Author and trade union media and political director Douglas Beattie is a former Labour councillor and stood for Parliament as the Scottish Labour candidate in the 2017 General Election. His new book, How Labour Wins, examines the party’s successes and failures in the 33 general elections since 1900, including the recent Labour landslide.
Why did you want to write How Labour Wins?
After Labour lost heavily in 2019, I began reflecting on the history of the Labour Party. Who they were and where they had come from and what they were trying to do to shape Britain, and where the successes and failures had come from. I felt the best way I could look at that was through a different kind of political history that looked at each election in which Labour had taken part since 1900. What came out of this was not just a history of the Labour Party but also a reflection of Britain during this period right up to the present day. Younger people and people generally have a sense of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, but they know little about people like Neil Kinnock, Jim Callaghan, Harold Wilson and even less of Clement Atlee and women like Barbara Castle, but they all shaped modern Britain in ways that are still with us today. And yet their stories have kind of been forgotten and I think it’s important to revive these stories.
What were the most important things you learned while writing your book?
There have always been tensions within the Labour Party. They elected Keir Hardie as the first leader in 1906 by about one vote, so the tensions are historic. The first and second world wars were major turning points for the whole country. Out of the First World War came a long depression with millions unemployed which led to the Beveridge Report of 1942 and the Labour government in 1945. This is a huge moment in the country where we have the Welfare State, NHS and nationalised industry coming along in a very short period of time. People need hope in their lives. They need to feel they can live good lives in strong communities where they can put food on the table. The 1945 Labour manifesto said, ‘the nation wants food, work and homes.’ I don’t think it’s very different today.
You examine Labour’s successes and failures over the years. Can you pick out a couple of key moments?
In 1931, Ramsay MacDonald the Labour prime minister decided the best way forward in the face of a financial crisis was to form a national government with the Conservatives and the Liberals led by him. He didn’t consult his Labour cabinet which refused to implement huge cuts that would have hit the unemployed. MacDonald was kicked out of the party and there was this huge historic split and Labour fell out of power and didn’t return until 1945. You cannot implement austerity measures if you’re the Labour Party so that was an obvious failure. A success is clearly in 1945 when they defeat Churchill, who has just won a war, and create a totally different Britain. People believed that the Labour Party was best set to implement the great changes necessary after the Second World War.
What were the key reasons behind Labour’s landslide victory in the recent general election?
The Conservative government under Boris Johnson was seen as quite unstable and then you had covid, Partygate and the fallout over his leadership. Then there’s Liz Truss and if you crash the economy you destroy your chances of being re-elected. What Keir Starmer and Labour did was retain their credibility because in comparison they were seen as competent. The anti-Tory mood in the country was already set and it was almost impossible for Rishi Sunak to break through that prism. So Labour would have been pretty confident going into the election. The only question mark is they only won with 34 per cent of the vote in a relatively low turnout.
Politics used to be very tribal but is that still true today?
I think people are less tribal, but we have to be careful with that notion. Yes, 2024 tells us people are more willing to listen to fringe groups but in 2017 and again in 2019 you could say we returned to something approaching two party politics again. Personally, I don’t think people are as tribal as they used to be but if Labour and the Conservatives are able to clearly define who they are then they are still the two dominant political blocks.
Does the popularity of the Left and Right come in cycles?
Politics is driven by ideas. If you have new ideas that people support, they will get behind you. It becomes cyclical when governments run out of ideas. In 1964, Harold Wilson came in with this brilliant idea of the ‘white hot heat’ of scientific revolution. By then the Conservatives had been in power since 1951, and they had their time. Beyond ten years governments have often run their course, the leadership has been there too long and usually the opposition has something new and fresh to offer the electorate.
What do you hope people take away from your book?
I hope they don’t just read it as a history of the Labour Party but also as a reflection of Britain over the last 125 years and how key Labour has been to every progressive step forward.
What are you looking forward to most about coming to Harrogate?
I’m hoping to go and see some of the other speakers at the Festival. I haven’t been to Harrogate before, but I’ve heard many good things about the town. I got a postcard from a friend of mine who proposed to his girlfriend there in the early 90s, and I remember looking at the postcard and thinking it looked like an enchanting place so I’m really looking forward to seeing it for myself.