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Matthew d’Ancona who is the Editor of the Spectator, is not one of my favourite journalists, he’s a bit wishy washy to say the least. In the Telegraph today he wrote an article called “Peter Mandelson and Gordon Brown unite to save New Labour”

Although not an inspiring writer to me, often things you read can make you think or look at things differently and in this case not just this article but all the media “froth” about the return of Mandelson, set me thinking…

Time and Place

A little time ago, I was talking to a 20 year old and made a reference to Emelda Marcos and shoes. One of my Daughter in Laws gently pointed out that the reference would mean absolutely nothing to a 20 year old, Emelda who ?

The return of Mandelson is the same, he has done well in Brussels, and anyone who can upset the French must be doing something right. However, the “narrative” that d’Ancona and others write about – New Labour, is no longer relevant because its DNA was cast in the 1970s, the “Winter of Discontent” and only those who took an interest then through to the 90s will be aware of the people and personalities that formed it.

If you doubt me, look around and ask just home many people in their early 40’s and younger, really know anything much about Margaret Thatcher or how what she did and the time she was around, who also contributed to the formation of New Labour.

The Reality

The majority of the electorate today are too busy “living and economically surviving” their lives to care two figs for Labour old or new, it is irrelevant. The cost of food, clothing, fuel and mortgages plus, whether you still have a job is more important and whoever is to blame, this all happened on Labour’s watch. Whether for Brown, Mandelson is the enemy within, without or up your trouser leg matters not at all, he has arrived only to read the funeral oration over the corpse of a Labour Government.

As Cameron demonstrated just this week gone past, the game has moved on and Tony Blair, Peter Mandelson, John Prescott and even Gordon Brown are fading into “yesterday’s men” the same as Thatcher, Kinock, Gaitskill, Heath, McMillan, Foot, Wilson, Tony Benn and so on already have. It is a new political and economic age, it requires new people and fresh approaches not political derelicts.

The Need for Renewal

It is less to do with anything else than the political and economic cycle, if you like a “Changing of the Seasons” but David Cameron is the “Coming Man” whereas Brown is the the “Passing Man” who’s time and political strength is leaking away on a daily basis. One speaks of difficult times ahead but gives hope for the future, the other really has nothing to say and nothing to offer but past failures.

In a sense the Labour Party knows this and in David Miliband hoped that they had their “Once and Future King” to challenge Cameron but found that he couldn’t even challenge Brown, he never made it into the semi-final let alone the main event. But also it is more than just one person it is also the ruling party that must go because not just the Leader but also his Army has lost, the wilderness beckons as it did for the Tories in 1997.

The return of Mandelson, Blunket even Tony Blair will make no difference now, the die was cast a year back with an election that never was, that was the day that the Circus Left Town for the Labour Party. To rebuild Labour and assuming they don’t get almost totally wiped out at the next election, will take new people, very few of even the youngest will be prominent next time, if ever, Labour regains power again.

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