I was pounding the pavements all day yesterday in Basildon (South East Pitsea Ward) and attended the count at the local Towngate Theatre for the early results. As the first successes of UKIP were announced across the tinny tannoy the room froze. We were aware of the other results in Essex; the sheer size of the UKIP votes stunned and shocked us in equal measure. Suddenly there was an awareness that politics in Britain had changed: huddles of panicked whispering began to discuss the new brand of fascism that had just come of age in Britain!
Is this an over-reaction? Not really. If fascism is defined as a political movement that: appeals to the emotions rather than the intellect; defines itself according to idealised romantic images of national identity; and feeds on the absence of truth and vacuums in power, then UKIP is as much a fascist party as Berlusconi's Forza Italia. Forza Italia held power in Italy over the last couple of decades.
Why are UKIP so successful? It is probably an over-exagerration to describe UKIP as a 'political force' in Britain. So far they have made useful progress in terms of representing the protest vote - but this is a fairly flimsy foundation upon which to build a career. The reality is that protest is (and always has been) a political force in Britain. Protest has mutated through various forms of extremism in the past. But no other party is making politcal capital out of our need to protest today. The protest vote is a curious animal. In theory it is all about cultural and economic anxiety and a collective surge towards a unifying identity in the face of a variety of (real or perceived) threats to our (national?) security.
How can the UKIP threat be challenged? Inside the hall last night it began to occur to me that Labour is weak on narrative. By narrative I mean the one thing people would say is the main reason they are voting for any political party. And a narrative that is situated: in this case on the door-step not the TV/Radio studio. The UKIP narrative is about Immigration and/or Europe. The Conservative narrative is about Capitalism. The LibDem narrative has virtually collpased now but was about Localism. The Labour narrative set out to be 'One Nation-ism'....but tell me now, how much more have we learnt about what this means?
What is the Labour narrative? Milliband needs to revisit the 'One Nation' agenda in response to the strong support for UKIP on Immigration and the Conservatives on Capitalism. If 'One Nation' means more Equality, then that can be interpretted as more equality for Britain among our European allies, a more equal balance between immigration and emigration within the borders of Europe, and more equal access to the profits of capitalism across the UK. Equality also means a rainbow alliance that has now become part of our national identity - if changes to the constitution of the monarchy and the Church of England are to be believed.
So the voice of Basildon, Essex and the UK has spoken: now the leaders of the country must listen. Milliband is a new type of inoffensive politician who appeals to young voters, has a clean media image and is fairly user freindly. But he is not good at the cloak and dagger, violently aggressive, coup de'tat type of politican that the older generation respect and admire. Rather than question the Labour leadership it is time for the leader to step up to the challenge. Milliband must now organise a re-shuffle to clearly define the 'One Nation' image for the party and the country; create a policy narrative around the central idea of Equality; and lead the party to success at the next general election.
