Labour and the battle of ideas

Abstract

This article engages with recent Labour Party policy reviews and writings which have sought to develop the project of 'One Nation Labour'. It focuses on four elements of Labour's emerging policy debate: the Jon Cruddas and Jonathan Rutherford's pamphlet One Nation: Labour's Political Renewal; One Nation Fizz, a book edited by Roberta Blackman-Woods, Diana Johnson and Barbara Keeley in which Labour shadow ministers set out their positions; the Local Government Innovation Taskforce's The Case For Change, published by Labour's Policy Review (on localism); and Andrew Adonis's Mending the Fractured Economy: Smarter State, Better Jobs, an independent review carried out for the Labour Party and published by Policy network. Through doing so, I evaluate key aspects of the party's approach to the post-crisis political conjuncture. The article concludes by outlining the importance of shaping antagonisms which seek to go beyond an acceptance of austerity.