Of course Labour needs to learn from its history, but it needs to avoid the rose-tints offered by Alastair Campbell and Peter Mandelson et al (Labour figures from 1997 victory warn Starmer against cautious approach, 5 October).
Other than reducing some primary school class sizes, the 1997 pledge card was neither bold nor ambitious. When Labour was elected, the civil service – at the time I worked on policy in the Department of Health – was not presented with a set of thought-through policies, and the first two years of government were characterised by initiatives rather than policy shifts. The first meaningful structural change was the minimum wage, in 1999.
What the pledge card gave both policymakers and the wider public was a sense that when policies did emerge, they would be about supporting and improving public services. It was not until the back end of its first term and during the second that the Labour government made most domestic impact.
David Miliband’s view that 2024 will be more like 1974 than 1997 may be the one Keir Starmer needs to contemplate. Should it win, Labour will inherit economic instability and a divided country. The opposition may disintegrate into civil war, but could come back stronger. There is nothing wrong with “steady as she goes”, but that won’t happen through caution – it will need a radical and well-developed plan for the next five years, so we can all see our public services getting better.
Warren Brown
Ilkley, West Yorkshire
• Yes, Keir Starmer must allow boldness to be his friend. He must concentrate on hope for the future. He must therefore avoid all the backstory stuff (toolmaking, the law etc) as the public is not interested and it is irrelevant to the task in hand. Doing politics differently means reaching outside the tribe, trusting locally accountable leaders and challenging vested interests in health and elsewhere. In 1997, the civil service embraced New Labour’s plans. It will again deliver what ministers want, as long as ministers know what they want. Boldness and hope are the watchwords.
Jeff Rooker
Labour, House of Lords
• Keir Starmer must be bold, but the model I would follow is not 1997 but 1945. Not merely were the policies truly bold, but they were based on a vision of a better society for all after the devastation of the war. We need that vision, updated in the light of the many existential threats to the planet – and not just for the next election but for the one after it too. That was the failing of the Attlee government: it ran out of steam after achieving its initial objectives in its first term. I rarely agree with Alastair Campbell, but like him I would be happy to see Labour’s radical policies on every Tory leaflet.
Frank Jackson
Harlow, Essex
• As ever, it is tempting to read the runes and forecast the impact of a single byelection result on the wider political environment (Labour’s Scottish byelection win sets off tremors in Holyrood and Westminster, 6 October). But with more than 60% of those eligible deciding not to cast their vote in Rutherglen and Hamilton West, there is cause for concern about the level of disengagement. A bit more boldness from Labour might drive up future turnout.
Les Bright
Exeter, Devon
• Keir Starmer was quoting The Italian Job in saying Labour “blew the doors off” in Rutherglen and Hamilton West, but has forgotten that the film ended with the protagonists hanging on a cliff edge!
Robert Gibbs
Glasgow
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