It’s little wonder that the story has generated headlines. The UK’s leading leftwing party (as the Guardian dubiously calls it) seeing its supporters adopt alarmingly rightwing positions is indeed rather incongruous. But allow me to suggest for a moment that this news isn’t surprising at all. In fact, I’d say it would be more surprising if this shift in attitude hadn’t happened.
For a start, we wouldn’t expect Tory voters to suddenly harden their attitudes towards people living in poverty, because presumably their attitudes were pretty hard to begin with. The party that coined the phrase “on your bike” and invented the “strivers v skivers” narrative must surely be supported by people who already believe poverty is caused by laziness and lack of willpower. I think it’s fair to say people haven’t been voting Conservative all these years because they’re hoping the government will pay out more jobseekers’ allowance or give council houses to more immigrants. So the only significant shift in attitudes on poverty we could realistically expect would come from Labour party supporters, who didn’t hold these opinions in the first place.
More importantly though, unity of public opinion is what happens when political parties develop a consensus around a certain issue. People generally agree that benefit claimants are responsible for their own poverty because in the past 30 years, Labour has generally agreed with the Tories on that too.
In 2010 Zoe Williams quoted John Curtice of the British Social Attitudes survey on this very subject:
“In repositioning itself ideologically, New Labour has helped ensure that British public opinion now has a more conservative character.”And in 2013, Liam Byrne tried to be clever by labelling a benefits squeeze a “strivers’ tax”, and in doing so, demonstrated just how willing he was to adopt the “strivers vs skivers” premise.
As a result, perhaps some of those surveyed by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, who would have at one time classed themselves as Labour supporters, have been repelled by the party’s decidedly un-leftwing behaviour.
In the 2005 elections, the BBC found that the party’s support among working-class voters and council tenants dropped sharply.
Could it be that Labour party supporters aren’t becoming more rightwing, but that it is being deserted by those who might offer an alternative view?
After Labour’s identity crisis comes the inevitable speculation about how Ed Miliband should respond.
It seems to me he has very little choice in the matter.
He can’t promise to get tough on benefits because that’s prime Tory territory, and attempting to out-Tory the Tories will only end in failure. He can’t occupy the middle ground (the political term given to “trying to second guess what the electorate think and then saying that”) because the middle ground on this issue, as we’ve established, is basically Conservative.
Ed Miliband must be brave enough to fight this narrative, not just for tactical reasons, but because what’s the point of the Labour party if it won’t defend ordinary people? Ultimately this narrative must be opposed because it is an abhorrent one.
Miliband can do it – he just needs to remember that public opinions can be changed. This data shows that Tony Blair’s Labour party changed its supporters’ minds about poverty. Now Ed Miliband’s Labour party must change them back.
See also: Why Labour is to Blame for UKIP Posted on May 3, 2013
This article titled “Ed Miliband must work to change voters’ minds on poverty” was written by Ellie Mae O’Hagan, for guardian.co.uk on Wednesday 15th May 2013 11.23 Europe/London
