Former shadow minister Chris Williamson exposes Keir Starmer’s betrayal of the public and democracy. He reveals that just like the Tories, it is big business that call the tune.
Sir @Keir_Starmer's Labour Party has an all too cosy relationship with big business, which is leading the country down the road to perdition. pic.twitter.com/lskWYW26ad
— Chris Williamson (@DerbyChrisW) October 8, 2024
Since Blair, Big Business Has Determined Labour’s Electoral Fortunes
The Labour Party, traditionally viewed as the party of the working class, has long grappled with its relationship to big business. This tension between championing workers’ rights and engaging with powerful corporate interests has shaped the party’s policies, leadership, and image for decades. In recent years, particularly since Tony Blair’s premiership, the Labour Party’s relationship with big business has drawn significant scrutiny.
The Labour Party has historically been defined by its commitment to the working class, unions, and social justice. Founded at the turn of the 20th century, Labour was the political wing of the trade union movement and sought to protect workers’ rights against the excesses of capitalism. For much of the 20th century, the party focused on policies aimed at wealth redistribution, nationalisation of key industries, and the provision of a welfare state. These principles placed it in direct opposition to big business, particularly during times of industrial conflict, such as during the miners’ strikes of the 1970s and 1980s.
Yet, as the economic landscape shifted, so too did Labour’s relationship with corporate Britain. The election of Tony Blair as leader in 1994 marked a dramatic shift in the party’s outlook. Blair’s “New Labour” project sought to ‘modernise’ the party and appeal to a broader electorate, including the business community. Central to this was the recognition that to win elections and govern effectively in a globalised economy, the Labour Party needed to shed its image as being hostile to business.
Blair, along with Gordon Brown, reshaped Labour’s economic policy to embrace supposed free markets, deregulation, and a favourable climate for investment. While Blair still championed social justice and public services, he argued that economic growth driven by big business was the key to funding these ambitions. It was during this period that Labour began courting corporate leaders more openly, and major business figures began aligning themselves with the party.
One of the most significant examples of Labour’s courtship with big business was its relationship with Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation. Historically, Murdoch’s media empire had been supportive of the Conservative Party, particularly under Margaret Thatcher. However, Blair was keen to neutralise the influence of Murdoch’s tabloids, particularly The Sun, which had a vast working-class readership. In a symbolic moment, Blair flew to Australia in 1995 to meet Murdoch and secure his support ahead of the 1997 general election. In the years that followed, The Sun switched its allegiance from the Tories to Labour, helping to bolster Blair’s image as a centrist leader who could be trusted by the business world.
While Blair’s charm offensive with big business helped secure electoral success, it also opened Labour to criticism from the left. Many in the party saw Blair’s relationship with figures like Murdoch as a betrayal of Labour’s founding principles. They argued that in courting big business, the party was moving away from its commitment to the working class and becoming indistinguishable from the Conservatives. Critics within the trade union movement, which had traditionally been Labour’s financial and organisational backbone, became increasingly disillusioned with what they saw as a party that prioritised corporate interests over those of workers.
A clear example of the tension between Labour and its traditional base during this period was the controversy surrounding the Private Finance Initiative (PFI). Introduced by the Conservatives in the early 1990s but expanded under New Labour, PFI allowed private companies to finance and manage public infrastructure projects, such as schools and hospitals, which the government would then lease back. While this approach enabled Labour to fund public services without increasing taxes, it also allowed big business to profit significantly from public projects, often at the expense of long-term public sector costs. Critics argued that PFI represented a transfer of wealth from the public purse to private companies, contradicting Labour’s historic commitment to public ownership and social justice.
The financial crisis of 2008 further complicated Labour’s relationship with big business. As the global banking system teetered on the edge of collapse, Gordon Brown, then Prime Minister, took decisive action to bail out British banks, including Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds TSB. The bailout, while necessary to stabilise the economy, fuelled resentment towards big business, particularly the financial sector, which many blamed for causing the crisis. Labour’s close relationship with bankers and financiers, once seen as a sign of economic competence, now became a liability. The party was accused of being too close to the City of London and failing to regulate the financial sector adequately.
This shift in public opinion was evident in the 2010 general election, which Labour lost. The financial crisis had exposed the fragile foundations of New Labour’s economic strategy, and the party’s close ties with big business, once seen as a strength, became a point of contention.
The election of Ed Miliband as Labour leader in 2010 was seen by many as a rejection of Blair’s pro-business approach. Miliband, backed by trade unions, sought to distance Labour from its previous closeness with big business and emphasised the need for reform in corporate governance and the economy. He famously criticised “predatory capitalism” and argued for policies that would rein in corporate excess, such as proposing a freeze on energy prices and reforms to zero-hours contracts. However, Miliband’s stance alienated some in the business community, who saw his proposals as anti-business and a return to Labour’s old left-wing agenda.
Miliband’s leadership ultimately failed to resonate with the electorate, and the party was defeated in the 2015 general election. The party’s attempts to distance itself from big business while also appealing to middle-class voters left it in an awkward position, neither fully embracing nor rejecting corporate interests.
The election of Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader in 2015 marked a further break with the party’s recent history. Corbyn, a long-time critic of neoliberalism and corporate power, sought to return Labour to its socialist roots. His leadership was marked by a clear antagonism towards big business, particularly in sectors like finance, energy, and transport. Corbyn’s manifesto in the 2017 and 2019 general elections included plans for the renationalisation of key industries, higher taxes on corporations, and significant reforms to the financial sector. He framed these policies as necessary to address the inequality and economic imbalance that had emerged from decades of free-market policies supported by both Labour and Conservative governments. As a result, the neoliberals who owned the corporate legacy media turned on them to keep them out of power. This led to many questions as to who actually ran the country. The voters or powerful, rich predatory capitalists.
Corbyn’s leadership was popular across the country, especially amongst the young, but the corporate media manufactured lies and misrepresentations to create a perception of division. While his anti-business rhetoric appealed to many of Labour’s traditional supporters, it alienated much of the business community. The Confederation of British Industry (CBI), representing the interests of large businesses, was highly critical of Corbyn’s proposals, warning that his policies would deter investment and harm the British economy. This tension was evident in the 2019 general election, where Labour suffered a significant defeat, with many voters, particularly in former industrial heartlands, choosing Boris Johnson’s lies over radical reform.
Since the election of Keir Starmer as Labour leader in 2020, the party has sought to rebuild its relationship with big business while maintaining a ‘commitment’ to progressive values. Starmer, who has been more measured in his approach, has attempted to move Labour back towards the centre right of politics. He has emphasised the importance of big business in driving economic growth and recovery, particularly in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, he has also called for reforms to address inequality and improve workers’ rights, recognising that Labour must balance its relationships with both corporate interests and its traditional working-class base.
The challenge for Starmer, and for the Labour Party as a whole, is how to navigate this complex relationship with big business in a way that aligns with its values and electoral aspirations. The party’s history demonstrates that an overly cosy relationship with corporate Britain can alienate its core supporters, while an adversarial stance can cost it electoral credibility. As Labour looks to the future, it must find a way to engage with big business without compromising its principles of fairness, social justice, and equality. This could prove almost impossible with the neoliberal ideologues on board.
Generally, the Labour Party’s relationship with big business is a balancing act that has shaped its fortunes over the years. From Tony Blair’s embrace of market forces and corporate power to Jeremy Corbyn’s rejection of neoliberalism, Labour has continually navigated the tension between its working-class roots and the realities of governing in a capitalist economy. The party is now compared with the Conservative party and the choice of voters has become negligible.
KEEP US ALIVE and join us in helping to bring reality and decency back by SUBSCRIBING to our Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQ1Ll1ylCg8U19AhNl-NoTg AND SUPPORTING US where you can: Award Winning Independent Citizen Media Needs Your Help. PLEASE SUPPORT US FOR JUST £2 A MONTH https://dorseteye.com/donate/
