Party’s problems go way beyond Corbyn
Labour’s moderates want rid of Jeremy Corbyn. No change there, they’ve felt that way ever since he won the party’s leadership last year. But now they have a charge that they think they can make stick: losing the EU referendum. The case against Corbyn is strong. Labour’s polling is poor and its local election results disappointing. The party has been rocked by accusations of anti-Semitism. And Corbyn’s speech yesterday highlighted a cultural attitude that irritates many voters. He said the country beyond his Islington constituency has “a lesser level of understanding of diversity”. That’s both patronising and inaccurate. Slough, for instance, is majority nonwhite – but still voted for Leave.
But it was Corbyn’s listless Remain effort that really disgusted the Europhile Labour backbenches. They saw the referendum as a litmus test not only for support of the EU but also for open borders and the multicultural society. Imagine their horror when the biggest Leave votes were counted in Labour’s traditional heartlands, where Corbyn claimed to have the deepest reach. Now there is a worry that Ukip could do to Labour in the north of England what the SNP did to Labour in Scotland.
Corbyn’s manner makes matters worse. He casually informed an interviewer that he was only 70-75 per cent for EU membership. The man is incapable of faking enthusiasm for things he doesn’t really believe in. As an old-fashioned democratic socialist Corbyn despairs of the EU’s centralising tendencies, while he must know that his economic platform would be illegal under its competition laws. In other words, Corbyn’s underperformance is – in the eyes of Blairites – not just an error of style but a betrayal of outdated radicalism.
Are they right? Not necessarily. The vote last Thursday represented a rejection of the Blairite, centrist status quo – not socialism. Brexit was a referendum on mass migration, European integration and government by Oxbridge clones. So it would be very odd if the Blairites were to punish Corbyn for the public’s rejection of their policy mistakes.
Imagine the view from inside Corbyn’s head. As far as he’s concerned he did campaign – he just didn’t do it in the way that the Blairites wanted him to. Rather than crashing about the country festooned in EU flags, he
‘The vote represented a rejection of the Blairite, centrist status quo. So it would be odd if the Blairites were to punish Corbyn’
spoke openly and honestly about the flaws within the EU and he made the rational case that – on balance – Britain was better off staying and reforming it.
Corbyn might also feel that the results of the referendum actually validate his approach. It turns out he was right: a majority of the country is fed up and is in the mood to revolt.
His post-Brexit speech contained a gaffe on diversity but was otherwise rather good. He denounced deindustrialisation and spending cuts – policies that he believes have left the native working class behind and turned immigrants into scapegoats for legitimate grievances. In the Corbynite view, defeat contains the seeds of victory. It proves that Britain is ready for change. The parliamentary Labour Party needs to unite, say his comrades, and give Jeremy a chance to test his radical new approach.
The problem is the Corbynite revolution is undone by facts. Labour voters do want concrete limits on immigration, including those who live in very diverse areas. Corbyn’s strategy has been road-tested in Scotland, where it failed to withstand the appeal of nationalism. And even if Corbyn isn’t enthusiastic about the EU, the bulk of centrist voters are – and they feel let down by the absence of a progressive leader pushing their case.
In the old days, this battle might be resolved by a coup within the party. Two Labour MPs are trying; they’ve submitted a motion of no confidence in their leader. But even if it occurred and Corbyn was reprimanded, that wouldn’t be the end of him.
A journalist asked Corbyn if he would run in another leadership election and he replied: “Yes, I am here, hello.” His team believe that his name would automatically appear on such a ballot and that the grassroots would rally to his defence.
They are likely correct. For just as the EU referendum showed a country at odds with Westminster, so Corbyn’s election showed a party at odds with its elites. If Corbyn refuses to resign or stands in another ballot and wins, the Blairite bluff would be called. They would be forced to split the parliamentary party officially and sit apart from Corbyn in the Commons. Hence they are taking a massive risk.
Corbyn must eventually go. He doesn’t have the capacity to offer firm leadership at a time when the country is crying out for a progressive alternative to a Tory Party that is about to take a very Right-wing turn.
But Labour’s problems go way beyond one man struggling to do his best. If the Blairites believe that they offer a more electorally popular alternative then the EU referendum has surely proven them wrong. A whole new social democratic politics is needed.