Three reasons why ‘beige Labour’ should fear a rising in the North...
THE late Frank Zappa said: “So many books, so little time” – and it’s a sentiment I can relate to.
I’ve always got a bunch on the go at any one time. Among the things I’m currently reading is Alex Niven’s New Model Island, which was published back in 2019 just as the Tories were about to make a huge electoral impact in traditional Labour heartlands.
Niven argues that, given the ruptures created by Brexit, we’re at a time where radical political reform is upon us, and poses the question: what if we abandoned England and started looking for a replacement?
He goes on to illustrate that in many ways, ‘England’ does not really exist, and pushes the case for a new and dynamic regionalism. It’s an interesting and exciting read.
Niven hails from Northumberland, a modern local government construct made up of the rump of the historic kingdom of Northumbria, an area of northern England that stretched from the banks of the River Mersey and River Humber in the south and ate into the border region of Scotland.
Northumbria has made the news over the past few weeks thanks to the rapid rise of the Northern Independence Party and their intervention in the up-coming Hartlepool by-election.
The Northern Independence Party was formed last year online by Phillip Proudfoot, and is calling for independence for the North of England, defined as the English part of the old Northumbria.
The party is developing a manifesto that will ‘build a better, fairer and freer
North for all’, and ‘to campaign for a referendum on the independence of the North, to be decided by the people of the North’.
The party is not yet an official political party – though an application has been lodged with the Electoral Commission
– meaning they cannot field a candidate in the by-election. However, former Labour MP Thelma Walker is standing as an independent, but on a platform shaped by the emerging Northern Independence Party agenda.
How things stand, the Tories are favourites to take the seat, which would see another brick in the red wall fall, while Labour has made a bit of a hash of things so far. The Labour candidate is Paul Williams, who was selected following a non-existent selection process, and he’s far from covered himself in glory, describing Saudi Arabia as a progressive country, while derogatory historic tweets have come back to haunt him.
No matter what Labour and their leadership say, this by-election – alongside the local elections – is their first test under Keir Starmer and right now, it’s not looking good.
Labour has three big problems to contend with. Firstly, the Tories own the language of the things that appeal to the small c, conservative northern voter. Never mind that they will never truly deliver for them, but they have a plan to deal with this issue.
In addition, they speak to ‘aspirational’ northern voters, and in many places are appearing to deliver for them. Just last week the Economist published a story about ‘Barratt Britain’, and the housing estates springing up on the edges of northern towns who are underpinning the Tory vote.
Secondly, the Northern Independence Party are looking like they will take the votes of traditionally left-leaning Labour voters alienated by the current leadership.
But Labour’s biggest problem is themselves. Whether you liked Corbyn or not, you knew what Labour were about under his leadership. Under Starmer, Labour has gone from red to beige. There is no vision that either party members or voters can buy into.
These aren’t just problems for Labour in Hartlepool. They are problems that they face all over England outside of the big cities. The Tories are the party of England, and unless Labour can somehow get its act together, we are looking at a Tory hegemony.
Given the position on the ground in Hartlepool, the political reaction to the Northern Independence Party has been interesting. The Tories have not responded at all. They have simply got on with campaigning in a quietly confident manner. Incredibly, Labour has described them variously as a ‘joke’ and ‘a scam,’ thus alienating those who have sympathy with the Northern Independence Party’s agenda, while demonstrating a lack of class that will put off potential swing voters. Always play the ball not the man.
I wouldn’t describe the Northern Independence Party as a joke or a scam, and there are elements of their agenda that do chime with me. But the likelihood is, northern independence might not be a thing. However, it should make Westminster think, in particular the Labour Party.
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