Following victory in a second Labour leadership vote, Corbyn has solidified his place as top dog of a united party, or has he? an opinion piece by will marshall
The man himself has promised to “wipe the slate clean”, but the victory comes days after the leader that never was. David Miliband, stated publicly that Corbyn’s labour is “unelectable and undesirable”.
It’s no secret that under Corbyn, Labour has been divided, from the regular voters, all the way up to senior party members. Why is this? Does his re-election change anything?
To answer those questions, we have to go back to the start, and by the start I mean 1997. Enter Tony Blair. Blair came in to power riding the horse that was ‘New Labour’ - which he created with the help of Scotsman Gordon Brown.
It turned out to be rather popular, concentrating on constitutional reform and big bucks for healthcare and education. This Labour, like a regenerated Doctor Who, was very different to its predecessor. It placed the party more centrally, as opposed to its traditional centre-left stance.
The “modernised” party was successful too, as Blair won three general elections, despite economic issues and a less-than popular war in Iraq. However, five years and two Conservative victories later the party needed another knight in shining armour. What did the party get? Jeremy Corbyn.
“Who?” many would have cried when his name showed up in the leadership race. Well Corbyn was no freshman in the world of politics, having been an MP for Islington since 1983 when he ran as a “democratic socialist”.
Corbyn was a representative for various trade unions prior to his Labour days. This fed into his political career as he was known for activism and rebelliousness as a back-bencher. He frequently voted against his own party, especially during the Blair and Brown days. He divides opinion with the Daily Telegraph describing his policies as “unrealistic” and “absurd”. He has taken the party away from the Blair days back to its roots of a far more left wing party, creating… New-Old Labour? Confusing!
This has made Corbyn easy pickings for satirists, opposing politicians and Sun readers alike. He's an easy target after not singing the national anthem at a Battle of Britain service, sitting on the floor of a train while seats were free and generally appearing a little "scruffy" according Nuneaton pollsters. Worst still his shadow cabinet resigned and 180 Labour MPs voted 'no confidence' in his leadership. Recent polls show Labour 11 points behind the Tories - the parties worst results in over 50 years. One should also remember that the Conservative party is in disarray after the Brexit vote.
However, last year Corbyn is still leader of the Labour party and has retained top spot with a larger percentage than before (61.8%). So surely he’s done something right, regardless of what Mr Miliband and many others believe. He stands up for workers’ rights, he opposes foreign intervention in wars and he is a man than can gather massive crowds whenever he talks.
So going back to the start, does the re-election change anything? It could reunite Labour. The party’s faithful have spoken, Corbyn is their man, so there is no excuse for the members to not support him now. Not doing so would make forming a successful opposition and winning an election even more of a challenge than it already is.
Views expressed are author's own and do not represent those of Knights Templar School or its staff.