, the failure of conservative nationalism with Brexit and the failure of reheated Thatcherism with Truss.

As Steve says, Starmer not great at hammering home a partisan message because he is a lawyer, who was trained to be impartial. “But unless you explain to the voters why 14 years [of Conservatism] failed, and why you are different, they will start saying "‘oh you are all the bloody same,” which they are already doing.

Below is my take on how Labour can pull itself together. If you are not a paying subscriber, please consider signing up. There all kinds of benefits and you help me keep the show on the road.

1/ Don’t worship the God of Small Things

There’s a dangerous and stupid game we go through at every election. Wealthy broadcasters insist that Labour politicians rule out tax rises. And they are wealthy by the way, Laura Kuenssberg, the BBC’s political editor, Justin Webb, Amol Rajan and the other presenters on the Today programme are paid around £320,000 a year, an extraordinary sum that puts them in the top 0.5 per cent of income taxpayers.

I have never heard one of them “check their privilege” – to use that useful modern phrase – and reflect on how tax rises will hurt them disproportionately.

The Tory press joins in. Everyone joins in.