Anthony Painter

A while back I wrote a blog post on why Labour should not oppose the electoral reform bill. Nick Clegg has made a huge strategic mistake by allowing David Cameron to combine electoral reform with a reduction in the number of parliamentary seats. Essentially, it has given Labour the excuse to not back the Bill *and* sapped the party’s enthusiasm for the referendum. Silly.

This does not exonerate Labour. It has every right to oppose the Bill as drafted but that does not mean that it should. Left Foot Forward and Next Left have both sunk their teeth into the detail of the Bill. And their arguments are absolutely correct. Neither piece advocates outright opposition on the final reading though both stray dangerously close to that territory but wisely stop short. Unfortunately, that is where the Shadow Cabinet has gone and it is deeply regrettable.

The specific measures should be vigourously opposed at all stages but the elements of the Bill relating to the AV referendum should be enthusiastically endorsed. It was a Labour manifesto commitment. More importantly, if Labour truly believes in democratic reform then to oppose the Bill and appear to be roadblocks rather than leading the charge to reform is strategically weak.

And I go back to original argument I made:

“But from Labour’s point of view, that element [cut in number of constituencies] of the legislative package will, in all likelihood pass whatever I’m afraid. It is AV that is up for grabs. Labour has the opportunity to show that it can embrace reform and pluralistic politics. It can show that it is not stuck in the past; a defensive party unable to confront the future. And it is the right thing to do from the perspective of democratic accountability.”

The simple fact is that there appears to be a majority in Parliament for the reduction in the number of constituencies. If Labour opposes the legislation then there may not be a majority in Parliament for a referendum on AV. The sensible and strategic course of action would be to oppose the constituency reduction element of the Bill in the legislative process, enthusiastically support the referendum on AV and then abstain on the final Bill, all the while gearing up for a full-blooded campaign for a yes vote in the referendum.

Oh, and if you think this will crash the Coalition you may well be sorely mistaken. Because it won’t be David Cameron who gets the blame. It will be Labour. The party’s biggest problem is that it looks like the past rather than the future. In blocking a referendum on AV, Labour will seem to be an even more backwardly facing party- expediently so. And the really silly thing is that only one party stood at the last election in support of a referendum on AV: Labour. The party is in desperate need of new leadership and soon.