Sunday 3 January 2010

Polly Toynbee Pinpoints Labour's Failure To Help The Less Well Off

I don't always agree with what Polly Toynbee writes. Although I do share her political priorities of improving social mobility and reducing poverty. Her column in yesterday's Guardian was spot on about Labour's failure and the failure of Gordon Brown. Of particular importance is her analysis of how Labour's record affects the less well off in society:

Growth in his [Gordon Brown's] time was profoundly unfairly shared – over half the population saw virtually no growth at all; GDP per capita is a fraudulent measure that disguises how almost all growth went to the top 10%, and most to the top 1%... Middle Britain did badly however hard they worked and "played by the rules". Whose rules?... Brown cannot admit the monumental error he and Ed Balls made in their economic policies because there are some mistakes just too big to apologise for.

This comes only a few months after she damned Labour's record on social mobility:

"on Labour's watch, class has become more rigid, destiny for most babies is decided at birth, and the incomes of rich and poor families have drawn further apart."
Polly Toynbee was one of Gordon Brown's biggest cheerleaders. That she now notes the level of Labour's failure to help those people who had the highest hopes of a Labour Government says so much.

Labour have betrayed ordinary, working class people. They have betrayed anybody who dares to aspire. That is why so many people in North Durham, who have put their faith in the Labour Party for so long, are ready to vote for real change at the next election.

If elected, I will work unstintingly to ensure that priority is given to policies aimed at improving social mobility, helping people fulfil their aspirations and fighting poverty. I will work to ensure that the advantages of birth play an ever diminishing role in British life. The Government have had thirteen years to turn the situation round and have failed utterly. It is now time for the failed Labour establishment in the North East to step aside for those of us with the ideas and determination to create a new wave of social mobility and aspiration.

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