Tension, Animosity & Strong Opposition

(This article was written prior to the Labour Leadership Election reaching its conclusion. However, it was still felt to have some merit as a prelude to next week's profile of the new Labour leader Mr Ed Miliband)

In this new parliament, the Labour Party begins its adventure along the path of opposition. It is an art the party must re-learn after over a decade of governance with an iron-fist. In doing so, it would be wise to look to the devolved administrations for instruction.

In Scotland the Labour Party is led by Iain Gray. As can be seen from the various Scottish FMQs, or a raft of reporting on Scottish politics, there is a definite air of tension about Holyrood whenever Messrs Salmond & Gray enter the chamber. Whether you appreciate the tensions or not, the tenacity and ferocity of their approach to each other frequently throws the light upon the cracks in the armour on all sides of the floor.

The tense relationship between Gray and Salmond demonstrates the importance of tension in any successful narrative. As Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw, of games critique fame, puts it: 'conflict means adversity and adversity is the essence of drama'. And drama means audience and audience means scrutiny.

But this drama is no new thing to party leaders nor confined to Scotland. From the struggles between Gladstone and Disraeli, to none to subtle distaste that has been reported between Nick Clegg and Gordon Brown - on display in several parliamentary debates - the old politics has plenty of drama to go around.

But this is the leader-opposition dynamic of the 'old' bi-partisan politics. If politics is to evolve as Messrs Cameron and Clegg are hoping, then is it enough to be content with the unbalanced system of party spokespeople, limited to just two sides, haranguing one another across the floor? Again, as Ben Croshaw points out about the narrative in video games, 'conflict can be more than just two knuckleheads taking pot shots at each other from either side of a disused warehouse'.

This all leads to some Coalition news developments. The first is Charles Kennedy's refusal to support the Lib-Con conjoinment in Coalition. The second is the arrangement laid out in the Coalition Agreement for a separate Liberal Democrat spokesperson to voice opposition on behalf of dissenters from the 'government line' on controversial issues.

Mr Kennedy laid out his issues in The Observer, pointing to the danger the deal presented to the identity of the Liberal Democrats. Having previously been a Social Democrat MP, Mr Kennedy has plenty of experience of the turbulence and difficulties facing coalitions. His major cause for disappointment was the derailing of the long term Lib Dem strategy to 'realign the left', thanks to a lack of Labour 'reciprocal will'.

As for the arrangement, with specific reference to Nuclear Power, there are provisions for a Liberal Democrat Spokesman to present the dissenting case to parliament, without threatening the stability of the government. These provisions could prove an essential foundation for the future of reasonable and moderate coalition governments.

In all of this there is a scientific responsibility of government to present ample time and weight to opposition views, both in-government (such as Kennedy) & out-government (leaders of the opposition). This means ensuring the legitimacy and authority of various kinds of parliamentary opposition are not undermined. They must also account for one of the few results of the live debates that actually gave a general consensus across all media feedback. The public does not like it when politicians attack each other. They want debates to be constructive.

Taken together, this means acknowledging the history of the opposition's role, while admitting the need to advance and adapt the role to contemporary needs.

These issues raise the need to consider:

• First, the role of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition at a time of political evolution. As shown above, politics appears to be (hopefully) shifting beyond the two party dynamic. With this shift there will be calls for greater representation of the views held all across the house. How can the role of opposition develop to meet these challenges?
• Second, with the advent of an era of Party Leaders being scrutinized in increasingly public forums, can parties any longer afford to appoint/elect/enthrone a leader with anything other than a perfect public relations record?
• And finally, considering all of the above, how can the Labour Party best balance all the needs for the first senior opposition leader of this new era?

They must strike the balance between PR image and doggedly tackling the issues, while acknowledging that the opposition role must now adapt to represent a broader band of views more equally. If that were not pressure enough, they must also meet the demands of the public to be constructive. In all, reconstruction of the opposition appears to be a task that requires the attention of all sides of the house.

References

Iain Gray's Cross-examination of First Minister Alex Salmond; FMQs, Holyrood; 14 May 2010.

'Scottish Budget sparks 'dodgy accounting' row'; in The Herald; 17 September 2009.

'Budget 2010: Alex Salmond and Labour Leader Iain Gray clash over repercussions for Scotland'; in the Daily Record; 25 March 2010.

Alan Cochrane's 'Alex Salmond out of tune with the new political mood music'; in The Telegraph; 13 May 2010.

Robert Blake's 'Disraeli and Gladstone: Opposing Forces'; on the BBC; 17 February 2011.

Nick Clegg's Cross-examination of Prime Minister Gordon Brown; PMQs
PMQs; Nick Clegg batters clown Gordon Brown (20th January 2010)
PMQs: Brown Vs Nick Clegg (9th December 2009)

Charles Kennedy's 'Why I couldn't support Clegg's deal with the Tories'; in The Guardian; 16 May 2010.

Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw's 'Stealth'; in Extra Punctuation; on The Escapist; 11 May 2010.

'Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition negotiations agreement'; from the Liberal Democrats.