The
Michael Hindley Column
Labour's MEP for Lancashire South gives a global perspective.
The storm the court ruling unleashed was incredible to behold, not so much the anticipated and lamentable "johnny-foreigner forcing his laws on us" but the amazing assumption that Britain is surging ahead in the global economy and that this quite modest humanitarian improvement of widespread Dickensian work practices would halt the flood of capital into Britain.
Why is it that all the aggressive interviewers never fasten on to the far more destructive outflow of capital from the UK? If the UK is such a good deal for the Germans, French, Koreans, Japanese and so on, how come our own City of London still bases so much of its own investment strategies on outward investment?
The point is that much of the recent investment could well be of only a temporary nature. Yesterday Hong Kong, today the UK, tomorrow whoever else offers up its workforce for exploitation. The sad reality is that the UK made its money in the nineteenth century by dirty and nasty - literally and figuratively - capitalism, then squandered much of the accumulated capital by investing short-term abroad rather than long-term at home. The rise of the labour movement forced British capitalism to reinvest some of its ill-gotten gains in the welfare state, but thanks to the failure of the Labour Party to democratise what workers had won, the Thatcherite revolution has clawed back much of that advance. The retreat under Old Labour has become a rout under New Labour.
Labour's aspirations have been so battered by the Tories that now we dare not ask for more than minimal advances in working and living standards. It is in that context that the EU, with its abiding commitment to actually talking to the workers and believing that happy workers work better and that healthy workers work better too, stands out like a beacon of hope for millions in this country. Contrary to the hype here, "Europe" is not waiting with baited breath for a Labour victory so that advances can be made. Those with higher social standards, for example in Scandinavia, are worried that New Labour will not move beyond the rhetoric of change but will line up on the right, accepting that the Thatcherite revolution is irreversible.
That was the message from Gordon Brown to the CBI. "Do not worry - we'll not let Europe introduce social measures without your veto". The only actual measures in the pipeline that Brown can be talking about are rather modest, but welcome, proposals on increased disclosure of information, measures to shift the burden of proof in sex discrimination cases to favour the employee and extra measures to combat sexual harassment. That is the reality of the European social advance which, Brown assured the CBI, would not be allowed to hold up British capitalism.
At the time of the original debates on the Social Chapter opt-out, the Labour Party adopted a reasonable consensus saying that the next Labour Government would immediately implement the Social Chapter and then press to be at the forefront in introducing better working standards throughout the EU. Now even that has been abandoned.
There is an arrogant and presumptuous madness in the air among the Milwaukee Tendency; they think the election is in the bag and they already fantasise about winning a second term. But they may be forestalled. They still need Labour's traditional support to get in; their mentor Clinton knew that - he ditched the traditional Democrats after the election, not before, and he forged a new centre from the safety and authority of power.
The only thing that can prevent a Labour victory is New Labour's shameful abandonment of its own core support - who could well decide to abandon Blair before he gets into office and puts into practice his aim of abandoning the Party.
