A Labour Party that ceased to care for the poor would, for many, not be the same party that once championed labour issues in this country. But the party need not become rudderless. There is a genuine Third Way based on policies that cater for the proper interests of Labour's new vote and for its old core voters. Welfare, education and health all offer opportunities for developing such policies. The government is still in a twist about welfare reform and has temporarily abandoned the strategy of combining the interests of old and new voters.
Pensions are a case in point.
The government is not proposing a universal stakeholder pension that would benefit rich and poor alike. Such a scheme has to be good enough for richer people to join and at the same time help pay for the poor. Similarly, much more must be done for the poorest pensioners, who are almost exclusively older pensioners. I don't advocate a general resurrection of the earnings link for the state pension, but restoring and making good the shortfall for those over 80 would help this group. Labour cannot deliver a first-class health service to poor and richer people alike under the current system of funding.