Building a progressive majority
Read more about: Irish Politics 
I’ve had cause to do a lot of reading recently. For reasons that are partially related to work, and partially related to some ideas I’ve been tossing around with friends, I’ve spent some time reading about progressive movements in the UK. The possibility of a hung parliament seems to have created an atmosphere in which people are much more comfortable talking about alliances and coalitions than normal. While think-tanks (of which we really need more in Ireland) such as Demos and the Fabian Society have been putting considerable effort into bringing in progressive voices from Labour and Lib Dems, and even including ‘progressive Tories’. The think-tanks have helped strengthen a conversation around progressive stances through their respective blogs – Demos blog and Next Left. Left Foot Forward have also played a significant role in this conversation.
The conversation has been different in Ireland, but there have been attempts by group blogs such as Irish Left Review and Cedar Lounge Revolution to examine co-operation and sharing of ideas between people of the left. But both blogs have been plagued at times by comments from readers insisting that one political party is more left than another, or that the Government should simply be branded as evil and stupid while we crouch behind our party identities.
I’m a Labour Party member, supporter, activist and employee, and for that I make no apologies. Within the Labour Party, I know people who would describe themselves as socialists, social-democrats, liberals, trade unionists, progressives and even centrists. And there are many who deride my party for the presence of that range of views. Equally, people of the left love to excoriate the Green Party for the role they are playing in Government at present, just as progressive voices have savaged Sinn Féin for their failures in Government in the North. On top of that, we have a plethora of community activists in Ireland who remain disdainful of all parties of the left. I could go on, but my point is that the liberal left in Ireland have fundamentally failed to build a progressive majority.
Will Straw (editor of Left Foot Forward) argues that in the UK, in order to realistically campaign against child poverty or climate change, that:
It makes no sense to appeal solely to the supporters and representatives of one political party – instead we can branch out to like-minded people who have found themselves in a different political tradition or none at all.
Which is certainly a sentiment I agree with. Many people who have expressed such sentiments in recent times, have gone on to propose a ‘Left Alliance’ of political parties – usually encompassing Labour, Sinn Féin, Green Party, Socialist Party and Socialist Workers’ Party/People Before Profit Alliance. That argument is a politically useful one for those seeking to attract votes from voters who identify as left-wing (as when Gerry Adams made such an appeal). However, I believe that the strategy is, at best, one that will achieve success in the very long-term, and at worst, one destined to fail. In the current Dáil, there are 31 members of the above parties, representing just 19% of the total – by any standards, some distance from a majority.
While I would join those who assert Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael to be broadly right-of-centre parties, I do not believe that this label applies to all of their voters, or even to all of their members or public representatives. And it is the progressives within these parties, and in broader society, who must be appealed to if we are to achieve any real and lasting change.
What I propose is a new intellectual rigour between those of those who identify as progressive. I think we should come together in groups (be they party-based groups or non-partisan), to develop our thinking – to reevaluate our stances on jobs and employment, energy and security, the ‘national question’, climate change and environmentalism, gender constructs, and a myriad of other topics. We should put our proposed solutions into the public realm, to be published, adapted or referred to by political and non-political groupings as required. And we must realise that segmentation and division of the left only makes us weaker – we must focus on positive proposals, and strengthening of ideas, rather than on criticism of politics, and demeaning the efforts of others.
Ideas, not politics, were the foundations of trade unions, progressive political parties, environmentalist and feminist organisations, and community activities. But it an absence of ideas that now stands between the status quo and a progressive majority. Criticism of focus groups, professional communications, political polling and electoral strategies will continue, and there are more than enough spaces in all media where such conversations can occur. But a broadening of the conversational arena is badly needed to allow new ideas to flourish outside such criticism. Party politics, electoral battles, local differences and battles of spin will also continue. But a more rigorous expression of progressive ideas such as the dangers of climate change, gay rights, and the right to a minimum wage has acheived success in the past, and can again in the future.
The progressive ideas highlighted above succeeded in building progressive majorities, and I believe that we can build many further such majorities – paving the way towards a progressive electoral majority. But first we have to build those ideas.
[...] plagued at times by comments from readers insisting that one political party is more left than another, or that the Government should simply be branded as evil and stupid while we crouch behind our party identities.
I’m a Labour Party member, supporter, activist and employee [...]
The first and second paragraphs here are deeply entwined, I think.
But it an absence of ideas that now stands between the status quo and a progressive majority.
I note Labour shivering behind a box in case the Dublin media might criticise them for being ‘leftist’. I note that the Democrats in the Us suffer from the same lack of spine, the same absence of belief in what they’re actually supposed to stand for. When you decide to come out to play in the playground, then give us a call. Otherwise…
Criticism of focus groups, professional communications, political polling and electoral strategies will continue, and there are more than enough spaces in all media where such conversations can occur. But
Yes, the “but”. If you can’t see how the spin doctors and lobbyists poison everything that they touch, then there’s really no hope for you, or for Labour.
EWI – thanks for the comment.
Unfortunately, your reaction somewhat proves my point – that instead of building a set of ideas on which progress can be based, the internecine warfare between parties of the left is almost insurmountable.
My party is what it is. Obviously, it is a party that I admire greatly, and to whose ideas I subscribe. Equally obviously, that is not the case for you. Which is fine, but shouldn’t distract from the aim of my piece.
How refreshing to be proved right from the get go when someone from another party (ewi is an SP member if I remember correctly) uses it to have a go at you and your party.
I think it’s a good article and thought provoking but I think what’s missing is a suggestion of the structure or space for that debate. It won’t happen if it’s driven by a party as, regardless of the respect individuals in one party might have for individuals in another, institutionally left parties are inherently suspicious of each other.
I’ve suggested elsewhere in the past that the trade union movement could create the space for this and facilitate it but that’s a poor suggestion that comes about from the lack of other options, unless we looked at more organised use of ‘think tanks’ like TASC.
Just my ideas. Good piece.
Nice work.
Couple of points.
What does progressive mean in the context of modern Irish politics? I know that arriving at a satisfactory definition of “progressive” is difficult but I feel an attempt to be more specific would be worthwhile. Otherwise, we are just carelessly using another label to distinguish one group from another.
Secondly, I don’t see any reason why the Labour party needs to concern itself with the micro parties on the left. Granted, the socialist party have a European Seat and they and the SWP? have a few council seats but no Oireachtas representation.Given their relatively small electoral mandate, whats the point in engaging with them?
Moreover, for the Labour party to collaborate with a Sinn Fein party that is withering on the vine in the Republic is totally against its own interests. Labour should be targeting the Shinners seats not organising think ins with them. Just like the SWP and the Socialist party they are the competition in many constituencies.
My personal belief is that the Labour, uniquely on the left, is in a position to lead. Unfortunately, there is little time, in the context of the crisis Ireland is in, to navel gaze about the meaning of the left or what constitutes progressive politics. What is more the public don’t care. They want to know how Labour proposes to stop the rot and set the country back on to the long and painful road to recovery. That is the only question any political party should be concerned with right now.
Justin – thanks for the comment.
As I’ve stated elsewhere, the exclusion of a proposed structure for such debate was intentional. Partly because I have some ideas on this myself, and I wanted to begin putting a rhetorical framework on my thoughts.
you can say it as long winded as you like, but you you’ve just said, ‘its my labour party or nothing’.
difference is a strength.
Thanks for the comment Steve, but that’s the opposite of what I was saying.
What I was saying is that we need progressive people of all shades to start developing ideas and debates around which majorities can be built.
In 1980 the Socialist Labour Party had the following in a recruitment leaflet
‘..We would seek to avoid the isolation and impotence of many small political groupings on the Irish Left. When we find ourselves in agreement…. we attempt to work together..’
In essence you suggest the same thing.
It will take leadership on someones part though to do it. Yet surely the sight of Labour talking about a common platform with other Left groups would send the Media (and FF and FG) into apoplexy.
Its also the practicality of the ‘ideas’, for instance on the banks is there a bottom line all the Paties mentioned could agree with?
Wtf? I put this comment up three days ago and you havent printed it yet?
What kind of out fit are you running here?
Sorry Barry and IrishElectionLiteraturs – I’ve been on the road for most of the month, and didn’t spot the comments to approve them.
To both of you, what I was trying to do was argue that there is a space outside the party political sphere, in which ideas need to be discussed and developed. I firmly believe that there are spaces within which ideas are formed, and that political parties generally adopt ideas from these spaces as party policies.
So I’m not talking at all about how Labour should interact with other parties of the left – rather I’m arguing that progressives should come together in a different space to start developing the ideas that can be adopted by political parties (actually, that’s not quite what I mean, but is the closest to a description I can think of).
In relation to how you define as progressive, I think there are probably a few generic stances – greater degree of economic equality, women’s and minority rights, respect for democratic processes and regulation of industry, that bind together those that come within that term. Other areas such as climate change, intergenerational justice, penal reform, abortion, community policing etc. are hotly debated between progressives, but are certainly ideas that formed from a progressive viewpoint. And that’s about as close to a description as I’m going to get for now!