British campaign renews hopes for democracy
In April, U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May announced her plans for a snap election. And the initial expectation was that she’d gain dozens of seats, while weakening the opposition Labour Party. But a funny thing happened on the way to May’s coronation — and it’s worth drawing some lessons from the hard-fought campaign that has instead emerged.
The belief that May would coast to victory was based on two main factors. First, there was a steady stream of opinion polling showing her Conservatives with a substantial lead, and an even larger gap in personal approval between herself and Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn.
But perhaps more important was the chronic underestimation of Corbyn as a leader.
An election could only be called with Corbyn’s support, as the U.K.’s fixed election date law requires a two-thirds vote to dissolve Parliament. And many commentators saw his willingness to fight an election on principle as the latest — and possibly last — mistake of an opposition leader who had never been taken seriously throughout his tenure.
Corbyn’s candidacy for Labour’s leadership in 2015 was seen primarily as an inconsequential magnet for leftish party supporters which would generate some interest, but have little ultimate effect in a contest between establishment options. Instead, the gruff Corbyn swept to victory on the first ballot. And after his caucus passed a vote of non-confidence last year (based on a series of caucus management missteps and the fallout from the Conservatives’ ill-advised Brexit referendum), he only increased his support in a second leadership race.
Yet somehow, Corbyn’s success in winning over voters when it counts has rarely been
It took the start of the ... campaign for voters to re-evaluate their initial perceptions.
granted a mention when his leadership has been reviewed.
Corbyn has been the subject of relentlessly negative coverage within the British media. And far too many Labour insiders — who spent decades demanding that left-wing voters offer uncritical support to the likes of Tony Blair in the name of defeating the alternatives — suddenly repudiated the same concept when it would have applied to Corbyn.
It took the start of the election campaign for voters to re-evaluate their initial perceptions. But the resulting change has been swift and dramatic.
After previously lacking any meaningful defenders in the media, Corbyn has been able to turn a minimal amount of reasonable coverage into a groundswell of support.
For the first time in decades, Labour’s platform is based on unapologetic social democracy, calling for a far more equitable distribution of wealth together with the democratization of significant parts of the economy. And Corbyn’s track record has been a plus, as his warnings against war and austerity — the exact positions that led to his outsider status — have ultimately proven prescient.
Meanwhile, May’s supposed appeal has crumbled under the scrutiny of a campaign. She’s refused to engage in debates, and failed to answer even the most basic of questions in the few closed interviews she’s accepted. And it’s now the Conservatives who are trying to change messages and downplay their leadership as the campaign concludes.
It remains to be seen how the U.K.’s campaign will turn out. But at the very least, its twists and turns should remind us not to treat conventional wisdom and establishment opinion as immutable fact in evaluating our options.
In both party leadership campaigns and general elections, it’s voters who hold the final say. If we’re tired of spin and bluster, the way to end it is to reward principle and substance over self-interested calculation when we have the chance. And we may be pleasantly surprised at how many people share that view when there’s a genuine alternative available.