IT is time Labour stopped pussyfooting about.

Constitutional change apart, which butters few parsnips, Labour does not seem to stand for anything recognisable or morally acceptable.

Getting a good deal from the fat cats has never been our way..(It is too much like the Tory policy of "crumbs from the rich man’s table")

Government is there to protect the public interest. If the rich and powerful are totally happy you can be sure it isn’t doing its job properly. For example we do not need to promote bad business. Bad business avoids paying taxes, and tries to reduce safety standards and wages as much as possible, and could not care less if it ruins the environment. If private business is not regulated properly in the public interest, bad business will undercut good business Good business is intent on making profits, but also on good standards on safety, environment, to employees and customers and paying its dues to the community.

On this last point it is intolerable that small companies pay taxes, but rich ones pay accountants to avoid doing so. This freeloading must stop . It is unfair and it deprives the public services of the funds they need. Government must work out the shortfall, and how much it needs, and then consult with industry, backed by naming and shaming and legislation The culture of avoidance must be ended, and the necessary company tax paid. Similarly, whilst it would be inopportune to try and discourage stock exchange speculation, there is no reason why each transaction should not pay a small Tobin tax, so that the things we share together can be properly funded.

Labour has always stood for redistribution of wealth and a more equal society. One of the reasons for this is that you cannot have a full society if for one the facilities we share are untold luxury, and for another unbelievable squalor. This could be promoted by 45% tax for those earning over £100,000 a year, 50% for those earning over £500,000, and 55% for those earning over £1,000,000. A realistic long-term goal would seem to be for the richest in any organisation to receive no more than ten times the poorest. I hear squeals from those adversely affected, but cannot see any justification for supposing that, at these modest levels, this would be a disincentive to effort.

However if for some incredible reason , which I hope they will clearly explain, New labour will not allow extra personal taxation, the necessary funds can be raised through non-avoidable company tax, and a Tobin tax.

It should be clear to most where the money is needed.

Firstly health.

Public health for an ageing population is crucially important. It is better and far less expensive than private health schemes. It is hopelessly under-funded.

Labour’s pledge should be to DOUBLE the expenditure on public health. The money will go to restoration of full dentistry, annual routine check-ups ands other preventative treatment, no longer waiting lists than the private sector, etc. (The doubling of expenditure can be an interim measure, until the backlog is overcome and the treasury functions properly. Proper functioning is to first work out how much each service needs, then how the funds are found. In other words, the public interest demands that necessary services are demand led, not cash limited.) In the field of health, private health is twice as expensive and arguably not so good. So it is nonsense to say we cannot afford to pay for comprehensive public health. Capital expenditure must be economically financed, and this is likely always to be by raising bonds, as opposed to PFI, where private companies are paid for non-existent risk. For any government that accepts that it is its prime duty is to protect the public interest, this is mandatory. Also, health assets should remain in public hands, and not be leased back from private speculators for a term of years only.

Secondly education.

Education is grossly under-funded, the leaking roofs and austerity 1948 style classrooms are not what we can want for our children and grandchildren, the hope of tomorrow. They must have every modern facility necessary to work effectively Also we should respect teachers by paying them properly. Thereafter they will doubtless co-operate with necessary modernisation, provided it does not seem to have as a prime aim the undermining of their professional ethos. At present it still seems largely, to be "all mouth and no money", or at best "peanuts and pep-talk". This can be remedied by a firm pledge of at least 50% annual increase.

Thirdly, as a matter of self-respect, we must properly fund all the services we share together, our arts, libraries, parks, pavements ,etc.

Fourthly we need a foreign policy to feel good about. More support for the U.N., and more overseas aid , and a war-fighting machine increasingly turned to disaster-fighting.

True labour are those who want to build on our democratic socialist traditions. New labour are newcomers who do not. As a true labour supporter, I must be prepared to compromise with new labour, if it is reciprocated, provided the public interest is not too gravely compromised thereby. I cannot and will not submit.

John Champneys, 22/7/99

Click here to return to the main page and index.

This page last updated on 22/7/99