CNJ Comment - Labour could fail unless they learn a powerful lesson

Published: 13 May, 2010

THIS week a tale of two streets has been played out.
In Judd Street, Euston, the defeated members of the council’s Tory-Lib Dem coalition left the Town Hall on Monday.
Twenty-four hours later, cars pulled up outside No10 Downing Street disgorging members of Britain’s new Tory-Lib Dem coalition government.
Camden’s coalition became a failure. And the other? Glowing with confidence, Britain’s new coalition members talk of a life of five years.
Certainly, prison reformers will sigh with relief that Jack Straw – Mr Nasty of the lawmakers – has been replaced as Justice Secretary by Ken Clarke, a man reputed to have a sense of fairness. Whether Vince Cable, who appears to have been sidelined, will be empowered to corral the bankers, or would, in any case, even wish to rein them in. Well, only time will tell.  
Unlike the coalition in Camden where Lib Dems and Tories, yoked together, had a 50-50 relationship, in Downing Street, the Tories are clearly the senior bloc.
What went wrong in Camden?
Apart from unpopular measures, such as painful economies in care for the elderly and caretaking services on council estates, as well as the sale of council-owned properties, that is buildings owned by the taxpayers, many in the majority parties basically behaved like their predecessors, the Labour councillors. Puffed up with power, they stood arrogantly distant from the electorate.
The reason why Labour failed four years ago after 35 years in power is that they had become corrupted by power – arrogance seeped too often from their deliberations, they lost contact with the people who had put them into office.
Unless Labour learn this fundamental lesson, history will repeat itself.
Above all, they need to re-engage with the people – whether they voted for them or not.
This means they should take every step to listen to what the people are saying – however painful that may be at times.
They must also remember it is they who have the right to govern the borough, not the officers – and that is a right given to them by the people.
In the past 30 years tension between politicians and officers has more often than not ended with capitulation – by the politicians.
Unless this is reversed, unless politicians closely monitor and oversee middle and senior officers, the gulf between the council and the electorate will widen once again.  
Today’s victory can end up as defeat, once again, in four years’ time.