22.04.1999

Livingstone faces both ways

‘Loyal’ Ken keeps up pressure on Blair

“Livingstone ready to stand as independent,” announced The Guardian’s front-page headline last weekend (April 17).

Enough to get sections of the left rubbing their hands in anticipation. Socialist Outlook for example has been calling not only for Ken Livingstone to have the right to contest the Labour nomination for the first mayor of London, but actually wants the former leader of the Greater London Council to be adopted as the working class candidate in the 2000 elections.

However, a closer examination of the article below the headline, and of the extracts from Guardian journalist John Carvel’s new biography of Livingstone published on an inside page, reveals that things are not quite so simple. The only indication we are given that the Brent East MP is even contemplating going it alone is a passage from Carvel which quotes unnamed “political friends”. According to them, “he has already made the ‘psychological leap’ towards accepting the possibility of a future outside the Labour Party”.

No doubt, as the canny opportunist he is, Livingstone long ago accepted that “possibility”. But to suggest that in present circumstances he is positively considering forming some breakaway grouping is sheer fantasy. The Evening Standard reported on Tuesday a flat denial. Not surprising in this game of bluff and double bluff.  The room to advance his political career significantly within New Labour remains far from negligible. A ministerial position even in the short term is not ruled out. The same extracts quote “a senior No10 spokesman” in “an authorised interview” with Carvel talking of Blair’s ‘hopes’ of bringing Livingstone “on board”.

According to this “Downing Street source”, immediately after the May 1997 general election, “Nothing specific was offered, but there were discussions.” He went on to claim that “Tony likes him. They can have an amiable chat ... He will always have regard for somebody who is a good communicator. He feels it is a terrible waste. He is rather depressed about it.”

So what is going on? Well, first of all The Guardian is more than a little keen to publicise the biography (publishers - Guardian Culture Shop). But Livingstone himself is also happy to go along with it all - so much so that he is signing all copies of Turn again Livingstone ordered through The Guardian before next week.

Clearly he is playing the London mayor card for all it is worth - The Guardian’s misleading headline is all grist to the mill. Livingstone’s pulling power in London is widely recognised. It is not only the soft left who want to claim him as their own. Many Labour Party members have fond memories of Red Ken taking on Margaret Thatcher during the days of the GLC.

However, Blair is fully aware of his personal ambitions. He knows too that, if it suited Livingstone’s purposes, the latter would not hesitate to use his position as the capital’s elected leader to further those ambitions - whether or not his actions were in the interests of New Labour. That is why, from Blair’s point of view, Livingstone must be kept out of the mayor’s post at all costs. But there would be a price to pay should Blair decide to go ahead with bureaucratic proposals to prevent Livingstone’s nomination in the party’s selection process.

According to The Guardian, Downing Street has weighed all this up. The spokesperson admitted to Carvel: “No one underestimates the fallout. It’s not just the party. Ken is more popular among the public than in the party.” This was borne out by the reaction Livingstone has generated with his ‘Let Ken stand’ campaign. His February 15 Central Hall rally was packed out, with the 1,000-strong audience according him two enthusiastic standing ovations. Since then there have been other events, like the ‘comics for Ken’ show at the Hackney Empire. His February advertisements appealing for funds are said to have netted him £25,000 within days.

But Livingstone is cleverly playing it both ways. While allowing The Guardian to run stories of a possible split, he is simultaneously professing ultra-loyalty to New Labour. In his ‘open letter’ to Tony Blair early in the year he poured scorn on the suggestion that he would use the position of London mayor to undermine the government:

“I want to put such absurdities to rest once and for all and give you a categorical assurance that, if Londoners voted for me to be their first elected mayor, I would work with your government, not against it” (The Guardian January 29).

Livingstone added: “I do not find myself in a position of ideological conflict with my government.” Indeed, “Your administration has the potential to be a great reforming government on a par with those of 1906 and 1945.” He assured Blair that the reforms he was proposing for London “could be delivered within the government’s current financial constraints”. Furthermore, he also agreed to allow the official party machine total control of the electoral campaign and offered to run alongside a Blairite as candidate for deputy mayor.

It is true that Livingstone has attacked Gordon Brown’s handling of the economy. He also described Peter Mandelson as “the sewer, not the sewage”, and slammed Robin Cook for “running along behind America like a demented poodle”. But that was last year, before Kosova. This year, not so red Ken has shown he can howl and yap with the best of them. Now he is all in favour of imperialist air attacks. He told the Commons earlier this month:

“It is the duty of the nations that have the military power to protect individual communities from systematic genocide by evil regimes. Where the west has the power and uses it wisely, I will support that intervention.”                

Previously the CPGBdid not rule out completely the possibility of giving Livingstone critical support in the unlikely event of his name being on the ballot form for mayor next year. But we said: “The left should consider backing him only if he breaks with Blair and stands as a socialist” (my emphasis Weekly Worker February 18). Having now placed himself well and truly in the camp of social-imperialism however, Livingstone has ruled himself out as a candidate that any socialist, democrat or anti-imperialist could even think of supporting.

Clearly Ken Livingstone is driven by one thing: an overwhelming ambition to advance his career. At present the space is there on Labour’s left wing, and he could yet head a future revival. That would be the conventional route to the top. However, the introduction of proportional representation also leaves open another possibility. Livingstone could lead a viable new party, given the right circumstances. The ideological position of such a political formation is impossible to determine in advance - except to say that Ken will be its dictator. At present the man combines a left image with capitalist common sense (he is pro-EU). It should not be forgotten that both Mussolini and Mosley originated as socialists. Livingstone for his part has the ability and the burning ambition which could make a mass-based red-brown party in Britain.

No doubt Livingstone has considered all his options. But for now the Labour Party itself still looks the best bet. His own miniature canine imitations in relation to Nato’s bombing of Yugoslavia must have encouraged Blair to think about buying him off in more positive terms.

Surely now the non-Labour left will abandon its tailing of Livingstone? I would not count on it. Despite all their moralistic huff-and-puff about New Labour’s unpopularity, groups like the SWP, Socialist Party, the Alliance for Workers’ Liberty and Socialist Outlook have shown by their actions in the Socialist Alliance electoral bloc that they have not the slightest confidence in their own ability to provide working class leadership. In London the confirmation that Arthur Scargill was to head the SLP Euro-election list threw the SWP into crisis and caused the Alliance to splinter.

For as long as the left is unable to contemplate giving a lead itself - not least in elections - then would-be labour dictators like Scargill and Livingstone will continue to steal the initiative.

Alan Fox