Labour Policy Figures Unite to Warn Against Tribalism, Urge Intellectual Debate

Two influential Labour policy figures, who previously put forward distinct "manifestos" for potential future leaders, are now uniting to collaborate on new ideas for the party. Mathew Lawrence, director of Common Wealth and author of the "Manchesterism" essay, and Mark McVitie, who wrote the Labour Growth Group's "An Honest Day," believe the party urgently needs a serious intellectual debate about its future direction, moving beyond mere personality changes.

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The old loyalties were made for a world that has gone.

Their joint intervention follows a week of essays from senior Labour figures, including Andy Burnham, Wes Streeting, and Keir Starmer, responding to former Prime Minister Tony Blair's critique. Blair had urged the party to reject certain worker's rights reforms and net zero policies, advocating for greater market freedoms.

Lawrence and McVitie argue that Labour must abandon its traditional "tribes", such as blue Labour, new Labour, and soft left, and instead find common ground to address pressing issues like high everyday costs and predatory capitalism. They contend that "old loyalties were made for a world that has gone" and that any future prime minister should focus on substantive policy rather than an "desert of ideas."

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Forging that agenda requires the robust testing of ideas and a spirit of pluralism and open debate that was missing. If Labour is to successfully reset, it needs that now, more than ever.

Lawrence, an ally of Burnham, advocates for increased public control over essential utilities. He criticized the "false calm" within the party, where dissent is suppressed in pursuit of electoral victory, arguing that robust debate is necessary for resetting the party's agenda. "Forging that agenda requires the robust testing of ideas and a spirit of pluralism and open debate that was missing," he stated, emphasizing that this does not equate to damaging division.

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The last week has shown how quickly a serious debate about the country’s future gets pulled back into Labour’s old tribal arguments.

McVitie added that the "old tribal arguments are exhausted" and that he and Lawrence, despite starting from different points, have arrived at a shared vision focused on cheaper essentials, a capable state, and rewarded work. He sees the emergence of a "serious political and economic project" and believes the party must decide whether to embrace this new direction.

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Mat and I think those arguments are exhausted, and we’re interested in what comes next. We came from different starting points and arrived at the same place, a politics built around cheaper essentials, a capable state and rewarded work.