There are two ways the centre-left can win elections, either by seeking votes from the centre-right or coalescing the votes already on the centre-left. The path chosen doesn’t just determine whether you win, but how you govern.
Any opportunity to remove the right from office, when it is always in power via its hegemonic sweep of ideology, institutions and forces, is necessary but insufficient. It’s winning on different terms that is essential to being in office and kickstarting the path to real power.
Labour has obviously decided to win from the right. This means providing overwhelming evidence to rightwing voters, the media and big business that nothing of any substance will really change if they win. The circle is squared with enough of the left, or rather the sticking plaster is applied, by betting the ranch on growth. What happens if GDP remains stuck is a worry for another day.
