The Wage Forward..?
by Duncan O'Leary
It may have died down a bit recently, but one phrase that's been hard to avoid during Labour's second term in office has been 'progressive consensus'. [It was mentioned by both David Lammy and Douglas Alexander as guest bloggers on the Greenhouse, for example].
The key to the idea is that a progressive government should aim to shift the centre of politics in order to leave a lasting legacy, rather than simply aligning itself with the centre ground whilst in government. In some areas it's difficult to see where this has been achieved [public debate around immigration and asylum being one example], but the announcement today of a rise in the minimum wage struck a cord.
What struck me as most interesting wasn't the announcement itself, but the Conservative Party's reaction to it. Michael Howard, who opposed the idea of a minimum wage altogether in previous incarnations, responded to the announcement today by saying that he and his party have accepted the principle of the minimum wage and wouldn't seek to reduce it in government. Not exactly a ringing endorsement, but a marked change. So, signs of a genuine progressive consensus, or not'?