Quality | 2009.06.14
Why I lost my loyalty | Sally Keeble
The prime minister should be able to offer a vision to voters. Sadly, this is no longer the case
This is an open letter to my constituents in Northampton to explain why, after 12 years of complete loyalty to my party, I am withdrawing support from Gordon Brown as Labour leader.
Gordon Brown was the obvious successor to Tony Blair. Both were architects of New Labour. Gordon\'s command of the economy underpinned the achievements of the Blair governments and rightly won him international stature and acclaim. He will always deserve our respect for that.
The transition from chancellor to prime minister was not an easy one, and when Gordon said in the autumn of 2007 he wanted more time to put forward his vision, that seemed fair. However, 18 months on, it is painfully clear that time has really run out.
First, the vision has not materialised. The economy is the most important factor, and he was the right man to deal with the crisis. But people look to their prime minister for more than that. People in Northampton work hard, pay their way, and look after their families. They look to the government for high quality public services, and a sense of purpose and direction for the country. The prime minister has to articulate that and, sadly, it hasn\'t happened. Not that there is an alternative on offer from the other main parties. David Cameron\'s vision would quickly become a nightmare, while Nick Clegg\'s is multi-focal.
Second, recent events have shown that Gordon Brown has not been able to manage relations within his government. Admittedly, some ministerial behaviour has been appalling. Whatever the disagreements, resigning just before council elections can only be topped by talk of window-dressing. However, the person at the top has to forge a group of strong politicians into a united, coherent team to provide stable government. And that has, painfully, not happened either.
In my first political job, I was a press officer at Labour HQ during the 1983 general election campaign. It was a searing experience. The public did not see Michael Foot as a credible prime minister. The electorate had its say – Northampton roundly rejected us then – and it was another 14 years before we recovered. Meanwhile, the public paid a massive price in jobs lost, communities laid waste, lives ruined. I\'m not prepared to let that happen again.
The reason for writing this letter is that the UK is a parliamentary democracy and Labour is a democratic socialist party, not a Trotskyite cell.
The government depends on retaining the confidence of MPs, so the debate taking place among Labour MPs is vitally important. It has profound implications for the day-to-day lives of my constituents, jobs, homes, schools, hospitals, all the things that touch us most. So the debate has to be public, it can\'t be some private Westminster coup – in the Pugin room with an ice-pick.
By the next general election, the Labour party needs to put forward a coherent vision with a credible team. We need to say what kind of country we want Britain to be: whether we\'re going to encourage innovation and enterprise, or cap it with tax increases; invest in public services or cut them to close the fiscal gap; how we\'re going to give people a say in our country\'s progress and realise the aspirations that my constituents and I share. There has to be consistency and credibility, not just a statement of values but an explanation of how they will be put into practice.
To achieve that we need a leader who can articulate that vision and let our country and the party move on. I want my constituents to have the best that Labour has to offer.The challenge to the cabinet is how that will be achieved.
For more information, please visit
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/[...]n/07/labour-party-brown-resign
