The grim reality of Labour’s socialism
‘Socialism for the 21st century,” declared Jeremy Corbyn in a speech at the Labour Party conference that was, for all its rambling delivery and lack of coherent thinking about how to govern modern Britain, rapturously received by his Left-wing followers. Since Mr Corbyn is so proud to declare himself a socialist and commit his party to that doctrine, let us consider what socialism means when it is put into practice in the real world.
Socialism causes misery. It is not necessary to reach back into history to prove that assertion, though the millions killed by Stalin’s Soviet purges and economic failures should never be forgotten when any politician extols the virtues of socialism. Contemporary evidence abounds in Venezuela. Mr Corbyn has lavishly praised the socialist rulers who have murderously ruined its once-healthy economy, a disaster whose cost is borne by the weak and vulnerable the Left claims to champion.
But we do not need to look overseas for evidence of socialism’s failure. Our own recent political history demonstrates the folly of following the sort of programme that Mr Corbyn would foist upon the country: of nationalisation, centralised state control and a wealth-sapping race to the bottom in the name of equality. His prescription for “change” is in reality a cry from Labour’s discredited past. It is a road to nowhere that would leave us without proper defences and with a broken economy. This is why Mr Corbyn lacks appeal among the wider electorate – and, thanks to his almost comically misjudged support for uncontrolled immigration, especially among Labour’s traditional working class supporters. Yet there is no denying his ability to organise and motivate hard-Left activists. He has taken Labour’s membership to more than 600,00 and talks of a million-strong membership.
In so doing, he has made Labour a haven for people of odious dogma and bigotry. The Liverpool conference saw activists from his Momentum group openly selling pamphlets mocking disabled British soldiers and questioning the need to commemorate Jewish victims of the Holocaust. Mr Corbyn has given extremists a platform, running the risk that their hateful ideology becomes a normal part of political debate.
And that platform is the Labour Party. To the despair of many MPs, Mr Corbyn is secure in his position after a second leadership election. He has every prospect of maintaining his grip until the next general election. The poison he has brought to British politics will continue to fester.