It’s been 100 days since Labour won a landslide victory, propelling the Opposition into Government for the first time in 14 years. Celebrations were jubilant in constituency Labour Parties across the country but the message at the time was clear; the election campaign was hard, but governing will be harder (how true that has turned out to be...)
Labour’s majority is wide but shallow, with a large number of seats being won to the surprise of the new Member of Parliament representing it. They are though clearly an ambitious bunch, with a number of them going for select committee chairs, much to the chagrin of their more experienced colleagues who suggested perhaps they should learn the Westminster ropes first, as well as spend more time in their constituencies.
So, what has been achieved in the first 100 days? Are there lessons to be learnt or does it set the tone for the next five years of Labour government?
Some had suggested policies would come out the gate thick and fast, with a ‘100 policies for 100 days’ theme. Certainly, there were big, early and radical announcements that mirrored the manifesto pledges, including the creation of GB Energy, the nationalisation of the railways and planning reform. Economic growth has been the first amongst equals of the pledges Labour made ahead of the election and Rachel Reeves clearly has a tight grip on the Treasury and department spending. That said, in recent weeks this momentum has rather ground to a halt as everyone waits for the Budget announcement on 30 October, likely to be one of the most significant since George Osborne’s in 2010.
The politics has been more radical than the policies. With a slim political team in Number 10 and signs of infighting between special advisors, sometimes it has felt as if ‘the grid’ was empty. Media stories have not been pumped out in the way some would want to see, and that has left the lobby searching for stories, particularly with a distracted Conservative party who appear to be providing little opposition. Nowhere has this been clearer than the Lord Alli donations story, which spun out for many more days than it should have. There wasn’t a clear grip on the narrative and the crisis communications was more crisis than communications. Journalists themselves have said they continued to write about the declarations story because there was nothing else the Government was offering them.
This came to a head last weekend, with the unceremonious reshuffle of Number 10 staff, and the communications grid being moved back to sit with the communications team. Many hope this refresh ahead of the first 100 days milestone will bring the political edge that has been sorely lacking in to Number 10.
Given all this, it made sense that Labour Party Conference felt flat, and that didn’t feel like the celebration that was rightly deserved. Of course, this needed to be balanced with the severe messaging from the Chancellor about the UK economy and measures that will be announced in the budget. However, many delegates still expected more of a positive vibe than was portrayed. Having said that, Conference was full and queues to get in spanned hundreds, including new members of the Parliamentary Labour Party.
In 2019, it was thought Conservative rule would be hegemonic. The same can’t be said of Labour now, with poll ratings lower than many would feel comfortable with. The reset of Number 10 provides hope that the Government can continue with its policy agenda without the distractions, infighting and lack of spin from inside the heart of Government. Number 10 should never be the story, but merely conduct the orchestra of media stories of government.
Ultimately though, what we find is a Labour Party still settling into government, which is understandable after 14 years on the other side of the house and a near total change from the Labour Party of just 4 years ago. It hasn’t been easy for them and many mistakes have been made, but, after a rocky first 100 days, surely things can only get better?