The Right wing media are having orgasms over the anti democratic decision of Starmer and the NEC to prevent the members of Islington North from reselecting Jeremy Corbyn as their Parliamentary candidate for the fourth decade running.
According to Starmer’s motion voted on by the NEC, Jeremy Corbyn puts a Labour victory in jeapordy because he single handedly lost the 2019 General Election. The bulldozing of the Red Wall by Johnson with his winning ‘Get Brexit Done’ slogan has absolutely nothing to do with the slippery, empty vessel that is the current Labour leader and his electorally toxic people’s vote policy as shadow Brexit secretary.
By the way, this fate is only meted out to socialist leaders. If you lead the Labour Party to defeat from the right, you will be given a prominent position in the Shadow Cabinet, called upon as an advisor or given a nice cushy seat in the House of Lords.
Of course we all know it’s a big pile of steaming dung. As is the supposed real reason that’s being put forward with genuine zeal on all the airwaves by shameless Blairites. Antisemitism. Only yesterday Beth Rigby from Sky News asked Starmer if he felt bad for the barring of someone he once referred to as a friend. Jeremy Corbyn only has himself to blame was the gist of Starmer’s response, followed on by him reiterating that he will root out Antisemitism. Put these two comments together and h
e is clearly calling Jeremy Corbyn an Antisemite. My blood was boiling, and not just because Starmer has no shame over the smearing of a decent man. I was furious that Beth Rigby, who is often lauded over her ruthless interviews, didn’t ask Starmer why Corbyn was allowed to retain his memberhip if he was an Antisemite?
That exposure of such a glaring discrepancy would have forced Starmer to admit Corbyn was not an Antisemite. I should learn not to expect better from the broadcast media.
So where does Jeremy Corbyn go from here? Does he retire from Parliament to have more time for politics as proposed by Jon Lansman? Or does he fight against the injustice wrought against himself and the members of Islington North in the same way he has fought against injustice his entire life?
I propose he fights. I’m not of the belief Jeremy Corbyn will walk it in Islington North the way so many socialists are convinced about. When eminent pollster John Curtice recently said he would struggle to win, I was inclined to agree. I can fully envisage the might of the Labour Party joining forces with the Lib Dems and even the Tories in an effort to humiliate Corbyn. Even if I’m wrong, I think the left should rein in their declarations of assured victory because the British love nothing more than an underdog and painting Corbyn as the insurgent, anti establishment candidate, fighting against the Goliath of Labour, will do his chances of winning no harm.
Regardless, I believe it’s important to focus less on winning and losing and more on influence.
Jeremy Corbyn is arguably the highest profile socialist in the UK today. Amongst socialists he is also the most respected and loved. Socialists will flock to Islington North to campaign for him, attend rallies, and those who can’t attend in person will phone bank for him and share his message of hope and real change on social media. The mainstream media will either try to blank the campaign out or make it all about antisemitism, but they will fail.
With the current state of UK politics where apathy is once again rife, it is the duty of socialists to use whatever platform they have at their disposal to remind voters there could be an alternative way of doing things.
Win or lose, it is never a waste. Jeremy’s leadership was not a waste. Up until that time, there was a cosy consensus amongst the media and main parties that austerity was necessary. Little wonder the majority of voters believed it too. Until Jeremy and the Labour left came along and threw a big rock in the establishment pond and enlightened them. Voters were then presented with the common sense arguments for nationalisation of our utilities and the levying of slightly higher taxes on the wealthy and we won every single argument. The public have more of an understanding of what’s possible now than they have for decades. Yes, Labour have a resounding poll lead at the moment, however it’s a lead born of anger and disenchantment over Tory failings, not excitement over voting for Labour. If Starmer had stuck to his 10 pledges and genuinely unified the party, Labour would have a thirty point lead right now. It’s not about changing things for Starmer’s Labour though. They’d rather win less resoundingly with watered down Tory policies than win a monumental landslide by offering real change. They are full of self congratulations at the moment. On track to win a majority at the next General Election. The left purged and defeated once and for all. And that’s exactly why now is the right time to throw another rock into their pond. Their arrogant complacency sentences every working class person in this country to more of the same for decades.
If we throw enough rocks into that cosy establishment pond, the ripples will get bigger and bigger and eventually become waves that will wash the current rigged system away. Then we will all win.
Mick Lynch did it admirably during the winter of strikes, as did every striking worker who made it clear ‘Enough is Enough’. Public support for strikes has never been higher, in no small part aided by the shifting of public attitudes influenced by the Corbyn era.
Now It’s Jeremy’s turn again.
Get your rocks ready everyone!
Turning the Tide 