The speed at which the axis in British politics is shifting is startling.
I have spent over three decades as a foot soldier on the political Left – much of it as an activist in the Fire Brigades Union (FBU).
While right-wing parties have always been able to attract the support of a layer of trade union members, it was the Left – and usually the Labour Party – which traditionally commanded their loyalty, especially those who, like me, worked in the public sector.
But I have recently begun to witness, via social media, a remarkable phenomenon. Growing numbers of my fellow FBU members and activists are openly stating they will back Reform – a party of the populist Right.
A former FBU official whom I served alongside for many years even stood as a Reform candidate in the May local elections. Another has become the chairman of his local Reform branch.
This anecdotal evidence chimes with a recent poll – conducted by JL Partners for The Times – which showed support for Labour among public sector trade unionists has collapsed (down from 48 per cent to 28 per cent since the general election), while for Reform it has surged (up from 16 per cent to 28 per cent for the same period).
In that context, a recent internal communication circulated by senior managers within Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) and which amounted to a direct attack on Reform was as tone-deaf as it was chilling.
An email dispatched to all staff by the joint heads of the service’s “race and faith network” sought to provide “reassurance regarding some recent activity we've seen within the organisation”.
'A recent internal communication which amounted to a direct attack on Reform was as tone-deaf as it was chilling'
| PAAnd what exactly was that “activity”? Some staff members had stood on a Reform ticket in the recent local elections. “We know this may cause concern within our network and wider,” wrote the senior managers.
To which a legitimate response would, of course, be: “So what?” After all, Reform is a lawful political party and one that might very well form the next government. And, unlike the police, firefighters are perfectly entitled to stand for election to their local council. That is democracy.
However, the GMFRS overlords plainly had no truck with such sentiments. “The individuals involved have been spoken to, to make it clear that as members of GMFRS, our core values and professional behaviours must be displayed at all times.”
That term “spoken to”. It is pretty obvious what it means. It certainly would not have been an open and relaxed discussion. More like a dressing down. What in the army they call an “interview without coffee”.
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'Most firefighters would laugh at the suggestion their well-being at work was threatened by colleagues who stood for Reform'
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Nevertheless, there was more. The senior managers went on to reveal the service was obtaining “formal legal guidance”. This, they advised, was to ensure employees were “protected from all perspectives and that our inclusive culture remains safe”.
Really? Running off to the lawyers because some employees represented Reform in a council ballot? Did they truly believe firefighters – who, as I know from personal experience, are among the bravest and most resilient of folk – needed to be protected from political opinions they did not like?
Of course, most firefighters would laugh out loud at the suggestion their well-being at work was threatened by colleagues who stood as Reform candidates. Such ideas invariably surface not as a result of demands arising from the shop floor but because woke-obsessed institutional leaders have dreamed them up.
“Our priority is and always will be ensuring that every member of this network feels supported, respected and safe at work,” the authors of the email signed off, before imploring staff to “reach out” if they felt “impacted” by these events.
They also advised they would be consulting the FBU over the matter.
As a former senior official of the FBU, I would suggest the union tell these managers where to get off. Their internal communication is utterly Orwellian. I have never voted for Reform and have no intention of doing so. But, like it or not, the party is now very much a part of the political landscape of our nation, with representation in Parliament and on local authorities throughout the country.
If Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service bosses do not support the party, that is their affair. But they have no business using the communication channels of the organisation, which, let us remind ourselves, is a public body, to seemingly impart their own political prejudices on their workforce.
The implication, of course, is Reform is somehow an illegitimate outfit whose representatives and activists do not merit a place in civilised society. For worthy progressives, the party is “toxic” and “hateful”, even “neofascist”.
In reality, it is a party of Thatcherite economic libertarians and cultural traditionalists – the type of people who hold views that, until about five minutes ago, were considered by everyone, even those who opposed them, to be a valid part of mainstream political debate.
So debased is our political discourse these days, and so captured are the upper echelons of our national life by radical progressive ideology, such views are now seen by those who run our public and corporate institutions as being akin to the sort of ideology once espoused by Oswald Mosley’s Blackshirts. And those who hold them as morally contaminated.
And this distorted worldview convinces these leaders such standpoints are inherently harmful and must be suppressed. As my old pal Maurice Glasman, the founder of Blue Labour, observed: “There are none so intolerant as those who preach tolerance.”
The chiefs at Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service have done a grand job of illustrating precisely why faith in our public institutions has plunged. It is because too often they are repositories for suffocating groupthink and rigid ideological orthodoxy.
If firefighters wish to stand for Reform in an election, they should be perfectly free to do so. We do not have to vote for them. But their bosses’ apparent attempts to use their institutional powers to demonise and marginalise them looks like an appalling abuse of authority. They deserve to have their feet held well and truly to the flames over it.
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