Richard Heller: Outlook for Jeremy Corbyn's Labour worse than party's 1983 suicide mission

I AM a scarred veteran of Labour's 1983 election campaign. In weeks of unremitting toil, I helped to lose the party 51 seats and be driven out of huge swathes of the electoral map.
Michael Foot was Labour leader in 1983.Michael Foot was Labour leader in 1983.
Michael Foot was Labour leader in 1983.

I still wake up at night remembering its disasters. There was the “suicide note” manifesto. It was not only packed with unpopular policies such as unilateral disarmament, higher taxes and restored power to trade unions, but also frequently incomprehensible. Many Labour candidates actually read the Conservative election guide to discover the policies they were supposed to put to the nation.

Because of one slipshod phrase in that manifesto (“we will ban hunting with dogs”, rather than “hounds”) we had to waste a whole week denying that Labour wanted to ban rough shooting.

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I remember our leader, Michael Foot, being sent to an open-air meeting in hunting country. Television showed him beset by a pro-hunting demonstration, trying to make a speech against the blare of horns and the baying of hounds (not dogs). On the same day, for her lone television appearance, Margaret Thatcher launched a lifeboat into the sunset.

I remember Labour’s then general secretary, Jim Mortimer, suddenly announcing a non-existent vote on whether Michael Foot should remain leader.

In fairness my own boss, Denis Healey, made his own contribution to the campaign turmoil, when he got over-excited in a routine passage of his stock speech and accused Mrs Thatcher of “glorying in slaughter” during the Falklands war.

I cannot remember a single good day in Labour’s 1983 campaign – but Labour is in worse shape today.

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It starts the campaign about five percentage points in the polls below its poor standings in 1983 – when the party still held Scotland.

Although a big handicap to Labour as its candidate for Prime Minister, Michael Foot was a better and more popular leader than Jeremy Corbyn. He could produce spellbinding oratory and beautifully written prose. He inspired genuine affection on the campaign trail.

Labour had the option in 1983 of replacing him with a much stronger leader – Denis Healey. Sadly, the party never even discussed this option (partly because Denis himself would not allow it) even when the campaign committee saw polling evidence that it would have taken Labour to level pegging with Margaret Thatcher. Removing Corbyn now would only make Tom Watson leader. He offers nothing to Labour as its potential Prime Minister and he carries heavy baggage in all mainstream media.

Labour’s Shadow Cabinet in 1983 was a much stronger alternative government than Corbyn’s. Nineteen of its 26 members had had senior ministerial government experience in the Wilson and Callaghan governments. Besides Foot and Healey, these included Peter Shore, Roy Hattersley, Merlyn Rees, John Smith, John Silkin, Gerald Kaufman and Eric Varley. Only one of those 26 had never served in government and he was a man of clear talent – Neil Kinnock.

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A Corbyn government would be a match for the Duke of Wellington’s “Who? Who?” ministry. Only three of his Shadow Cabinet, none in front-rank roles, have ever been ministers.

Labour in 1983 was handicapped by a sprinkling of Trotskyite or otherwise dotty candidates. But it did not have to rebut today’s almost daily charges that it is permeated with extremism, anti-semitism and Islamic bigotry. In 1983 before social media, Labour did not have to answer for thousands of stupid and offensive tweets or Facebook entries.

Despite the “suicide note” manifesto, Labour in 1983 had managed to put a few popular policies in the shop window for some years, particularly on job creation and NHS spending. Labour policy today is a mystery to voters on almost every subject, particularly Brexit, where many Labour candidates will make up their own policy. Labour will have to answer daily charges of splits, while Mrs May will be able to ask voters for a blank cheque on the Brexit negotiations.

In one way, Labour looks better off than 1983: there is no alternative opposition government on offer, as there was then with the SDP/Liberal Alliance. But against that Labour now faces a double squeeze in many English seats. Labour voters who want to stay in the 
EU could well vote Liberal Democrat, while those who want to leave and 
control immigration are still vulnerable to Ukip.

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Above all, the Labour Party wanted 
to win the 1983 election, and worked 
flat out to achieve this. Many party members thought this was still possible, in spite of Labour’s problems. Today almost no one believes this, even in Corbyn’s inner circle. Discarded New Labour grandees such as Peter Mandelson and their followers want Labour to lose as badly as possible in 
the hope that what is left of the party 
will beg for their return.

Tony Blair, the Gloria Swanson of British politics, will then announce that he is ready for his close-up.

Richard Heller was chief of staff to Denis Healey from 1981 to 1983.