Labour’s lack of responsibility has let Rhodri down

Welsh Labour needs to alter its approach to leadership in the next era

IEUAN Wyn Jones and Plaid Cymru might seem like a curious place to begin an article about the Welsh Labour leadership, but bear with me. The Ynys Môn AM’s emotional resignation on the steps of Ty Gwynfor in 2003 was the culmination of an onslaught of media attacks on a leader who seemed to have lost a grip on his own party. He had failed to contain it on the issue of independence and his tough internal message that his party had to modernise had fallen upon deaf ears. Yet writers of his political obituary were premature. Ieuan Wyn Jones retained the helm, and Plaid Cymru grew to learn that his vision of a modern campaigning party, unencumbered by the albatross of independence, made sense after a while.

Ieuan Wyn Jones’ shortcomings are well documented. He is not a particularly transformational leader and there are certainly more glamorous communicators in Welsh politics. How we all sniggered when Adam Price referred to him as a “good country solicitor”.

But we all missed the point. What Ieuan possesses is self-awareness, a knowledge of his own strengths and weaknesses. With this in mind he proceeded to build a team around him to compensate for these shortcomings. So in came Adam Price to front election campaigns, the pragmatic intellectual Gwenllian Lansdown to modernise the party bureaucracy. This married well with Ieuan’s dogged pragmatism. In effect, then, Ieuan realised he could not take on all of the work himself and instead forced his party to face up to its responsibilities. Plaid Cymru had learnt from its electoral failures.

So onto Rhodri Morgan, the towering figure of Welsh politics over the last decade. As someone who knows Rhodri better than most, having been consistently entertained by his stories since toddler age, it makes me proud to say that he has been a brilliant leader. The problem in Welsh Labour has not been the charismatic leadership of Rhodri, it has been that Welsh Labour has become complacent. In effect, we have let Rhodri down.

The UK is a country where the leader can become a behemoth in behemoth. That is, until we knock him or her off the pedestal and worship at the feet of the next one that comes along. When it comes to leaders we are hopelessly, promiscuously monogamous; we credit our leaders with superhuman ability when we have them, and we love them and cherish them. Until the next one comes along.

So what has happened in Welsh Labour over recent years is that we have collectively looked to Rhodri for leadership on everything – policy ideas, media strategy, organisational matters, party renewal, as well as the small matter of running the country. No man can ever carry this burden alone, not even a statesman with the gravitas of Rhodri.

The Labour Party, as much as any organisation, can be caught up in the cult of the individual, and its component parts rarely pause to consider what they might do to contribute to good leadership. Responsibility for change needs to be pushed out to where it can most profitably flourish.

There are two examples of such leadership in recent times within the party, from who are not widely credited as impressive leaders, which is a shame. One is Jane Hutt and the other is Ann Jones AM. Both AMs, one is from deep south, the other from up north. Over the years these two local leaders have developed self-sustaining campaign teams, well motivated and always up for the fight. They would die in a ditch for what they believe in. These people don’t need anyone’s permission to get on with the job because they know it is their responsibility to win. This has not been achieved by traditional, alpha-male leadership, but through people facing up to their responsibilities and getting on with the job. It is this kind of leadership that saved Welsh Labour from the political wilderness in the 2007 Assembly election. Without the inspirational leadership of Ann and Jane, who both scraped home, bucking the national trend and confounding the pundits, it is unlikely that Welsh Labour would be governing in the Assembly today.

As we approach an election for the post of Welsh Labour leader, the party needs to reflect on this and learn lessons from recent setbacks. The electoral setbacks and defeats of the past few years have all too often resulted in finger pointing and, consequently, a reluctance to accept responsibility. But accept it we must.

It is easy for people to remain in their comfort zones. This is because change is hard. But we live in a world of dynamism. Discomfort should be welcomed as a sign that we are making progress.

Many people of my age in the Labour movement were inspired by the ideas of Tony Blair and motivated by the cause of progressivism. Yet those who share similar views have allowed themselves to be cowed into passive acquiescence. The left of Welsh Labour has largely made the running, but it too has found itself all too easily trapped into the blame culture (“If only ‘they’ would listen”). The answer, of course, is for us to engage in a grown-up debate about the future of the left in Wales, to build a consensus that will inspire Welsh people to return to the fold. Debate and ideas should be welcomed, not shut down. But for this to happen uncomfortable truths should be noted. It is time that all wings of the party developed real teeth and organised themselves, embracing the creative tension that will build the foundations for a platform of radical and constant change.

Too often party members and local parliamentary and council representatives are given a free pass when it comes to the serious business of analysing and learning from failure. Party volunteers can be inspirational people, giving up their time to fight for what they believe in. But there is no doubt that in many seats lacklustre, tired and unimaginative local campaigns, as much the responsibility of local representatives as members, have become too common. These electoral runs are no more than displacement activity. Local parties are too reliant on a slimline party staff. In turn, perhaps our Welsh party HQ should do more to push the real work out to where it belongs – in the field. This is a difficult reality to face but a redefinition of the role of the party bureaucracy is needed. It ought to be a hub of innovation and ideas, not a centralised institution of control. I know they are up to the task and suspect much of this work is already underway.

Trade unions are rarely criticised by Labour politicians in Wales. And yet, despite recent record employment and favourable legislation, they have continued to lose members and failed to sufficiently modernise. While union officials undoubtedly work hard for the causes they represent, they too must change.

These are difficult statements for any elected politician to make, especially one running for the leadership of a party. And that is understandable. For most of the candidates the leadership election will represent the pinnacle of their careers, a high-risk endeavour. And so they may feel it would be better not to upset any powerful constituencies, to play the tick-box game of praising anyone and everyone associated with the movement. Vested interest is a powerful and stifling force. Even worse than this is the tendency to blame a malign and pervasive ‘London’ for all of the party’s failings. To base a leadership campaign on these strategies would be an abdication of responsibility. In their place party members should demand a vision, of course, but they should also seek out challenge, both in terms of policy and organisationally.

There might be people reading this that think it would sound better coming from a senior figure in the party. And well it might. But change can come from anywhere in an organisation. Why should it not be one of the thousands of party members across Wales who raises these questions, who calls for such change?

Labour should not benchmark itself against Plaid Cymru’s leadership. Benchmarking is a flawed science that too often concludes in mediocrity. We can learn from Ieuan. But we should also be better than that. Welsh Labour contains some of the most talented individuals in present day UK politics. We need to learn from our failings and face up to our responsibilities. In turn we must force our leadership contenders to face up to theirs.

We need to recognise that the next leader of the party will, like all fallible humans, have weaknesses as well as strengths. And it is up to us to jointly provide the leadership the party, and Wales, will need in the coming years.

We are a great party leading a great country. Collectively we can shake ourselves out of this corrosive, institutionalised lethargy and inspire the people of Wales.