The Labour Party is in disarray. It is in a situation of utter embarrassment; one where they cannot even oppose a Conservative budget properly because they are unsure whether their next leader will oppose much of it or simply try to mimic it.

This dire conundrum stems from the reality that the Labour Party has been infiltrated by neoconservatives who seek to capitalise on what they think is conservative sentiment sweeping the nation. These people think they are being insightful by trying to adopt the policies of the winning party, which must be popular since they won, and that embracing even more conservative policies will win them the next election. It makes sense, or rather it would if Labour lost the election because they were too socialist. But this analysis could not be any more incorrect, because Labour still endorsed welfare cuts and austerity across the board, and that is simply not socialism – far from it.

Labour lost because what Britain rejected in May was not true leftism, but rather because people were disillusioned with where they thought the party stood because it still embraced conservative policies. Moreover, the Conservatives’ party line that Labour caused the financial crash also drastically helped secure them another term, this time alone, because Labour did not even attempt to combat it with the actual economic truth. And yet, despite this rather obvious explanation, very few Labour MPs seem prepared to stand up for their own party and what it ought to represent. Three out of the four Labour leadership contenders look set to continue this trend of proven failure, but this time with even more emphasis. Predictably, this will result in even more failure.

It is only Jeremy Corbyn that has put forward a logical direction for Labour to head: farther away from the Conservatives, not closer. The Labour Party are supposed to be the official opposition; an actual alternative to Conservatism. Instead, they risk becoming a failed photocopy that bought the wrong ink.

MPs like Harriet Harman, Chuka Umunna and Liz Kendall have bowed to the Conservatives and done just as they wished: the Labour Party embracing Tory policies. They wanted this to happen because they know that when the British electorate is given the choice between a mimic of a party and the actual thing, they will choose the actual thing, especially when the latter has had experience of being the actual thing. Those within Labour that want a shift to the ‘centre’ ground think they are being smart, but in reality they have been duped and played with. It is, in fact, the Tories that have been smart, because they have shifted the centre ground right and thus dragged Labour with it, into Tory territory. And everyone knows that when you drag someone into your territory, in which you are experienced, you have the upper hand. Labour must head home before it’s too late.

Ryan Curran

Like our Facebook page: http://www.Facebook.com/lookleftward