Labour’s Great Moving Right Show moves on
The Great Moving Right Show was a term developed by the late Marxist theorist Stuart Hall to analyse the Thatcherite political project in the 1980s. Through an earlier range of culture wars it developed a political hegemony that saw Thatcher win three elections. Hall’s actual point, misunderstood by New Labour was not that Labour needed to capture the same ground but rather to develop a similar hegemonic project on the left.
At least some of the people who didn’t grasp Hall’s point in the 1990s are influential in Labour’s policies in 2023.
Labour did reasonably well in the local elections on May 4th. Well enough to suggest that a General Election victory is possible. Anyone who wants to see the Tories out can hardly be upset about that.
One way of developing from May 4th would be to develop distinctive policies around energy, the cost of living and climate change further. Perhaps that will be done.
However on 9th May Starmer gave a series of interviews that suggested that the Great Moving Right Show is continuing. He expressed a relaxed view on the rich, pace Mandelson (who is rich) which may not have impressed those- millions- struggling to pay the bills. He also opined that he would not repeal Braverman’s Public Order Act, despite voting against, but would let it bed in. Its an odd stance for a former human rights lawyer.
The spectre raised by Starmer is that we are seeing an echo at least of Kinnock in 1992, the leader who should have won an election but did not. If Starmer’s Great Moving Right Show continues it may become a difficult reality.
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