The attack on ‘Tory toffs’ was a big mistake, say centre-left MPs

A group of centre-left Labour MPs have attacked Gordon Brown for the 'poisonous' campaign run by Labour in the Crewe and Nantwich by-election and have demanded a change of direction. A statement from the grass-roots Labour think tank Compass, seen by the Mole, says that the Labour Party’s attacks on "Tory toffs" during the by-election campaign looked desperate and that Home Secretary Jacqui Smith's call for the police to "get in the face" of "yobs" was misjudged.

Compass is chaired by Neal Lawson and boasts 2,500 members. Labour MPs associated with the group include Jon Trickett, Colin Burgon and Jon Cruddas.

The statement continues: "Labour needs to have a long-overdue look at issues of class, inequality and social mobility, but in its absence, decrying Cameron Conservatives as 'toffs' simply looks desperate. (Indeed, what remains of the British gentry is not the central issue – if any layer of society symbolises what is increasingly wrong with the post-Thatcher settlement, it is the tiny array of super-rich financiers who dominate the City of London).

"Though the party has been right to be mindful of the issue of anti-social behaviour, encouraging its candidates to come out with such lines as ‘I want the police to harass yobs and get in their faces’ not only heightens people’s fears, but sits uncomfortably with a government recently heard paying tribute to the British tradition of liberty, and bemoaning Britain's 'unlocked talent'. The hysterical maligning of young people must stop. And what is a Labour government doing advocating police harassment?”

The statement piles the pressure on Gordon Brown and his Cabinet to rethink their political strategy following the Tories' overwhelming victory in Crewe [see separate report below]. The Compass statement goes on: "Perhaps most poisonous of all was the Crewe campaign's attempt to make political capital out of issues involving Crewe's large Polish population, via a claim that the Conservatives are opposed to 'making foreign nationals carry ID cards'. This smacks of the poison spread by the far right. In addition, it misrepresents the debate. The Tories are opposed to making anyone carry or be issued with an ID card. So, in the face of massive public unease about the project, should be the Labour Party."

Compass finishes with a clear warning: "The Tories are now stampeding towards such issues as the rising cost of living, social exclusion and poverty. Labour needs to understand the shift that represents, but also shine a light on the futility of the solutions they offer: essentially, a shrinking of the state, the cutting of taxes, and a refusal to look at the pivotal issue of equality.

"Most importantly, however, the party needs a clear change of direction and message. It needs to turn its recent claim to be ‘on your side’ into incisive political action that speaks to 21st century concerns."

THE MOLE: BY-ELECTION AFTERMATH

FIRST POSTED MAY 23, 2008