What an unbelievable week it has been in British politics and for Jeremy Corbyn. The rebellious back-bencher has now been catapulted into leading the wreckage that is the Labour Party after its comprehensive election defeat in 2015. As he walked into his first Labour Party Parliamentary meeting as leader he was greeted with muted applause. He has few friends within the parliamentary party yet it is his mass following outside the echelons of Westminster that have propelled him to leadership. 251,417 votes to be exact, 59.5% of votes cast. That is some mandate.

In fact it has been an unbelievable couple of years which has profoundly changed the British Labour Party. In my opinion it was during the Scottish Independence campaign that you could see the writing on the wall for the New Labour wing of the party. Out of touch, London-centric, Oxbridge educated, champagne socialists who whilst canvassing on the streets of Glasgow looked more like deer facing car headlights.

When the Scottish electorate returned one MP in 2015 instead of the 41 in 2010 the political autopsy was clear, not just in Scotland but in the UK in general. People are crying out for an alternative to the neo-liberal austerity doctrine and politics as usual. The Tories maintained their vote share, but the progressive voices in the UK were split or did not vote at all. In the 2015 General Election:

16,000,000 people failed to vote

3.8 million voted for UKIP

1.4 million voted for the SNP

1.1 million voted for the Green Party.

Labour haemorrhaged votes from all sides and those in key marginal seats thought ‘better the devil you know than the devil you don’t’. Only in the cruel world of the First Past The Post electoral system could a party winning 36.9% of the vote form a majority government. There was massive voter disenchantment.

This is not a British phenomenon however. If you look at the rise of the Podemos in Spain, Syriza in Greece, Finn’s Party in Finland, the Danish People’s Party and the Party For Freedom in the Netherlands, whether left or right-wing in Europe, there is a massive appetite for change. The closest comparison to Jeremy Corbyn’s rise would be Bernie Sanders in the United States who likewise campaigns on:

income inequality

banking regulation

mass investment in public infrastructure

It is staggering that after Ed Miliband, portrayed as being far too left-wing, has been replaced by Jeremy Corbyn who is unashamedly left-wing, republican, and anti-nuclear. Perhaps it is because he actually has a distinctive viewpoint that people find him so endearing. Perhaps he is so different from the manufactured Blairite politician that so many former members returned in their droves. Like Bernie Sanders, he has galvanised the young and he has an army of activists behind him. These are fascinating times within the Labour Party as Jeremy Corbyn, has quite literally, buried Tony Blair’s New Labour.

New Labour Legacy

The outside observer must wonder why Labour has turned its back on Blairism and the New Labour project. Labour, since its foundation, had only formed two majority governments until Blair had won 3 in a row. He was, unquestionably, the most formidable political foe the Conservative Party have ever seen. There were some profound achievements:

Creation of the minimum wage

Good Friday Agreement

Significant investment in the NHS – 44,000 doctors, 89,000 nurses

Income tax cuts

Over 2,500 Sure Start centres

3 Budget surpluses

Devolution in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

Huge investment in education – School refurbishments, 42,000 teachers, 127,000 teaching assistants.

I could go on…

Blair unashamedly courted bankers, big business and the media. His presidential style had the swing voter in his pocket and made the right-wing feel comfortable. The Tories never got a sniff in. Nevertheless it is easy to see why he is so divisive to the core of the Labour Party.

Banks – New Labour’s laissez-faire attitude to the banking sector led to the bank-bailouts during the financial collapse and the loss of Labour’s economic credibility. Tax-Credits – Fearful of losing the support of big business these were created to top up low paid wages. A state subsidy for low pay which costs billions. Now being reduced by the current government which, along with the Trade Union Bill, weakens the ability to strike against low pay. Social Housing – The failure to build social housing during 13 years in government has resulted in massive increases in waiting lists. Pushed into the private market the state subsidises those in social housing with a ‘housing benefit’. Now being reduced by the current government in what Jeremy Corbyn calls the ‘Social Cleansing of London’. The average house price in London in £525,000 (July 2015), rents are exorbitant. Iraq – The US/UK’s illegal invasion of Iraq is probably Blair’s most defining moment during his premiership. It was an unmitigated disaster. Jeremy Corbyn opposed the invasion. Tuition Fees – Since their introduction they have mushroomed from £3,000 to £9,000 per year. The next generation of graduates are leaving university with a £40,000 debt around their neck and are being priced out of living in the South-East. Privatisation – Private sector investment was always welcome under New Labour the most notable being the implementation of Private Finance Initiatives (PFI). which secure funding for infrastructure without increasing the national debt, keeping the debt ‘off balance sheet’. This accountancy trick is essentially costing the NHS billions whilst eliminating any risk from global corporations.

Jeremy Corbyn & The Future

Voters swarmed to Labour in 1997 on a wave of hope. “Education, education, education” was Blair’s mantra. “Things can only get better” was sung on the night of the election result, as “Cool Britannia” ruled the waves. The British electorate are in a far different position now.

Children are worse off than there parents were. Graduates have massive debts. Wages have stagnated. In work and housing benefits have been slashed. Collective bargaining rights are under attack. A housing bubble is ready to explode. The UK is £1.5 trillion in debt with a massive trade deficit which nobody is talking about. The Conservative government is giving the green light on signing the TTIP. The UK needs an alternative. Can Jeremy Corbyn provide it?

Corbyn is no Blair. He doesn’t court the media, the bankers or big business. He doesn’t do spin. In fact he doesn’t do Prime Minister’s Questions… the ‘people’ do now. The parliamentary party is divided and Blairites are vying for blood which is dangerous given his huge mandate and the fact that 30,000 new members have signed up in in first 4 days!

To survive, to be credible, he has to get his message out which is difficult when you don’t court the media. After all, he has been proven right on:

Iraq

Banking regulation

Increasing the minimum wage to reduce tax credit bill

Building social housing to reduce housing benefit bill

Private sector involvement in the NHS

Like him or loath him Jeremy Corbyn is full of novel ideas:

Nationalising the railways would greatly reduce fares and is popular

Free university tuition would free graduates from huge debts

Removing Trident would save £100 billion

‘People’s QE‘ would create hundreds of thousands of jobs and directly pump money into the economy whilst ordinary QE remains in the financial sector.

Can such ideas get passed the UK’s Tory press? Can Jeremy Corbyn build a mass movement the likes we’ve never seen? Can he redefine the centre ground of British politics by compromising with the right of the party? We are in uncharted waters. Whilst Cameron and Osborne continue to plough the centre ground furrow Blairites have their head in their hands fearing Labour is consigned to perpetual obscurity.

Do remember one thing. Corbyn entered the Labour leadership race at 100/1. He received over 250,000 votes and has persuaded and extra 30,000 to sign up in the first few days of his leadership. Do not underestimate him. The Blairites did…

Pictures courtesy of:

The Daily Mirror

(The excellent) Peter Shrank: http://www.schrankartoons.com/

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