For Corbyn, there is a victory in his defeat
london — Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn lost Britain’s election, but his beaming smile and enthusiastic thumbs’ up the morning after was the demeanor of a man who knew he was nevertheless the winner.
The party piled on votes and gained more than 20 new seats in Thursday’s election. It fell short of victory, but managed to frustrate Prime Minister Theresa May’s hopes of a landslide that would strengthen her position in negotiating Britain’s exit from the European Union.
The success marked a huge turnaround for Labour and its uncompromisingly left-wing leader, who were given up for dead when the campaign began.
The gap narrowed over the seven-week election as May was criticised for a lackluster campaign amid a series of missteps, most importantly a proposal to force elderly people to pay for more of their care. Corbyn, 68, capitalised with promises to soften Brexit and proposals to boost spending after seven years of austerity.
“This was looking like the Blitzkrieg: it was going to be all over in a few weeks and Mrs. May was going to be victorious,” said Ben Page, chief executive of pollster Ipsos MORI. “But instead, Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour Party have put up much more of a fight than anybody was anticipating.”
Pre-election expectations were also upset by two terror attacks in as many weeks that killed 30 people in Manchester and London, twice forced the suspension of campaigning and focused attention on the Conservatives’ record on security.
May called the early election in hopes of extending a slim majority in Parliament as opinion polls showed the Conservatives had a wide lead over Labour. Instead, May’s majority evaporated and she was left with just 318 of the 650 seats. Labour has 262.
While May portrayed Corbyn as untrustworthy and out of touch with average voters, Labour painted the Conservatives as the party of the rich and special interests. Labour’s pitch was summed up in the slogan “For the many, not the few.”
That translated into proposals to raise taxes on corporations and the wealthy, while increasing funding for schools and the National Health Service. Labour appealed directly to young people by promising to scrap university tuition fees and suggesting it might cancel debts run up by recent graduates. —