In October 2015 I wrote an article for Lib Dem Voice entitled ‘We Need More Blue Collar Liberals’. Since then I have been attempting to keep the issues raised by the article ‘live’, turning statements by leading figures in our party regarding encouraging people from lower socio economic groups to become more involved in the Liberal Democrats into concrete actions.
These efforts haven’t met with any success so far.
With the notable exception of EMLD, the dialogue has not resulted in anything concrete and a cynic might say that the party hierachy appears more than happy with the comfort zone of the status quo.
This has led me to consider launching a group probably called ‘Blue Collar Liberals’, (although I am open to alternative suggestions), with the following founding statement:
Blue Collar Liberals Founding Principles and Objectives
Blue Collar Liberals has been founded with the long term aim of reaching out to sections of the population who have not supported a liberal party in Britain for over 100 years. We want to help the Liberal Democrats build their voting base to the point where once again liberalism is the main opposition to the Conservative party in our country.To support this we want to see the following;
# The adoption of policies aimed at eliminating poverty, low pay, employment insecurity and tackling the chronic shortage of affordable housing.
# Major campaigning initiatives to gain popular support for the above, including national petitions, public events etc.
# The removal of the financial barriers that currently prevent some Lib Dem members attending party training sessions, conferences and becoming candidates.
# Positive action to build a more diverse party, enabling people from a much wider range of backgrounds to be selected as candidates for Parliament, Europe and the devolved assemblies.
We will work with all fellow Liberal Democrats who share all or some of the above objectives, particularly other under-represented groups in our Party including women, ethnic minority, LGBT and the disabled.
Before proceeding any further I wanted to get feedback from fellow Liberals.
* David is a member of Horsham and Crawley Liberal Democrats
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30 Comments
This is good! I’m more interested in blue collar policies than diversity, but it is certainly a demographic that nationally the Lib Dems have struggled to appeal to for some time.
I think Tim Farron gets this. It’s why he has been partly leading campaigns such as #SaveOurSteel. The Lib Dems can’t just focus on green manufacturing, it needs to embrace a bit of traditional manufacturing too.
There are issues on both left and right that can cause people lower down on the economic scale to flock to the likes of UKIP en-mass, but the Lib Dems should be the natural party for people to go to who are worried about Tory cuts and Labour/SNP dogmatism.
This is good, we need to broaden our appeal and educate voters as to what we actually stand for. It’s a constant bugbear of mine that, by and large, the general public has little grasp of what it means to be a Liberal Democrat.
Also social policy should remain truly Liberal and focus on bettering the individual and helping those who can’t help themselves, and avoid any Socialist connotations.
I fully support the idea but couldn’t we come up with a better term than ‘blue collar’? Some would say it’s meaningless to most people at best, and patronising at worst.
This is very important. Socialism has made lots of big promises that it didn’t and never could deliver. Liberals must do better or see votes peel off to the UKIPs of this world.
One idea that might be worth promoting is Obama’s wage insurance proposal http://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21688921-insuring-workers-against-lower-wages-one-lefts-better-ideas-creative-compensation
The founding statement could be adopted by most if not all political parties.
I suggest you seek something more distinctive which not everyone would sign up to.
Signed:
A blue collar factory worker until getting a degree in engineering at university
Save our steel? Theory of comparative trade advantage would indicate that making basic steel in the uk from imported coal and iron ore is probably not where we need to concentrate. In energy terms the north african meiterranean coast might be optimal for concentrated solar energy. We should make sure that the losers from changes like this are cared for in our society Retraining & generous unemployment / redundancy..
High spec steel might be something the uk is better at than others.
Jenny, the issue is: do we give up as soon as someone tries to attack one of our key industries? If there is steel dumping then it should be stopped. It’s not just about protectionism either, Unite the Union want to cut taxes for the industry.
You are right on comparative advantage though. UK has a comparative advantage in finance and it is why I think we need to embrace it a bit more (not to mention that I work in it).
Been blue collar, been white collar .but always a social liberal think Joe Otten may be on to something here .one of the real problems you can have now a days is insecure employment or a fixed term contract with no guarantee of renewal. Having some safety net whilst you seek alternative employment would help take the pressure off low income households.
But has there really been steel dumping? Is the low oil price down to oil dumping?
The issue is that we live in a much more connected and integrated world, so many supply chains that once were local such as steel making in the UK using UK mined coal and iron ore, are now global with all the resulting consequences.
Hence what was a blue collar job yesterday, isn’t necessarily going to be around tomorrow, however, the people who undertook those blue collar jobs will. So the issue isn’t protecting specific industries and jobs but ensuring we cultivate a blue collar job sector, so that these people can meaningfully participate.
In this respect I support David’s attempts at making LibDem policies more relevant to this demographic.
In theory at least, all those policies already are Party policy, arent they ?
I see the problem with “blue collar”, its American English not British English. Its a lot better than “Working Class” though. Blue collar describes someones job but Class is tied up with Identity.
“Blue Collar” jobs have been in decline since at least the early 80’s – largely because the govt has chosen that they should be in decline . Imports have displaced domestically produced coal, steel, and many manufactured goods. It is not the only factor, but the value of the pound can determine the viability or otherwise of any particular commercial enterprise.
If all countries allowed their currencies to freely float, with no government intervention, then no country would have a large trade imbalance -or more correctly a deficit or surplus in its current account. As it is, the governments of some countries choose to depress their currencies (Germany, Singapore, China, Switzerland, Denmark etc) and run trade surpluses. Other countries (the UK , the USA) choose to elevate their currencies, by selling debt (gilts or government bonds) and end up running a trading deficit.
It’s all a matter of choice! Britain could choose to depress the pound and force its trade to balance or be in surplus too. Whether that would be a good thing is debatable, but the mechanism is very simple, but even so, not as widely appreciated as it might be.
A lower pound wouldn’t necessarily make the UK production of steel and some other manufactured goods commercially viable, but it would help.
Thanks for all the comments guys.
If somebody has a better title than ‘Blue Collar’ then please suggest one.
David and colleagues above , very good analysis . The comments reflect real support for what you are saying , but , David , your proposals are what already appeals to those of us already Liberal Democrats.The mere mention of UKIP shows that we have to think about ,firstly, precisely what the aim is with this and ,secondly , exactly who we want to reach .My regular criticism of our own lot , if you excuse the euphemism , is our policies and pronouncements are not robust enough .I was looking , the summer of 2015 to consider forming a new grouping in the party ,with others , to address this , then the social democrat group , formed by people I respect and usually agree with , came into being , and , what with Liberal Reform and Social Liberal Forum ,I thought , maybe it would all be a bit much , especially as I am already developing a professionally oriented project , in my own field , linked to and , also, and mainly , for party members , which I hope eventually shall become an Associated Organisation in the party .I do think we need to be a strong , moderate but often radical force , one with a very broad and mainstream appeal , but dynamic and not , what , as you know , the Americans call “bleeding heart liberals “!
PS where do you see it in relation ,name etc to Blue Labour ?
The name?
LD New Economy Campaign .
Like many have been blue collar, white collar and khaki collar. I also feel we are obsessed with diversity and seen as a middle class party of teachers, social workers, journalists and university lecturers. In addition the obsession of sending everyone to university however useless the degree. The latest nonsense being the discussion that all police officers should be university graduates albeit in a police degree. With the bonus for the government officers would pay for their own training. Police Officers and Firefighters should come from all parts of society having learned common sense as has always been the case. The trouble now is that graduates join the police as their degree is useless for employment. Then these individuals want to turn the job into a “profession”. We must insist society values everyone equally not just the users and financiers so beloved of the Tories. Met some Icelandic men recently they proudly announced all there crooked bankers were in prison, ours left very rich men. That is the UK today. Excuse the ramble.
For users read userers
@Lorenzo
Thanks.
The thing that worries me most is the complacency by some in the party.
They think making a £100 available to members who cannot afford to attend conference is addressing the issue.
I think policy will develop naturally in a direction that appeals to the lower paid, unemployed and disadvantaged.
However getting people from those backgrounds into prominent roles in the Lib Dems is going to be a lot more difficult.
Perhaps new title:
LibDems for the Waged Majority
David , intelligent , common sense approach ! Let me say this , to respond to your direct comments and do what every Liberal Democrat wants surely , to avoid stereotypes: I am university educated , from a middle class background yet where neither of my parents ever made any good money , so was actually more hard up than some at times, and have been , myself , in a precarious situation ,for years , due to , amongst other things , a car accident that dented my career and especially my wife s , as a result of injury ,and thus , domestic security , and therefore I have been , “low paid , unemployed and disadvantaged “, your words, David , at times , and so , perhaps , should be one of those for your plan of “getting people from those backgrounds into prominent positions in the Lib Dems “!Your insight and understanding is , genuinely , very appreciated .
@Lorenzo
Thanks.
I spent most of my early working life in low paid jobs, getting into the post office led me onto involvement in the union where eventually I reached a senior level and became relatively well paid.
That came to an abrupt end when I had to give up the job to become a carer.
For the past five years I haven’t been able to do any paid work so my situation has changed dramatically.
I want to become more actively involved in the party but financial constraints prevent that.
There are plenty of others in a similar position.
There has already been a Lib Dem Campaign for Manufacturing spearheaded by Ian Swales and Gordon Birtwistle but as you can see from that website, it’s a bit defunct. It might be worth seeing if they have something you can build from however?
Nice article and comments.
If such a group (of whatever name, though I’d avoid blue collar) were created, at whatever level of official party status were created it could be useful.
I hear so many say that their specific choice of degree turned out to be irrelevant to their eventual employment, though often the fact they were able to demonstrate the ability to achieve a degree proved helpful. (Maybe we should discuss what degrees we should focus on / back with taxpayers money)
I forget who came up with the idea of setting up a group for Small Business owners/entrepreneurs last year, but I wish both of these endeavours well.
Maybe David you could test the water by setting up website/blog/facebook pages and build and guage support.
I’d guess that to run a worthwhile Conference is a pretty expensive business, with accommodation in so many cases adding much of the cost, perhaps there are more creative ways to look at those aspects. Certainly the party centrally and regionally has plenty of things to spend its funds on, though maybe for at least some of those with determination and talent (but inadequate funds) they could be “employed ” by the party in campaigns or admin part-time such as to enable them to afford to attend events.
Certainly cost and distance have affected my choices around conferences.
It is NOT the same, of that i’m sure, but I have found Regional Conferences to be great fun, informative and a good chance to meet with others.
Perhaps a little more co-ordination could promote shared travel and accomodation, maybe there’s a few Lib Dems nearish to Conference with spare rooms (or Motorhomes or…) who would like to earn a little something, whilst helping others and maybe enjoy a bit of robust conversation over a glass (or two) too?
Definitely don’t call it “Lib Dems for the waged majority”. The left already largely ignores trades people like plumbers, joiners, electricians etc. and there are masses of low paid self-employed people these days that should count as Blue Collar.
I had a conversation with Paul Butters who works for Tim Farron this afternoon.
He ran through what the party is doing on the issues I have raised.
It was a positive discussion but we will have to see how things develop.
Things like the conference access fund are a step in the right direction and I am awaiting the motion on diversity with interest.
Really glad to see you pushing this David. As others have mentioned, there’s not much you’re proposing that many in the party would disagree with. I think one of our big problems is that we appear out of touch with people, even if our policies would benefit them. And that’s because, as a largely middle class party, we can’t help but be out of touch with those on low incomes.
Obviously, that’s a generalisation, and I’m not criticising the commitment of members to the issues, but it seems to me a simple fact that voters all over the world, of whatever political perusasion, like to be represented by people like them. In a sense, it’s something which goes to the heart of democracy. It’s not about a choice between a tyranical despot and a liberal despot. It’s about self rule.
It’s why I’m also glad you’re talking about diversity and representation. If we don’t look like the people who make up our society, they won’t vote for us. It’s one of the reasons it’s so crucial that we stop being so complacent about having so few women, so few ethnic minority and so few people from low-income backgrounds representing us in parliament and at all other levels too.
Other names
WageUK LibDems
WagedUK Libdems
LibDems for Waged Workers
LibDems for Lower Paid
LibDems for Living Wage
LibDems Living Waged
etc
@Jonathan Brown
Spot On.
David Warren – Thanks for this. I totally agree that the Lib Dems ought to reflect the interests of ‘blue collar liberals’ better and I’m delighted there is so much support for this. But I don’t think it’s just a ‘blue collar’ issue; across the board the party as more often then not reflects either corporate interests or identity group interests.
And it begs a rather important question. How is it that the party needs a pressure group to keep LDHQ’s attention focussed what so many of us have always thought of as its core aims and objectives?
I fear that the Lib Dems, like the larger parties, has been overtaken by a metropolitan view and lost touch with their roots. We say the Tories ‘won’ the last election but with just 24% of the electorate supporting them it’s more accurate to say they lost – but just less badly than the others. In the support for Corbyn, Trump and Sanders we see a widespread revolt against the political establishment that I think is also building fast in the Lib Dems.
That speaks to deep-seated problems of governance for the party which will be difficult to correct but must be corrected or we are just wasting our time.
@Gordon
Excellent points.
One of the many reasons I started this initiative is to get the party to examine its electoral strategy more closely.