Responding to Identity Politics: Thinking beyond the cultural divide

Résumé 0

It is commonly argued that divides based on value-based identity politics are now the defining characteristic of the contemporary era, capable of explaining everything from the rise of Donald Trump to Brexit. Both the Conservative and Labour parties have sought to appeal to values over policy in an attempt to appeal to ‘identity conservative’ voters in marginal seats. Yet they have also recognised the need to address the grievances underpinning these attitudes, notably regional economic inequality and over-centralisation. This article seeks to critically assess whether the Conservatives’ ‘levelling up’ agenda1 and Labour’s plans to address economic inequality and devolve power downwards, as outlined in the recent Labour report by former Prime Minister Gordon Brown2, are capable of providing the recognition to voters from ‘left behind’ areas that is thought to be the principal driver of regressive identity politics. It then discusses the capacity of alternative locally-based projects that seek to address economic decline – such as community wealth building – to restore that sense of recognition and to foster a positive form of identity politics that might overcome division.