Vampiric politics
Sure we should listen to angry young men, as long as they listen too
We appear to be living in an age of vampiric politics.
So many leaders - Putin, Trump, Xi and their many acolytes and tribute acts - are old men feeding off the energy and discontent of young men.
It’s remarkable how little commentary there has been on the gendered nature of the voting at this month’s US election. It’s depressingly unremarkable that what discussion there has been has focused on young men. For evidence of a world turned upside down see the articles suggesting that Democrats must reckon with the imagined slights of America’s men if they want to win again rather than that America must reckon with the evidence that so many men regard the rights, welfare and bodily autonomy of women as irrelevant when they get into the voting booth.
There is a similar dynamic at play in the UK. But it is working itself out in a different fashion.
The UK government is not embracing the angry energy of young male voters. It fears it.
Here, Reform is apparently the party of choice for young men. Gather a group of Labour MPs, particularly those newly elected, and conversation will soon turn to Reform.
Any talk of the Tories is only to mock or dismiss them. Biden’s one term administration has spooked Labour but given even Conservatives themselves are far from certain that Kemi Badenoch will lead the party into a 2029 election it’s self evidently a waste of energy and resources to pay them too much attention at this stage of the cycle.
But Labour MPs elected in July are aware they lack a deep or wide well of support and goodwill. They are focused on turning close wins into safe seats. Indeed, it’s possible to see recent government missteps as evidence that the party remains stuck in campaigning gear and is expending too much energy on the next election at the expense of the vital business of running the country.
It is Reform that have the momentum from the election. Both the forthcoming Scottish and Welsh elections are overwhelmingly reported through a Reform lens. That may be Westminster myopia. But it may also be somewhat self fulfilling.
Reform is an electoral predator. Labour regards it like a shark circling in the water. Labour recognise the shadow and what it may inflict. But it may melt away. Or Labour may be able to punch it on the nose (or gouge its eye out or whatever the alleged trick is for dealing with sharks) and send it packing.
For all the talk of blunting Reform’s appeal by simply delivering tangible change (and delivering change is simple - you throw money at it, the tricky bit is the trade offs required to generate the money and choosing which change to prioritise) there are challenges about how to present that change and to whom.
For example, given my background, I’ve been giving some advice to the upstart campaign for more and better paternity leave. As per my book the case is overwhelming - it’s good for the physical and mental health of men, women and children and it boosts the economy too - but Labour MPs running scared of the Reform challenge are keen to present it as a measure that benefits dads and demonstrates that the party is thinking about young men. The gamble is that young men attracted to Farage’s gang can be diverted not by the specific policy but by the message that someone sees them and thinks about them.
Fundamentally it’s a politics of pandering to the male ego.
In the short term, that’s fine if the votes of those men are used to prop up a government that is also working to promote equality and rebuild society in a fairer and more gender equal image. It’s more of a problem if the latter concerns are sacrificed in the name of no greater aim than retaining power.
But in the long term it will never be enough. The ego, almost by definition, cannot be satisfied.
Instead those in power need to build a community. Demonstrate and explain the trade offs that are inimical to effective and adult politics, and to human relations. When I make dinner AND do the washing up we all end up well fed and in a tidy home, and the chances are someone else will do the same another night. If a farmer stumps up some more inheritance tax to fund the NHS we all get better care.
When it comes to those male voters attracted by strong man candidates who hint that feminism has gone too far there is a massive job to do - society from Westminster down needs to do the work of convincing men to care about women. It’s fine to ensure men’s issues are aired, but by return those men must hear the challenges and unfairness that women face every day.
In so many spheres the challenge is demonstrating that life is simply not a zero sum game and that there is a ceiling on how far self interest can carry an individual, community carries us further.
It’s naff but it’s true - to defeat this vampiric politics governments must give everyone a stake in society.