One of the curious things about the Labour leadership contest is that many of the dividing lines in the ‘debate’ have been largely manufactured by the candidates – with each laying claim to territory that is actually shared between them (for instance, a commitment to decentralising power) – or amount to little more than vague rhetorical pitches (for instance, Starmer as the ‘electable’ candidate or Nandy as the ‘change’ candidate). Meanwhile, the real differences have been either little discussed or deliberately obscured.
None of the candidates have published a detailed manifesto. As a result, very little light has been shed on the agendas they would pursue if elected. It has been left to party members and commentators to read the tea leaves, poring over fragmentary statements made by the candidates and drawing conclusions based on their backgrounds and backers. This is easier to do in the case of Long-Bailey, who is drawing on a substantial base of policy work from the Corbyn era which is (mostly) in the public domain. Starmer and Nandy are much more unknown quantities.
Nowhere is this dynamic more obvious than on economic policy. As I wrote for the Guardian some weeks ago, beneath the sound and fury of the campaign, a consensus has been quietly emerging on what you might call ‘participatory socialism’: combining a renewed commitment to common ownership with an emphasis on democracy, localism and empowerment. All the candidates have signed We Own It’s ten pledges on public ownership, covering everything from ending the academies programme and reversing NHS privatisation to renationalising rail, mail, energy and water, as well as public broadband. All have talked about doing this in a way that is less top-down and more empowering for service users, workers and communities. And all have talked to varying degrees about decentralising and democratising the state (see here for a helpful comparison of their commitments from Adam Ramsay).
