The outcome of the last December general elections when the Labour Party lost with one of the weakest results in a couple of decades, surprised all. The press and commentators generally agree between each other about the direct causes of this defeat. The majority of the remarks oscillate around similar aspects of the Labour loss. We can list some of them as follows: Jeremy Corbyn’s Unpopular Leadership, Anti-Semitism in the Labour Party, Labour’s ambiguous Brexit policy or the Party Manifesto. The political analyst, Torsten Bell wrote ‘’it was Brexit’ vs ‘it was Corbyn’ debate misses the blindingly obvious fact that it was both.”.
It is definitely right that all the above factors are significant and important causes however the analysis presented by the media loses from the view one more important dimension. The shared agreement establishes a common interpretative framework, the primary definition of the event. The pattern misses however important reason of the Labour loss. All the mentioned reports talk mainly about the secondary causes. The sharp decline in the Labour support signals however a more serious problem lying underneath. The important reason why the Labour Party and its equivalents elsewhere in Europe are losing the elections may be seen in growing job insecurity.
The proportion of non-permanent and zero hours job contracts rises systematically. In the majority of European countries, the proportion of workers with temporary status is growing relatively to those with a permanent job. Loss of job security and the increasing call for the flexibility in the labour market or wage stagnation are issues not adequately addressed by the politicians on the left or right. A recently large part of new hirings is on term-time contracts or through the recruitment agencies. The percentage of people in permanent, steady employment conditions is systematically dropping.
The political programs do not offer solutions or alternatives to this salient problem. While in the meantime the financial prognosis and analysis increasingly shape the policies on recruitment, employment and wages in the majority of companies and public institutions. This means a rising number of people feeling insecure in their jobs and in fear of losing their employment.
This short article aims to challenge the dominant narrative and shift the attention back to the underlying, social problem of job insecurity. Unfortunately, the subject is marginalised in the public and political debate. Especially while discussing the latest elections and support for left-wing parties. The lack of the discussion in this matter was however quickly filled by the rivalling discourse which is immigration. In the absence of debate about job security, the electorate becomes easy prey for populist slogans and oversimplified rhetoric. People turned into most simplistic solutions and interpretations which brought the immigration narrative to the top of public debate. The absence of the discussion opened the space and lead to the popularity of populist interpretations. Other strong discourse obscures this subject which is probably mostly discussed among the academic circles but not so much in press and media. The public is not hostile to immigrants or foreigners but lacks job security. In the absence of any alternative framework as it could be presented by the Labour party, the voters can easily follow the populist ant- immigration slogans.
The popularity of the narratives associated with identity politics or immigration can be seen as a consequence of the absence of debate about people economic welfare and growing job insecurity. The French sociologist, Pierre Bourdieu noticed this type of dynamics and signalled the existence of the problem long in the past in the 90s’ as he travelled around Europe and spoke on various events to support the social movements. This may also help to explain why in the last few years the working classes have shifted towards right.
Attributing the Labour lost to the leadership or manifesto problems only shift the attention away from the much serious problem beneath. Additionally, this explanation does not take into consideration the wider trend presents not only in the UK but in other European countries and across the Atlantic. The main reason why the left-wing parties across Europe have lost the elections may be associated with the falling job security and the lack of real action plan to tackle this problem.
This set an enormous task for the Labour Party, however, avoiding or nor adequately addressing the issue may contribute to a continuous decrease of support for the left-wing movements in Europe. The issue of job insecurities should find more attention in the public sphere debate. Especially that the neglecting the problem pose a growing risk for the country security. The recent Yellow Vest Movement in France could be presented as an example. The issue of the job insecurities should be widely discussed among the media, politician and academics. Especially now when the effects of coronavirus outbreak would most certainly have a negative impact on the job market and will become subject of vivid discussion in the upcoming weeks. The current government made a wise and popular decision of covering 80 per cent of wages for people unable to work during the coronavirus pandemic. While the Labour Party made an important intervention to elevate the issue to the top of the political agenda last week, it had missed the opportunity for a good cause social campaigning.
Author: Alicja Prochniak is a PhD Research Student at the Institute for Diplomacy and International Governance, Loughborough University London.
The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not reflect the views of the British Poles Portal.
