JACK STRAW tells the Labour Party today to hold its nerve in the face of the threat from David Cameron and a stronger Tory party.
In an interview with The Times, the Foreign Secretary sides with Tony Blair’s strategy of playing a waiting game with Mr Cameron, welcoming his abandonment of policies on which the Tories fought the election and his decision to fight on Labour territory.
With some members of the Cabinet, including John Prescott and Gordon Brown, favouring a more aggressive approach to the young Tory leader as the Conservatives rise in the polls, Mr Straw says that Labour must “stay cool”. The electorate is starting to become “incredulous” as Mr Cameron ditches one plank after another from a manifesto that he had a lead role in drafting.
“The public are not stupid,” Mr Straw said. “They know David Cameron is a new leader. They also know he is not a new Tory. He was a very senior figure in their election campaign. They will become more and more incredulous as this goes on. They opposed student fees. Now — hey presto! — they are not such a bad thing. Now they are getting rid of the patients’ passport. Excuse me, was that not their idea?” Mr Straw says that he wants to remain Foreign Secretary. But with reshuffle talk gripping Westminster he reminds colleagues of his interest in domestic politics after a period during which he has been absorbed by Britain’s EU and G8 presidencies and the continuing problems with Iraq and Iran.
He is the first senior figure to address directly the rise of Mr Cameron. He says that it is a great compliment to Labour that the Conservative leader has had “to fight on our ground”. But he says that Labour’s answer has to be “to keep on trucking on our agenda, which is a new Labour agenda”. “Provided we stay cool the political situation presents a great opportunity for Labour to renew the base upon which we win a fourth term,” he says.
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“Mr Cameron is right to review existing policies because they are so discredited. But what he is doing is legitimising our approach.
“Mr Cameron is abandoning policies to shift to our ground. The question for the voters is — do you have the imitation or the real thing? People will not be taken in by this while he is abandoning policies that they claimed intellectually as well as politically to believe in a few months ago.”
Mr Straw warms to his attack theme when contemplating the Liberal Democrats. The leadership contest has provided a “heaven-sent chance to start work undermining them in Labour areas” because their policies are coming under scrutiny.
He voices sympathy for Charles Kennedy, both for the manner of his going and because he had to lead a party that was “behaving like ferrets in a sack”. He says that the last election understated Labour’s true strength because of Iraq and is confident about Ruth Kelly getting through her current ordeal. “She is bright, determined and she has got a great inner strength,” he says.
And Mr Straw sees no early exit for Mr Blair. “Tony’s political obituaries have been written far too often and reports of his imminent demise are always greatly exaggerated.”
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Gordon Brown is a “great figure” and Mr Straw doubts whether he will be challenged from within the Cabinet when the time comes for Mr Blair to go. “Tony will make his decision about when he is ready. Meanwhile he has come back since Christmas with one hell of a bounce,” he says.