Where is the British Left? Benefit Cuts and Left-Wing Rebels in the Labour Party
Let’s start with the numbers. 23% of working-age Brits are in receipt of some form of benefits, whilst welfare spending now accounts for 23.5% of government spending and 10.6% of overall GDP. More concerning than these figures is the direction of travel. This is not some fixed expenditure; the proportion of British people claiming benefits continues to rise. Assuming the government’s cuts go ahead unaltered (which now appears unlikely), overall welfare spending is still projected rise over the course of the next parliament.
Whilst not a traditional left-winger, I do think of politics and journalism, ultimately, as tools we use to effect social change in line with our moral standards. Holding the powerful accountable, ensuring a fair and consistent safety net for the most vulnerable among us, so on, so forth. In that sense, my values are broadly aligned with the British left’s stated goals and intentions. I would ask, then, what exactly is it that the British left, particularly those set to rebel within the parliamentary Labour Party, think should be done about the UK’s ballooning welfare bill?
I am twenty-two years old, and for years I have heard my predominantly left-wing peers complain about generational inequality. The trope that money is being hoarded by greedy baby boomers is now beyond parody, and yet, after fourteen years of Conservative government, when a Labour government introduced benefit cuts for wealthy (or at least comfortable) pensioners, the outcry was instant and ferocious. Similarly, the support for planning reforms and infrastructure investment was muted, at best.
The question for the British left, currently operating in somewhat of a leadership vacuum, is this: what do you want?
In online left-wing spaces, the lack of public cut-through is treated as a matter for bafflement. “Why, when we promote so many policies that are universally popular with the public, are we so unpopular with the public?”
For me, the answer is lacking clarity of purpose. The UK has not been a fast-growing economy since 2008, and so there isn’t infinite money to invest. We must make political choices. What, then, are the core policies the left of the Labour Party would like the government to pursue? Whilst they are far more capable of hurting Keir Starmer in Westminster than Nigel Farage, the public support for their rebellion is non-existent. Not to say there’s opposition per se; just complete ambivalence.
These are Westminster games in a Westminster bubble.
Labour rebels will not be rewarded by the electorate if Starmer’s government fails. Lacking clarity means lacking credibility, and so the progression of left-wing ideals will be dependent on finding that clarity of purpose, not on this week’s ephemeral parliamentary mathematics.
Whatever you think of my commentary, if you identify as left-wing, have a think to yourself: if I was forced to pick three priorities for spending, what would they be? Even if you believe we can find the money by raising taxes, indulge me for a minute and imagine your budget is fixed and finite.
Is free higher education more important than NHS pay-rises? Would you like to protect the triple-lock? Are the upcoming increases in the defence budget vital, or would the money be better used preventing these benefit cuts? A credible political movement ready for public and media scrutiny would know the answers to these questions.
That credibility will only come with the courage to admit we can’t have it all, and the construction of a serious and focused policy programme. Without that, the bafflement as to why policy popularity never makes it out of the focus group is set to continue.